National Cemetery Administration

Dates of Establishment: National Cemeteries & NCA Burial Sites (5 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.

5. Other NCA Burial Sites

The federal government began burying deceased military and civilian personnel decades before the Civil War. In some instances, post cemeteries were established at Army and Navy installations. In other locales, the military may have used a section in a private cemetery. This practice continued through the Civil War and into the mid-twentieth century.

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