National Cemetery Administration
Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot
Visitation Hours: Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed Sunday and federal holidays.
This cemetery is closed for 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 US 119 out of Grafton to Morgantown, WV. Then take Interstate 68 West ramp towards Interstate 79. Merge onto Interstate 68 West. Take Interstate 79 North towards Washington, PA. Take Interstate 70 West/Interstate 79 North exit on the left towards Washington, PA. Merge onto Interstate 79 North. Take Interstate 79 North exit towards Pittsburgh, PA. Merge onto Interstate 79 North. Take the Interstate 279 North exit number 14 towards Pittsburgh. Merge onto US 22 East. Stay straight to go onto Interstate 279 North. Take Interstate 279 North towards Ft. Duquesne Boulevard/Convention Center/Strip District. Take the PA 28 North exit number 13 towards Chestnut Street/East Ohio Street/ETNA. Merge onto PA 28 North. Take the 40th Street Bridge exit number 2, on the left. Turn right onto Washington Crossing Bridge. Washington Crossing Bridge becomes 40th Street. From 40th Street turn left onto Butler Street.
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.
Allegheny Cemetery
Phone: 412-682-1624
Fax: 412-622-0655
* External Link Disclaimer: This link will open in a new tab and take you outside of the Department of Veterans Affairs website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.
This cemetery is overseen by the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies. Please contact the cemetery at 724-746-4363 for more information.
For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.
Floral regulations are not available for this cemetery.
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.
Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA, is among the oldest rural cemeteries in the United States. Forty of the most prominent citizens of the city — merchants, manufacturers, professionals and politicians — chartered the non-profit cemetery on April 24, 1844. The group purchased the first 100 acres for the cemetery for $50,000. Today the cemetery is composed of approximately 300 acres, in which about 120,000 persons are interred.
The soldiers' lot is located in Section 33, lot 66, and consists of 303 individual interments. While most of the burials are Union Civil War soldiers, the lot also includes 15 Confederates and a small number of Spanish-American War veterans.
Soldiers were originally interred in two places within Allegheny Cemetery: the plot donated to the federal government by the cemetery association, and the "stranger's field," also known as the "potter's field," an area for the poor. It is likely that all the remains were consolidated into the soldiers' lot in the 1870's.
Allegheny Cemetery, including the National Cemetery Administration's soldiers' lot, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1980.
Monuments and Memorials
Following the Civil War, the Allegheny County Ladies Memorial Association commissioned local artist Fred Mayer to sculpt a monument for the soldier's lot. Erected in 1876, the 16-foot-tall limestone monument was dedicated in memory of those who died during the Civil War. The figure of a woman holding a wreath with her head bowed sits atop the monument, with four sculpted cannons located on the monument base. Two small cannons mounted on concrete bases mark the front of the soldiers' lot.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 390 Medal of Honor recipients interred in VA national cemeteries.
» Medal of Honor recipients buried or memorialized here:
Corporal John M. Kendig (Civil War). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, Company A, 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry, for actions at Spotsylvania, VA, May 12, 1864. His citation was awarded under the name of Kindig. He died in 1869 and is buried in Section 33, Lot 66, Site 32.
More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Allegheny Soldiers' Lot.
Visit the Veterans Legacy Program and NCA History Program for additional information. Thank you for your interest.
