National Cemetery Administration

Dates of Establishment: National Cemeteries & NCA Burial Sites (1 of 6)

Although the U.S. Army maintained cemetery records in the nineteenth century, it can be challenging to determine dates of establishment along with first and oldest burials. At some locations, the earliest date of the death substantially predates the year the cemetery was established — often this is due to the relocation of remains from other cemeteries when the Army closed military installations. The date a national cemetery was established may correspond to earliest date of death (military or civilian), when the government legally acquired the land, or when a government official authorized or designated the grounds as a national cemetery. In locations where there was room in private cemeteries, the military may have buried its dead in plots designated as soldiers' lots, regardless of service branches interred.

1. Civil War-Era National Cemeteries

The first national cemeteries were established during the Civil War—1861 to 1865. Following the conclusion of hostilities in April 1865, the U.S. Army Quartermaster General's Office planned additional national cemeteries at sites of major battles, prison of war locations, and hospitals. Italicized entries were identified by the Army in 1944 as the original twelve national cemeteries established by an act of Congress dated July 17, 1862; however, some of the cemeteries were in use prior to that (Alexandria, VA, and Keokuk, IA). Later histories included two additional cemeteries—Antietam and Philadelphia—in the group of originals, however, this appears to be a misinterpretation of the historical record.

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