Springfield in Greene County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
A National Cemetery System
Springfield National Cemetery
Photographed by Craig Doda, April 7, 2019
1. A National Cemetery System Marker
Civil War Dead
An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the creation of a national cemetery system.
On September 11, 1861, the War Department directed commanding officers to keep "accurate and permanent records of deceased soldiers. It also required the U.S. Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs directed officers to survey lands in the Civil War theater to find Union dead grave with a headboard. A few months later, the department mandated interment of the dead in graves marked with numbered headboards, recorded in a register.
Creating National Cemeteries
The authority to create military burial grounds came in an Omnibus Act of July 17, 1862.It directed the president to purchase land to be used as "a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country. Fourteen national cemeteries were established by 1862.
When hostilities ended, a grim task began, In October 1865, Quartermaster
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Most cemeteries were less than 10 acres, and layouts varied. In the Act to Establish and to Protect National Cemeteries of February 22, 1867, Congress funded new permanent walls or fences, grave markers, and lodges for cemetery superintendents.
At first only soldiers and sailors who died during the Civil War were buried in national cemeteries. In 1873, eligibility was expanded to all honorably discharged Union veterans, and Congress appropriated $1 million to mark the graves. Upright marble headstones honor individuals whose names were known; 6-inch-square mark unknowns.
By 1873, military post cemeteries on the Western frontier joined the national cemetery system. The National Cemeteries Act of 1973 transferred 82 Army cemeteries, including 12 of the
Photographed by Craig Doda, April 7, 2019
2. A National Cemetery System Marker
Soldiers' graves near General Hospital, City Point, Va., ca. 1863. Library of Congress
Knoxville was established after the siege of the city and, Battle of Fort Sanders in 1863, Cemetery plan, 1892; National Archives and Records Administration.
Lodge at City Point, Va., pre-1928. The first floor contained a cemetery office, and living room and kitchen for the superintendent's family; three bedrooms were upstairs.
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Photographed by Craig Doda, April 7, 2019
3. Springfield National Cemetery Sign
National cemetery monuments, left to right: Massachusetts Monument, Winchester, Va, 1907, Maryland Sons Monument, Loudon Park, Baltimore, Md, 1885; and Women's Relief Corps/Grand Army of he Republic Monument to the Unknown Dead, Crown Hill, Indianapolis, Ind., 1889.
Erected by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Military • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the National Cemeteries series list. A significant historical date for this entry is July 17, 1862.
Location. 37° 10.455′ N, 93° 15.835′ W. Marker is in Springfield, Missouri, in Greene County. It is on East Seminole Street, on the right when traveling east. On the grounds of the Springfield National Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1702 E Seminole St, Springfield MO 65804, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American Ozarks, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Veterans Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Springfield National Cemetery (a few steps from this marker); Revolutionary War Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Remember Pearl Harbor (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Confederate Burials In The National Cemetery (about 500 feet away); American Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away); Confederate Cemetery / Confederates (about 500 feet away); Vietnam Veterans Memorial (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Springfield.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 8, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 253 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 10, 2020, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
