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Brief History of the National Cemetery System
In the United States, development of national cemeteries began as the Civil War was
waged, trying and testing the very existence of a young nation.
During the early years of the war, the dead were buried in fields and churchyards, or
close to the hospitals and prison camps where they died. The number of dead soon exceeded
that of any previous conflict of the North American continent.
President Lincoln, on July 17, 1862, signed legislation which authorized the creation
of national cemeteries, "...for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the
country." These cemeteries were the beginning of what is now known as the National
Cemetery System (NCS).
At the end of the Civil War, search and recovery teams visited hundreds of
battlefields, churchyards, plantations and other locations where hasty combat interments
had been made. More than a quarter of a million remains were disinterred. The
reinterment
process took five years to complete and by 1870, 73 national cemeteries were under the
jurisdiction of the federal government. Not surprisingly, many cemeteries are located in
the southeast near the sites of Civil War battles and military hospitals.
From those times to 1973, most of these cemeteries were operated by the Department of
the Army. Today the NCS of the Department of Veterans Affairs oversees 114 national
cemeteries in the United States and Puerto Rico. Sixteen other are administered by the
Army or the Department of the Interior. Arlington National Cemetery is operated by the
Department of the Army.
Just eight years after the Civil War, Congress opened the national cemeteries to all
honorably discharged veterans of the Union forces.
Legislation passed after World War I made burial in national cemeteries available to
American veterans of all wartime service. After World War II, Congress expanded
eligibility for burial to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, to American war veterans
of allied armed forces and to veterans' spouses and dependent children.
In June 1973, Public Law 93-43 authorized the transfer of 82 cemeteries from the
Department of the Army to the Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA). VA already had 21 cemeteries under its jurisdiction associated with its
hospitals and soldiers homes. VA established 12 additional national cemeteries by 1992 to
serve America's veterans of military service.
As a nation, we collectively remember these men and women. Famous or obscure, recruit
or five-star general, these veterans gave themselves to protect the ideals of liberty.
They earned the appreciation and respect not only of their friends and families, but of
America and her allies. National cemeteries are enduring testimonials to that
appreciation.
Additional Information: National Cemetery
Administration History
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