|
 Fort Scott National Cemetery - Fort Scott, Kansas Posted by:  iconions
N 37° 49.287 W 094° 41.618
15S E 350938 N 4187355
This National Cemetery was one of the original 14 Congress authorized in 1862.
Waymark Code: WMYH2H
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 06/15/2018
Views: 2
The Fort Scott National Cemetery is located at 900 East National Avenue, Fort Scott, Kansas, in Bourbon County. The cemetery is about 2 miles from the post office and business section of the town. The site is in the shape of an oblong square. The main entrance is situated at the center of the west side and is enclosed by a double ornamental wrought-iron gate and flanked by stone pillars which were coursed to resemble block. A road leads from this gate to the center of the grounds and there branches to the north and the south, to create a somewhat heart-shaped section before joining at the east of the cemetery to form the east exit drive, where there is also a wrought-iron gate supported by stone pillars. This exit drive is used as a service entrance. Two iron pedestrian gates are located on the east side of the cemetery, one at the service entrance and one near the utility building. The cemetery originally contained four acres and was enclosed by a board fence. In 1873, a rough cut rock wall laid in cement with a coping of flag rock was installed and encloses 10.5 acres. This wall is 3,200 feet long and 4 1/2 feet high. The lodge and utility building are located near the northeast corner of the cemetery, and a rostrum is located to the north of the service entrance. The flagpole is situated to the west of the service entrance between the lodge and the rostrum.
Graves were originally marked by head and foot boards or stakes, which were later replaced with upright marble headstones. The dates of the replacements are unknown. In 1982, a policy decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs provided for the use of flat markers in national cemeteries. As a result, one section in the cemetery (Section 8) is marked with flat granite markers. The policy decision was later reversed by the passage of Public Law 99-576 which mandated that for all interments that occur on or after January 1, 1987, the grave markers will be upright. As of October 31, 1998, there were 4,011 sites used for the interment of 4,618 casketed remains and 111 sites used for the interment of 232 cremated remains. As of October 31, 1998, there were 1,485 sites available for the interment of casketed remains and 58 sites available for the interment of cremated remains.
- National Register Application
Fort Scott National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Fort Scott, in Bourbon County, Kansas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 21.8 acres (8.8 ha), and as of 2014, had more than 7,000 interments. It is one of three national cemeteries in Kansas (the other two being Fort Leavenworth and Leavenworth).
Fort Scott was established in 1842, on what was known as Military Road, between Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. It was named for Lieutenant General Winfield Scott. During the initial years, a small plot on the west side of the fort was used as a cemetery. In 1861, a new plot was purchased, and named Presbyterian Graveyard as it was maintained by the Presbyterian Church. During the American Civil War, it was used to inter soldiers who died in battles near in the area. The plot and an adjacent tract of land became Fort Scott National Cemetery on November 15, 1862. One of the twelve original United States National Cemeteries designated by Abraham Lincoln, it has the distinction of being listed as U.S. National Cemetery #1.
At the end of the Civil War, the original fort cemetery interments were moved into the National Cemetery, as well, at the close of the Indian Wars, many frontier posts, such as Fort Lincoln, were abandoned and had their cemeteries transferred to Fort Scott.
The cemetery also contains the Commonwealth war graves of two Royal Canadian Air Force officers of World War II.
Fort Scott National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
- Fort Scott National Cemetery Wikipedia Entry Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|
|