National Cemetery Administration
Fort Crawford Cemetery Soldiers' Lot
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
This soldiers' lot is closed to interments.
Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.
A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.
Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.
Take Interstate 94 toward Madison, Wisconsin, to Interstate 90 South. Follow Interstate 90 South to exit 142A (SR 12 & 18 West). Take SR 12 & 18 to SR 18 West. Follow SR 18 West into the town of Prairie du Chien. Turn left on East Cass Street. Follow East Cass Street to South Beaumont Street. Turn left on South Beaumont Street. The cemetery will be on the right.
From Lacrosse Municipal Airport (65.2 miles from the cemetery): Turn left on Fanta Reed Road. Then turn right on Dawson Avenue/Fanta Reed Road. Turn right to take Interstate 90 East. Take US-53 South/Wisconsin-35 South, exit #3A. Continue on West George Street, Lang Drive, West Avenue North, bear left on Great River Road/South Avenue. Continue on US-18 then turn right on East Cass Street. Turn left on South Beaumont Road and the cemetery will be on the right.
From the North: Take US-18 West/Dodgeville/Prairie Du Chein, exit 47. Continue US-18 West, then right on US-18 West/US-61. Turn left on US-18 West, then turn left on East Webster. Turn right on South Beaumont Road and the cemetery is on the left.
From the South: Take US-18 East then turn right on South Beaumont Road and the cemetery is on the left.
From the East: Take US-18 East then turn right on South Beaumont Road and the cemetery is on the left.
From the West: Take US-18 West/Dodgeville/Prairie Du Chein, exit 47. Continue US-18 West, then turn right on US-18 West/US-61. Turn left on US-18 West, then turn left on East Webster. Turn right on South Beaumont Road and the cemetery is on the left.
Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.
There is no office at this cemetery. It is overseen by Wood National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
Fort Crawford Cemetery is located on the former site of the Fort Crawford Military Reservation in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. There were two subsequent Fort Crawfords in Prairie du Chien during the 1800's. The original Fort Crawford, built in 1816, was situated adjacent to the Mississippi River. Repeated flooding led to its abandonment in 1826. Rebuilt on higher ground in 1830, the second incarnation of Fort Crawford operated until 1856.
In the spring and summer of 1832, Black Hawk, leader of a band of Sauk and Fox Indians, clashed with U.S. forces in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, in a conflict now known as the Black Hawk War. After the Battle of Bad Axe in 1832, Black Hawk surrendered to the forces of Colonel Zachary Taylor and was imprisoned at Fort Crawford.
The soldiers' lot is located in block 13 of the Fort Crawford Cemetery. The first burials here were of the members of the 1st and 5th Infantry regiments stationed at the fort. The soldiers' lot includes eight above-ground box-tombs that were likely erected by the regiments. The United States received the title for the lot in 1866. There are approximately 64 interments in the 0.59-acre soldiers' lot, including the remains of four soldiers removed from the Protestant cemetery at Prairie du Chien.
Monuments and Memorials
The United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated a bronze plaque to Jefferson Davis in August 1953 near the street entrance to the soldiers' lot. Lt. Jefferson Davis served briefly at Fort Crawford as a young man; later he became the president of the Confederate States of America. Fort Crawford is one of at least four sites that claim to be the setting of Davis' elopement with the daughter of Zachary Taylor.
Under Development.
We are developing educational content for this national cemetery, and will post new materials as they become available. Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
