View source for Chattanooga National Cemetery

{{Short description|Historic veterans cemetery in Hamilton County, Tennessee}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name            = Chattanooga National Cemetery
| nrhp_type       =
| image           = Entrance to Chattanooga National Cemetery.jpg
| caption         =
| location        = 1200 Bailey Ave.<br />[[Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
| nearest_city    =
| coordinates     = {{coord|35|02|06|N|85|17|22|W|source:GNIS|display=it}}
| area            =
| built           = December 25, 1863
| architect       =
| architecture    =
| added           = September 16, 1996
| visitation_num  =
| visitation_year =
| refnum          = 96001013
| mpsub           = Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS
| website         = [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/chattanooga.asp Chattanooga National Cemetery]
}}
[[File:C-Chatanooga Cemetery2.jpg|thumb|Monument and graves of the Civil War [[Medal of Honor]] recipients who took part in the [[Great Locomotive Chase]]]]
[[File:Graves at Chattanooga National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|Graves stretching to the top of the hill in the center of the cemetery.]]
[[File:View toward Lookout Mountain from Chattanooga National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|View across the cemetery to [[Lookout Mountain]], the site of one of the battles in 1862.]]
[[File:Plaque about Chattanooga National Cemetery.jpg|thumb|Plaque about the Chattanooga National Cemetery]]
[[File:ChattanogaNationalCemetery.jpg|thumb|Gate on Bailey Ave]]
'''Chattanooga National Cemetery''' is a [[United States National Cemetery]] located near the center of the city of [[Chattanooga]] in [[Hamilton County, Tennessee]]. Administered by the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]], it encompasses {{convert|120.9|acre}}, and as of 2014, had more than 50,000 interments.

==History==
The cemetery was established in 1863, by an order from Major General [[George Henry Thomas]] after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] [[Chattanooga Campaign|Battles of Chattanooga]], as a place to inter [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] soldiers who fell in combat. {{convert|75|acre}} of land was initially appropriated from two local land owners, but later purchased. It became Chattanooga National Cemetery in 1867. By 1870 more than 12,000 interments had been made, most of whom were unknown. Many nearby battlefield burials were also reinterred in Chattanooga, including nearly 1,500 burials from the [[Battle of Chickamauga]]. [[Franklin Guest Smith]], who served as secretary and member of the [[Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park]] Commission from 1893 until 1908, played an important role in preserving and expanding the cemetery, and a monument at the cemetery was dedicated in his honor.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Brown |editor1-first=John Jr. |editor2-last=Boyd |editor2-first=James |date=1922 |title=History of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties |volume=III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ym0UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1458 |location=Chicago, IL |publisher=Lewis Publishing Company |page=1458 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

During [[World War I]] (78) and [[World War II]] (108) [[Germany|German]] prisoners of war who died while in captivity were buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery. After the war, the German government paid to have other POWs disinterred from [[Hot Springs National Cemetery]] and moved to Chattanooga.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kriegsgräberstätte Chattanooga|url=https://kriegsgraeberstaetten.volksbund.de/friedhof/chattanooga|website=Volksbund dt. Kriegsgräberstätte|language=de}}</ref>

Chattanooga National Cemetery was listed in the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1996.

Originally the site was expected to close for new burials in 2015.  However, due to a recent expansion project that will add the capacity for more than 5,000 interments, the cemetery is now expected to be available for burials until 2045.

==Notable monuments==
* A 40-foot high memorial archway, constructed in 1868.
* The Andrews Raiders Memorial, erected in 1890.<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/2016800386/ Library of Congress]</ref> It includes a bronze replica of the [[locomotive]] known as [[The General (locomotive)|''The General'']], stolen by Union [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] [[James J. Andrews]] and his men in the [[Great Locomotive Chase]].
* German World War I prisoner of war monument, erected by the German government in 1935.

==Notable interments==
* The [[Andrews Raiders]]
 [[Medal of Honor]] recipients
* Private [[Samuel Robertson (Medal of Honor)|Samuel Robertson]]<ref name=cwb>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LmlZAD1THCwC&dq=Samuel+Robertson+chattanooga+national&pg=PA42 ''Civil War Battlefields'']</ref>
* Sergeant Major [[Marion A. Ross]]<ref name=cwb/>
* Sergeant [[John Morehead Scott|John M. Scott]]<ref name=cwb/>
* Private [[Samuel Slavens]]<ref name=cwb/>'
 Other Raiders
* [[James J. Andrews]], leader of the raid (civilian)<ref name=cwb/>
* [[William Hunter Campbell|William H. Campbell]], civilian member<ref name=cwb/>
* Private Philip G. Shadrack<ref name=cwb/>
* Private George D. Wilson<ref name=cwb/>
* [[Medal of Honor]] recipients
 Master Sergeant [[Ray E. Duke]], for action in the [[Korean War]]. Also, recipient of Republic of Korea's version of the Medal of Honor (the Merit Taegug Medal)
 Corporal [[Desmond Doss]], for action in World War II, the first [[conscientious objector]] to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
 Private [[William F. Zion]], USMC, for action in the [[Boxer Rebellion]]
 Technical Sergeant [[Charles H. Coolidge|Charles Coolidge]], US Army, last person to receive the award during [[World War II]]
* Other notables
 [[Cal Ermer]], [[Major League Baseball]] player and [[Marine (military)|Marine Corps]] veteran.
 [[William P. Sanders]], Civil War Union Army officer.
 [[Timothy Robbins Stanley|Timothy R. Stanley]], [[Brigadier General]] during the Civil War.
 [[Sammy Strang]], Major League Baseball player and [[United States Military Academy]] coach.
* Other noteworthy interments
 186 foreign prisoners of war from World War I and [[World War II]] including:
*[[Karl Bulowius]], German army general.
 One [[Canadian Army|Canadian soldier]] of World War I.<ref name=cwgc>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/4010475/CAMP,%20THOMAS] CWGC Casualty Record.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of cemeteries in Tennessee]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Chattanooga National Cemetery}}
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/chattanooga.asp Chattanooga National Cemetery]
* [http://www.aboutnorthgeorgia.com/ang/Chattanooga_National_Cemetery National Cemetery at Chattanooga]
* {{HALS |survey=TN-1 |id=tn0318 |title=Chattanooga National Cemetery, 1200 Bailey Avenue, Chattanooga, Hamilton County, TN |photos=41 |cap=4}}
* {{GNIS|type=retired|2701927}}
* {{Find a Grave cemetery}}
* [http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/4001777/CHATTANOOGA%20NATIONAL%20CEMETERY CWGC: Chattanooga National Cemetery]

{{Chattanooga, Tennessee landmarks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American Civil War cemeteries]]
[[Category:Protected areas of Hamilton County, Tennessee]]
[[Category:United States national cemeteries]]
[[Category:Tennessee in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Historic American Landscapes Survey in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Geography of Chattanooga, Tennessee|National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
[[Category:1863 establishments in Tennessee]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Chattanooga, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the United States]]