Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Last updated
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.JPG
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Details
Established1826
Location
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 38°29′55″N90°17′25″W / 38.49861°N 90.29028°W / 38.49861; -90.29028 Coordinates: 38°29′55″N90°17′25″W / 38.49861°N 90.29028°W / 38.49861; -90.29028
Type United States National Cemetery
Size331 acres (134 ha)
No. of graves237,000+
Website Official
Find a Grave Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
USA Missouri location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest city Mehlville, Missouri
Area295.7 acres (119.7 ha)
Built1866 (1866)
Architectural styleLate Victorian
MPS Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS
NRHP reference No. 98000840 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 9, 1998

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a formal network of military cemeteries. It started as the Jefferson Barracks Military Post Cemetery in 1826 and became a United States National Cemetery in 1866.

Contents

The first known burial was Elizabeth Ann Lash, the infant child of an officer stationed at Jefferson Barracks.

The cemetery is administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the former site of Jefferson Barracks. It covers 331 acres (134 ha) and the number of interments as of 2021 is approximately 237,000. The cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor recipients

Other notable individuals

Memorial to the Confederate Dead

Panoramic view showing row upon row of simple white stone headstones converging in the distance. Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery 23Oct11 pano1.jpg
Panoramic view showing row upon row of simple white stone headstones converging in the distance.

A monument entitled Memorial to the Confederate Dead was placed in Jefferson Barracks on May 1, 1988 [4] It is located in section 66 of the cemetery. Not to be confused with the removed Memorial to the Confederate Dead (St. Louis).

Memorial to the Confederate Dead Memorial to the Confederate Dead (Jefferson Barracks) - Front.jpg
Memorial to the Confederate Dead

It was placed by the Jefferson Barracks Civil War Historical Association, Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Missouri Society Military Order of the Stars and Bars. The front of the monument features three Confederate flags: the first national flag (seven-star variant of the "Stars and Bars"), the Confederate Battle Flag, and the last national flag ("Blood-Stained Banner").

Under the flags is a quote by Berry Benson [5]

To the Confederate Dead 1861–1865 Who knows but it may be given to us, after this life, to meet again in the old quarters, to play chess and draughts, to get up soon to answer the morning roll call, to fall in at the tap of the drum for drill and dress parade and again to hastily don out war gear while the monotonous patter of the long roll summons to battle? Who knows but again the old flags, ragged and torn, snapping in the wind, may face each other and flutter, pursuing and pursued, while the cries of victory fill a summer day? And after the battle, then the slain and wounded will arise, and all will meet together under the two flags, all sound and well, and there will be talking and laughter and cheers, and all will say: Did it not seem real? Was it not as in the old days?”

Aerial View of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and Jefferson Barracks Bridge Aerial View of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and Jefferson Barracks Bridge.jpg
Aerial View of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and Jefferson Barracks Bridge

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William S. Harney</span> United States Army general

William Selby Harney was a Tennessee-born cavalry officer in the US Army, who became known during the Indian Wars and the Mexican–American War for his brutality and ruthlessness. One of four general officers in the US Army at the beginning of the American Civil War, he was removed from overseeing the Department of the West because of his Southern sympathies early in the war, although he kept Missouri from joining the Confederacy. Under President Andrew Johnson, he served on the Indian Peace Commission, negotiating several treaties before spending his retirement partly in St. Louis and partly trading reminiscences with Jefferson Davis and Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiloh National Military Park</span> United States historic area

Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated town of Shiloh, about nine miles (14 km) south of Savannah, Tennessee, with an additional area located in the city of Corinth, Mississippi, 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Shiloh. The Battle of Shiloh began a six-month struggle for the key railroad junction at Corinth. Afterward, Union forces marched from Pittsburg Landing to take Corinth in a May siege, then withstood an October Confederate counter-attack.

Stones River National Battlefield, a 570-acre (2.3 km2) park along the Stones River in Rutherford County, Tennessee, three miles (5 km) northwest of Murfreesboro and twenty-eight miles southeast of Nashville, memorializes the Battle of Stones River. This key battle of the American Civil War occurred on December 31, 1862 and January 2, 1863, and resulted in a strategic Union victory.

The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation west of the Mississippi River, and it is now used as a base for the Army and Air National Guard. A Veterans Affairs healthcare system campus is located on the southern portion of the base and is also the headquarters for the Veterans Canteen Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William H.C. Whiting</span> Confederate States Army general

William Henry Chase Whiting was a United States Army officer who resigned after 16 years of service in the Army Corps of Engineers to serve in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was wounded at the Second Battle of Fort Fisher by a musket ball to his leg, and died in prison camp on March 10, 1865, of dysentery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springfield National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Greene County, Missouri

Springfield National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Springfield, in Greene County, Missouri. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 18.1 acres (7.3 ha), and as of the end of 2005, had 14,685 interments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Bexar County, Texas

San Antonio National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 3.7 acres (1.5 ha), and as of the end of 2005, had 3,163 interments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dayton National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Montgomery County, Ohio

Dayton National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Dayton in Montgomery County, Ohio. It encompasses 116.8 acres (47.3 ha) and as of July 18, 2019, had 55,359 interments. In January, 2014, it was one of only fourteen cemeteries to be designated as a national shrine. A new 2,000 niche columbarium was dedicated on July 24, 2014. It is one of a few National Cemeteries with their own Honor Squad. Since its formation, unless refused by family and during a few weeks the National Cemetery Administration disallowed military honors in their cemeteries, no veteran has been buried without a Rifle Salute in addition to "Taps" and the folding and presentation of the Flag. It is also the only National Cemetery with the remains of a funeral tunnel which once allowed deceased veterans to be removed from the Home Hospital to the cemetery. Plans are in process to restore the entrance into the tunnel to its original form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Augustine National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in St. Johns County, Florida

St. Augustine National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of St. Augustine in St. Johns County, Florida. Located on the grounds of the active military installation known as St. Francis Barracks, the state headquarters of the Florida National Guard, it encompasses 1.4 acres (0.57 ha), and as of the end of 2005 had 2,788 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is currently closed to new interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Snelling National Cemetery</span> Veterans cemetery in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory adjacent to the historic fort and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is the only National Cemetery in Minnesota. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it covers 436.3 acres (176.6 ha), and as of January, 2023 had over 253,000 interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson City National Cemetery</span> Historic veterans cemetery in Cole County, Missouri

Jefferson City National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Jefferson City, in Cole County, Missouri. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 2 acres (0.81 ha), and as of the end of 2005, had 1,792 interments. It is administered by Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memphis National Cemetery</span> United States National Cemetery

Memphis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Nutbush neighborhood in northeast Memphis, Tennessee. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 44.2 acres (17.9 ha), and as of the end of 2007, had 42,184 interments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel M. Frost</span> American politician

Daniel Marsh Frost was a former United States Army officer who became a brigadier general in the Missouri Volunteer Militia (MVM) and the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Among the handful of Confederate generals born in the North, Frost led the MVM during the Camp Jackson affair in May 1861 that fanned civil unrest in St. Louis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Whitside</span> United States Army general (1839–1904)

Samuel M. Whitside was a United States Cavalry officer who served from 1858 to 1902. He commanded at every level from company to department for 32 of his 43 years in service, including Army posts such a Camp Huachuca, Jefferson Barracks, and Fort Sam Houston, the Departments of Eastern Cuba and Santiago and Puerto Principe, Cuba, commanded a provisional cavalry brigade, a squadron in the 7th Cavalry Regiment, and a troop and platoon in the 6th Cavalry Regiment. The pinnacle of his career was serving as the commanding general of the Department of Eastern Cuba before retiring in June 1902 as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army.

Alexander Early Steen was a career American soldier from Missouri who served in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War. He rejoined the army in 1852 and served until he resigned to join the Confederate forces on May 10, 1861. He served as a general in the secessionist Missouri State Guard forces and as a colonel and acting brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was killed in the Battle of Prairie Grove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hughie Miller</span> American baseball player

Hugh Stanley Miller was an American professional baseball first baseman. Miller played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League in 1911 and the St. Louis Terriers of the Federal League in 1914 and 1915. He batted and threw right-handed.

The 56th United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The regiment was originally organized as the 3rd Arkansas Volunteer Infantry (African Descent) on May 22, 1863.

The Civil War Trust's Civil War Discovery Trail is a heritage tourism program that links more than 600 U.S. Civil War sites in more than 30 states. The program is one of the White House Millennium Council's sixteen flagship National Millennium Trails. Sites on the trail include battlefields, museums, historic sites, forts and cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander H. Mitchell</span> US Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (1840–1913)

Alexander H. Mitchell was a United States military officer who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War as captain of Company A of the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry. Wounded multiple times in combat during the war, he was awarded the Kearny Cross for his distinguished service in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia in May 1863, and was then also awarded his nation’s highest award for valor, the U.S. Medal of Honor for his capture of a Confederate flag in hand-to-hand combat with the color-bearer of the 18th North Carolina Infantry during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Leeke, Jim. "Hughie Miller". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  3. Wilbanks, Bob (2004). Last Man Out. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 152–53. ISBN   9780786418220.
  4. "Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery".
  5. Foote, Shelby (1958). The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 3: Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House. p. 1048.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery at Wikimedia Commons