The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War , in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, and Gettysburg National Cemetery , under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service , were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.
6-487: Marietta National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Marietta in Cobb County, Georgia . It encompasses 23.3 acres (9.4 ha), and as of the end of 2006, had 18,742 interments . It is closed to new interments, and is now maintained by the new Georgia National Cemetery . Originally established in 1866 by General George Henry Thomas as Marietta and Atlanta National Cemetery , it
12-466: A total of 73 Civil War-Era National Cemeteries from 1861 to 1868. Final military honors are provided for qualified Veterans by volunteer veteran or National Guard details known as Memorial Honor Details (MHD), upon application by family members through their choice of mortuary handling the deceased. *Please note that the year listed is the official date of establishment listed by the VA. This may differ from
18-806: The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains 148 national cemeteries as well as the Nationwide Grave-site Locator , which can be used to find burial locations of American military Veterans through their searchable website. The Department of the Army maintains two national cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery and United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery . The National Park Service (NPS) maintains 14 national cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields. The American Battle Monuments Commission , an independent agency of
24-694: The executive branch, established by Congress in 1923, maintains 26 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside the United States. Twelve national cemeteries were established in 1862. A total of 34 were established during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Additional cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman . Congress passed additional laws to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867. The National Cemetery Administration lists
30-688: The land was used primarily to inter Union soldiers, while the others were buried in the Marietta Confederate Cemetery . As part of the land sale agreement, the Cole family has their own plot within the National Cemetery. Marietta National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 18, 1998. United States National Cemetery The National Cemetery Administration of
36-410: Was intended to provide interment for nearly 10,000 Union dead from General William Tecumseh Sherman ’s Atlanta Campaign . The land for the cemetery was donated by local resident Henry Cole, as a place to inter both Union and Confederate soldiers. His idea was that by burying together those who had fallen together in battle, it could help foster a kind of peace. Both sides rejected his proposal, and
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