National Cemetery Administration

Rostrums in National Cemeteries

The rostrums built in national cemeteries have served as speakers’ stands during ceremonial occasions. The U.S. Army Quartermaster’s Department developed these well-placed structures in response to the public’s enthusiastic adoption of national cemeteries as places of memorial commemoration and patriotism in the aftermath of the Civil War. Two standard designs were the basis for all rostrums constructed in the nineteenth century. A major phase of new cemetery construction that began from the late 1930s and ended after World War II, included rostrums designed in a variety of regional, neoclassical and revival styles.

At a minimum, a rostrum is a structure composed of a raised base and roof. Fort Scott (KS) National Cemetery and Richmond (VA) National Cemetery (below) represent the oldest examples. The rostrum at Fort Scott has a rectangular footprint and a trellis roof. It was erected in 1882, substantially altered in 1931, and NCA rebuilt it to the original appearance in 2016. The octagonal rostrum at Richmond, 1888, has a brick base with cast-iron steps and railing; the metal roof was removed in the twentieth century. But a rostrum of the same design is extant at nearby Poplar Grove (VA) National Cemetery, an National Park Service site. Together these structures illustrate the original octagonal rostrum developed by the Quartermaster's Department in the 1870s.

Top: Plans and elevations of the rostrums at Fort Scott National Cemetery (left) and Richmond National Cemetery (right), Library of Congress. Below: Photographs of same. NCA.

Rostrums Documented for the Historic American Landscapes Survey

Of all the rostrums built between 1873 and 1956 in what are now NCA-managed properties, thirty-seven are often the centerpiece of Memorial Day events. These are significant components of historic cemetery settings and a testament to commemorative traditions in the United States.

For this reason, national cemetery rostrums were the subject of a research and documentation project completed for the Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) in 2014. The HALS collection is housed at the Library of Congress. The history reports, drawings, and photographs prepared about the national cemetery rostrums also may be found here.

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