Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery - Fort Leavenworth, KS
Posted by: gparkes
N 39° 21.084 W 094° 55.774
15S E 333738 N 4357548
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetary... final resting place for some of America's finest.
Waymark Code: WM5FGC
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 12/31/2008
Views: 12
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetary
On July 17, 1862, Congress enacted legislation that authorized the purchase of cemetery grounds to be used "for soldiers who shall have died in the service of the country". By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been buried in 73 national cemeteries. Most of the cemeteries were located near former battlefields or what were once war time camps. Fort Leavenworth National cemetery was one of the largest, at 36 acres.
Due to military tradition, the cemetery was originally divided into burial areas for enlisted personnel and a separate area for officers, but in 1858 the remains were re-interred into a single site. In the years following the Civil War, the bodies of Union soldiers from Kansas City, Kansas and Independence, Missouri, were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. In addition, the cemetery was used as the burial ground for soldiers who served at frontier posts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming. By 1870, there were more than 1,000 Union soldiers interred at Fort Leavenworth, along with approximately 170 civilians and 7 Confederate prisoners of war. After the Indian Wars, between 1885 and 1907 many of the western Army outposts were vacated and as many as 2,000 remains were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth.
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 15, 1999.
as quoted from the wikipedia entry
This cemetary is loaded with people from history. Most you might not recognize, however, a little digging shows you how this variety of people was essential in forming this nation.
Of those the following is a short listing of those intered in the cemetary:
Henry Leavenworth, Brigadier General the Fort's namesake is centrally located to the entrance
Harry Bell, Captain Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Philippine-American War.
Thomas W. Custer, 2nd Lieutenant two time Medal of Honor recipient and brother of George Armstrong Custer
William E. Hall, Lieutenant Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II
John Kyle, Corporal Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Indian Wars
Fitz Lee, Private Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Spanish-American Wars
George Miller, Private Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Indian Wars
Edward Pengally, Private Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Indian Wars
Joseph Robinson, First Sergent Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Indian Wars
Street address: Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth, KS USA
County / Borough / Parish: Leavenworth County
Year listed: 1999
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1850-1949
Historic function: Funerary - Cemetery
Current function: Funerary - Cemetery
Privately owned?: no
Hours of operation: From: 7:00 AM To: 6:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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