Camp Butler National Cemetery - Springfield, IL
Posted by: 
cldisme
N 39° 49.910 W 089° 33.407
16S E 281206 N 4412220
At the start of the Civil War, Camp Butler was a mustering point for Union volunteers from Illinois, then became a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Confederates. Today, it is a National Cemetery for all veterans.
Waymark Code: WM38M2
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 02/26/2008
Views: 4
CAMP BUTLER NATIONAL CEMETERY, 187.3m., opened in 1862, contains the bodies of may Union and Confederate soldiers. Still used, the cemetery accepts for burial the body of any honorably discharged U.S. soldier. During the Civil War the site, with adjacent lands, comprised a huge training camp and military prison. Here approximately one-third of the Illinois regiments that served in the Civil War were mustered into the Federal service and given preliminary training.
Page 628; Tour 21: The Lincoln National Memorial Highway - Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide
As described, Camp Butler is a National Cemetery with not only Union and Confederate graves (which are marked with a pointed-peak gravestone instead of the more familiar rounded one), but also soldiers from all the subsequent wars. With a donation of land from an adjoining property owner, the Camp Butler National Cemetery is still accepting burials of honorably discharged US soldiers.
If the office is not open during your visit, there is a grave locator kiosk if you know the first and last name of the veteran you wish to visit.
Book: Illinois
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 628
Year Originally Published: 1939
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