View source for Baton Rouge National Cemetery

{{Short description|Historic military cemetery in Louisiana, United States}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Baton Rouge National Cemetery
| nrhp_type    =
| image        = File:Baton Rouge National Cemetery (circa 1899).jpg
| caption      = Cemetery entrance, c. 1899
| location     = 220 North 19th Street<br />[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
| coordinates  = {{coord|30.4496296|-91.1678788|format=dms|source:GNIS|display=it}}
| locmapin     = Baton Rouge
| built        = 1867
| architect    =
| architecture = Colonial Revival
| added        = July 09, 1997
| area         = {{convert|7.7|acre}}
| mpsub        = {{NRHP url|id=64500016|title=Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS}}
| refnum       = 97000768<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref>
}}
'''Baton Rouge National Cemetery''' is a [[United States National Cemetery]] located in [[East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana|East Baton Rouge Parish]], in the city of [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]. It encompasses {{convert|7.7|acre}}, and as of 2020, had over 5,000 interments.

The cemetery was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on July 9, 1997.<ref name="nris"/>

==History==
[[File:Massachusetts Monument by John Wilson Baton Rouge National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Massachusetts Monument by [[John Wilson (sculptor)|John Wilson]] Baton Rouge National Cemetery]]
Burials in the cemetery grounds took place as early as 1830, but the site was predominantly used during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] to bury soldiers who died in Baton Rouge and the surrounding battlefields, including [[Plaquemine, Louisiana|Plaquemine]] and [[Camden, Arkansas|Camden]]. It became an official National Cemetery in 1867,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Baton Rouge cemeteries|last=Faye.|first=Phillips|date=2012|publisher=Arcadia Pub|isbn=9780738591841|location=Charleston, S.C.|oclc=803992496}}</ref>{{Rp|79}} and rewards were given to anyone who reported the grave of a [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldier, so that his remains could be reinterred in the cemetery.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|79}} First superintendent was Henry W. Taylor, a discharged 1st Sergeant of Company B, 45th Infantry Regiment.<ref name=ladoc>{{cite web|url=https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojects/hp/nhl/attachments/Parish17/Scans/17006001.pdf|title=Baton Rouge National Cemetery|publisher=State of Louisiana's Division of Historic Preservation|author=|date=|accessdate=May 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507222325/https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojects/hp/nhl/attachments/Parish17/Scans/17006001.pdf|archive-date=May 7, 2018|url-status=dead}} with [https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojects/hp/nhl/view.asp?ID=210 four photos and two maps] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507222335/https://www.crt.state.la.us/dataprojects/hp/nhl/view.asp?ID=210 |date=2018-05-07 }}</ref><ref name=nrhpdoc>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|id=97000768}}|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Baton Rouge National Cemetery|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|author=Therese T. Sammartino|date=June 2, 1997|accessdate=May 7, 2018}} With {{NRHP url|id=97000768|photos=y|title=23 photos from 1997}}.</ref>

In 1878 two men, Michael and Bernard Jodd, were hired to build a brick wall around the cemetery, which was previously enclosed by a picket fence, but before it was completed, both men contracted [[yellow fever]] and died in September 1878. They were interred in the cemetery and the wall was completed by local laborers. The wall was surfaced with stucco in 1936. The entrance on North 19th Street is protected by a double iron gate built in 1933.<ref name=ladoc/><ref name=nrhpdoc/>

===Massachusetts Monument===
The cemetery contains a commemorative monument, erected in 1909 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and built by J. N. White and Sons. The monument celebrates the memory of officers of 31st and 41st Infantry and of the men from Massachusetts who lost their lives in the [[Department of the Gulf]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref name=ladoc/><ref name=nrhpdoc/>

==Notable interments==
* General [[Philemon Thomas]] (1763–1847). His remains were reinterred in the national cemetery in 1886. He was a veteran of both the American Revolutionary War and the [[War of 1812]], and he commanded the forces that captured the fort of Baton Rouge in 1810. He also served as a [[United States House of Representatives|Congressional Representative]] from the state of [[Louisiana]] in the [[Twenty-second United States Congress|22nd]] and [[Twenty-third United States Congress|23rd]] [[United States Congress]]es.<ref name=ladoc/><ref name=nrhpdoc/>
* Lieutenant General [[Troy H. Middleton|Troy Houston Middleton]] (1889–1976), [[World War II]] veteran and president of [[Louisiana State University]].
* Aden & Emma King, superintendent of the cemetery from 1920 to 1924. Aden died during his service and his wife Emma was appointed to the position upon his death.<ref name=ladoc/><ref name=nrhpdoc/>
* Levi S. Porter, superintendent of the cemetery from 1932 to 1934.<ref name=ladoc/><ref name=nrhpdoc/>

== See also ==
* [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]]
* [[U.S. National Cemetery|United States National Cemetery]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana]]
* [[List of cemeteries in Louisiana]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Baton Rouge National Cemetery}}
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/batonrouge.asp Baton Rouge National Cemetery]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/Louisiana/Baton_Rouge_National_Cemetery.html Civil War Era National Cemeteries]
* {{HALS |survey=LA-5 |id=la0506 |title=Baton Rouge National Cemetery, 220 North 19th Street, Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, LA |photos=35 |cap=4}}
* {{HALS |survey=LA-5-A |id=la0677 |title=Baton Rouge National Cemetery, Lodge |data=6 |link=no}}
* {{HALS |survey=LA-5-B |id=la0722 |title=Baton Rouge National Cemetery, Rostrum |data=4 |link=no}}
* {{Find a Grave cemetery}}
* {{GNIS|type=retired|2061992}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana}}
{{Portal bar|National Register of Historic Places|United States}}
{{East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana}}

[[Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Historic American Landscapes Survey in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Protected areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:United States national cemeteries]]
[[Category:Louisiana in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Geography of Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:1867 establishments in Louisiana]]