County of marker: St. Louis County
Location of marker: Longstreet Dr. & Monument Dr., Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Lemay
Erected by: US Department of Veterans Affairs
Marker Text:
JEFFERSON BARRACKS NATIONAL CEMETERY
Civil War Jefferson Barracks
Jefferson Barracks, established by the US Army in 1826, was in continuous use until 1946. Early in the Civil War, both pro-Union and pro-Confederate militia occupied St. Louis. Union militia drilled at Jefferson Barracks. In May 1861 pro-Confederate forces were expelled from the city.
Throughout the war Jefferson Barracks served as a hospital. the army converted existing buildings and erected new ones to serve as medical facilities. By the end of 1862, more than 5,000 sick and wounded had been treated at Jefferson Barracks General Hospital. In excess of 18,000 Union passed through it by the time the war ended in 1865.
National Cemetery
With the hospital came the need for a cemetery. The Jefferson Barracks post burial grounds had been in use since August 1827. By the tie of the Civil War, more than 600 soldiers and civilians had been buried there. The national cemetery, established in 1866, was expanded beyond the post cemetery. By 1869, it contained more than 10,000 graves, the majority known. Among the interred were 1.106 Confederate prisoners of war.
Two Civil War Medal of Honor recipients are buried here. Pvt. martin Schubert, 26th New York Infantry, picked up the colors and carried them until he was wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 13, 1862 (Section 4, Grave 12310)
Corp. Lorenzo D. Immell, 2nd U.S. Artillery, gathered abandoned cannon and continued to fire on Confederates at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, August 10, 1861 (Section 4, Grave 12342)
Civil War Monuments
Sculpture John K. Daniels of St. Paul, Minnesota, designed the female figure holding a laurel wreath, a symbol of glory and victory. The monument was erected at the intersection of Longstreet and Monument drives. Dedicated on May 15, 1922, it honors 164 Minnesota soldiers buried here. It is one of five Minnesota monuments placed at the national cemeteries.
In the early twentieth century, Annie Wittenmyer, Tent No. 3, Daughters of [Union] Veterans, erected a monument to the unknown Union dead interred at Jefferson Barracks.