Hampton National Cemetery

Hampton National Cemetery. . , National Cemetery , The U.S. Army established Hampton National Cemetery in 1866 about two miles from Fort Monroe. The Southern Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, opened in 1870, used this cemetery when residents died., By 1874, the 11-acre cemetery contained 5,209 individuals, including 83 citizens, women, and children; 475 of the graves were unknown. Land to the east was purchased in 1892 to provide additional burial space. This “Phoebus Section” was expanded again in 1894 and 1934. A second Empire-style superintendent’s lodge was finished in 1872; it was replaced in 1940., Sections D and E contain the remains of 272 Confederate prisoners of war. The soldiers were held at various Tidewater Virginia locations including Fort Monroe, Newport News, and Portsmouth. Both sections contain granite blocks inscribed “To Our Confederate Dead.”, (left sidebar) , The Fort, Battles and Hospitals , The Hampton, Virginia-area saw many significant Civil War events. At Fort Monroe in 1861, Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler declared three slaves seeking protection behind Union lines to be “contraband of war.” Butler’s precedent helped free enslaved persons before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863., Also in 1862, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan used Fort Monroe as his Peninsular Campaign base. At nearby Hampton Roads, the U.S.S. Monitor and C.S.S. Merrimac fought to a draw in the first engagement of ironclad warships. Later, Butler launched his 1864 Richmond campaign from the fort., Troops in these and other campaigns often returned to Hampton as casualties. Chesapeake Military Hospital and Hampton Military Hospital, with a total of 1,800 beds, treated sick and wounded officers and enlisted men., (right sidebar) , Medal of Honor Recipients , Six Civil War recipients of the Medal of Honor are buried here. Created in 1863, the medal is the highest award for military valor in the in the U.S. Armed Services. For acts above and beyond the call of duty, 1,522 individuals who served in the Civil War received the medal., Michael Cassidy, landsman on the U.S.S. Lackawawanna, August 5, 1864 (Phoebus Section B, Grave 9503)., James R. Garrison, coal heaver on the U.S.S. Hartford, August 5, 1864 (Phoebus Section B, Grave 95230), Sgt. Alfred B. Hilton, Company H, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, September 29, 1864 (Hampton Section E, Grave 1231), First Lt. Harry) Henry J. Mandy, Company B, 4th New York Cavalry, August 15, 1864 (Phoebus Section C, Grave 8709), Pvt. Charles Veale, Company D, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, September 29, 1864 (Hampton Section F, Grave 5097)., David Warren, coxswain on the U.S.S. Monticello, June 23-25, 1864 (Phoebus Section C, Grave 7972)., (captions) , Fort Monroe as it appeared c. 1861. Library of Congress. , Detail of an 1892 cemetery plan showing the two cemetery tracts, Soldiers Home and Fort Monroe. Hatched areas show the original (left) and new (right) cemetery properties. National Archives and Records Administration. , Civil War Army Medal of Honor. Gettysburg Military Park.