National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.

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

The National Cemetery Administration lots in this cemetery are closed to new 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.

» 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.

The private and community cemeteries that contain NCA soldiers and government lots, and Confederate cemeteries, do not always have staffed offices on site. When administrative information for the larger cemetery is available, it is provided below.

These government lots are overseen by the Baltimore National Cemetery. Please contact the national cemetery for more information.

Congressional Cemetery
Phone: 202-543-0539
Website: https://www.congressionalcemetery.org
Note: Link will take you outside the VA website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.

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

This floral policy applies only to the government lots in the cemetery which are marked with a small blue PVC cap adjacent to the headstone, marker or monument.

The placement of floral items on government lots is subject to the following conditions:

1. Fresh cut flowers may be placed on government lots at any time.

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

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

4. Plantings are not permitted on government lots at any time. Potted plants will be permitted on government lots 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 government lots 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 2 by 3 feet.

6. During the lawn mowing and ground maintenance season (April – November), all floral items will be removed weekly.

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 government lots 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 headstone, marker or monument on the government lot or 5 feet whichever is lower.

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

Established in 1807, Congressional Cemetery is located in the southeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., overlooking the Anacostia River. The National Cemetery Administration has jurisdiction over 806 burial plots located throughout the larger cemetery, including some of the oldest and most significant historic resources maintained by the agency.

The original 4.5 acres of Congressional Cemetery was purchased by a group of Washingtonians for a private burial ground. On July 19, 1807, Uriah Tracy of Connecticut became the first congressman buried in the cemetery. In 1812 the group deeded the cemetery to Christ Church as The Washington Parish Burial Ground. Five years later, Christ Church set aside 100 burial lots for members of Congress who died in Washington. From this time forward, the nickname Congressional Cemetery has been used, although in 1849 the official name was changed to Washington Cemetery.

By the 1820s, Congressional Cemetery was the traditional burial site of senators, congressmen, and other high-ranking federal officials who died in Washington. In 1823, the church donated an additional 300 gravesites for congressional use, and in 1834 Congress appropriated funds for the erection of a keepers house, planting trees, and placing boundary stones. Since 1849, the piecemeal expansion of additional ground led to its present size of approximately 30 acres.

In 1953, the cenotaphs were among the 806 gravesites (about 350 burials) — collectively occupying about a half-acre — that became federal property through a land swap between the U.S. Army and the cemetery; in turn, these were transferred to VA in 1973 along with most of the country's national cemeteries.

The National Cemetery Administration is the steward of the most significant collective structures in the cemetery; the unique cenotaphs designed by America's first professional architect, Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764–1820). Fabricated from Aquia Creek sandstone, the monuments are carved in blocks with a squat base and a conical cap. The inscriptions are on small marble panels affixed to the block. Latrobe's design, characterized by clean, straight lines and a lack of ornamentation, was quite distinct from the typical grave markers of the period, and foreshadowed modern architecture by almost a century. For a period of time, the cenotaphs were whitewashed.

The term cenotaph is defined as a tomb or monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. The original cenotaphs did not remain true to this term, as they mark the burials of senators and congressmen. The date of the first cenotaph installation in Congressional Cemetery is unknown. Latrobe's earliest sketch dates to 1812, but it is unclear if any cenotaphs were extant at this time.

For many years, congressman and senators who died locally were buried under cenotaphs in Congressional Cemetery. This was largely attributable to the significant cost of transporting the deceased back to their home districts, and to the lack of modern embalming techniques. After 1835, interments of non-local federal officials in the cemetery began to wane, and by the 1855 this practice essentially stopped.

Despite the change in tradition, monuments continued to be erected in the cemetery, honoring congressmen who died in office and were interred in other cemeteries. These cenotaphs are not distinguished from the true burial markers. Reportedly, the installation of cenotaphs ceased in 1876 when Congressman George Frisbie Hoar of Massachusetts caustically remarked that "being buried beneath one would add new terrors to death...I cannot conceive of an uglier shape to be made out of granite or marble than those cenotaphs now there."

Of the 169 cenotaphs at Congressional Cemetery, 113 remain true to the term, honoring those who are interred elsewhere. The identical design was used for 56 monuments erected as grave markers.

In 2007–2008, VA completed a comprehensive project to repair and restore 166 cenotaphs through a partnership in which National Park Service preservation specialists utilized traditional masonry techniques. Material was salvaged from cenotaph components and new Aquia Creek stone came from a stockpile leftover from a 1950s renovation of the U.S. Capitol, and other types of stone compatible in color and texture was introduced. In all, 42 capstones, 27 die blocks, and 28 bases were replaced. The project was awarded the 2009 District of Columbia Mayor's Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation.

Congressional Cemetery, including the lots administered by the National Cemetery Administration, was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in 1969, and it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2011.

Monuments and Memorials
The U.S. Arsenal Monument honors the women who died in an explosion at the Washington Arsenal on June 17, 1864. The tragedy resulted from the accidental ignition of fireworks stored in a lot next to the Arsenal Building at 4-1/2 Half St., SW. Lit by the summer heat, sparks from the fireworks blew into the arsenal as 108 women were making gunpowder cartridges, causing an explosion which killed 21. The memorial was erected on the first anniversary of the fire. The marble and granite structure was produced by sculptor Lot Flannery of the Flannery Brothers Marble Manufacturers, and rises to about 25 feet tall. A small, allegorical female figure symbolizing Grief sits atop a shaft, which is inscribed with the names of the women who perished.