National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.

Office Hours: This cemetery is supervised by Baltimore National Cemetery.

Annapolis National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed. When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis. Since there is no way to know in advance when a gravesite may become available, please contact the cemetery at the time of need to inquire whether space is available.

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.

» Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery

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.

Baltimore National Cemetery supervises this cemetery. You can contact them at the number listed above.

There is a printed grave locator available in front of the lodge. Grave locations for Annapolis National Cemetery are also available in the kiosk located at Baltimore National Cemetery.

Military Funeral Honors
Military Funeral Honors are organized under the Department of Defense military funeral honor program "Honoring Those Who Served" and should be arranged through the funeral home. In the event there is not a funeral home involved in making arrangements please refer to the telephone numbers listed below or contact your local American Legion or VFW.

Local Numbers for Military Funeral Honors:
U.S. Army / U.S. Air Force: 410-576-6133 (MD National Guard); 301-677-2206 (Fort Meade)
U.S. Coast Guard: 757-617-4971 or 757-686-4032
U.S. Marine Corps: 866-826-3628
U.S. Navy: 301-677-0409 or 202-433-4589

For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.

The placement of floral items on graves other than on the day of interment is subject to the following conditions:

1. Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time. Temporary flower containers (vases) are available in bins throughout the cemetery.

2. Floral items will be removed from graves as soon as they become faded or unsightly.

3. Artificial flowers may be placed on graves only during the period of October 10 through April 15.

4. Plantings are not permitted on graves at any time. Potted plants will be permitted on graves only during the period 10 days before and 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.

5. Christmas wreaths or grave blankets are permitted on graves during the Christmas season and will be removed not later than January 20th of each year. Contact the cemetery staff for the exact date of the post-holiday cleanup. Grave floral blankets may not be larger in size than two by three feet.

6. During the lawn mowing and ground maintenance season (April – November), all floral items will be removed from graves on the 2nd and 4th Friday of the month.

7. Balloons, statues, vigil lights (solar or battery powered), breakable (glass) objects of any nature, spinners, and similar/other commemorative items are not permitted on graves at any time.

8. Floral items and other types of decorations will not be secured to or placed on headstones or markers. Gravesite items cannot be taller than the surrounding headstones and markers.

If there are any questions regarding the floral policy or cleanup schedule please contact the cemetery staff at 410-644-9696.

Annapolis National Cemetery is located in Anne Arundel County, within the city limits of Annapolis, MD. Annapolis was one of the 14 national cemeteries established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862. The original land was leased in August 1862 from a local resident, Nicholas Brewer, for a period of 99 years. Five years later, Brewer's heirs sold the land outright to the federal government.

During the Civil War, Annapolis was the site of a Union training and recruiting center. Despite the government's best efforts to keep the camps sanitary, a large number of men died due to illnesses such as small pox and typhoid, as well as accidents and violence. As a result, most original interments at the cemetery were men who died at the training camps or nearby hospitals.

Annapolis also had a role in the exchange of prisoners between Union and Confederate sides. As early as the War of 1812, there was a well-established practice of paroling prisoners of war so neither side incurred the expense of holding and maintaining the others' troops for an extended period. While City Point, VA, was the official exchange location, Confederate prisoners were held at Annapolis while arrangements were negotiated. Conversely, Union soldiers held by the Confederacy were often moved to the hospital at Camp Parole, near Annapolis, after their release. At least 24 men buried at Annapolis National Cemetery were former Confederate POWs who died in captivity.

Annapolis National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.