Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery: Difference between revisions

'''Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery''' is a [[United States National Cemetery]] located on [[Fort Leavenworth]], a [[United States Army]] installation north of [[Leavenworth, Kansas]]. It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early as 1844, and was one of the twelve original United States National Cemeteries designated by Abraham Lincoln. The cemetery is the resting place of nine Medal of Honor recipients, but most are the less famous casualties of war.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cem.va.gov/nchp/ftleavenworth.htm |title=Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery |access-date=2006-03-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060207103308/http://www.cem.va.gov/nchp/ftleavenworth.htm |archive-date=2006-02-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was named for Brigadier General [[Henry Leavenworth]], who was re-interred there in 1902 from Woodland Cemetery in [[Delhi (town), New York|Delhi, New York]]. Administered by the [[United States Department of Veterans Affairs]], it occupies approximately {{convert|36.1|acre}} and was site to over 22,00 interments, as of 2020. It is maintained by [[Leavenworth National Cemetery]].

On July 17, 1862, [[United States Congress|Congress]] enacted legislation that authorized the purchase of cemetery grounds to be used "for soldiers who shall have died in the service of the country". By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been buried in 73 national cemeteries. Most of the cemeteries were located near former battlefields or what were once war time camps. Fort Leavenworth National cemetery was one of the largest, at 36.1 acres. The Leavenworth cemetery was also closely associated with the Western Branch National Military Home, "[[old soldiers' home]]" (now VA Eisenhower Medical Center) and became a National Cemetery in 1973.<ref>United States Department of Veterans Affairs, "Cemeteries – Leavenworth National Cemetery" at http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/leavenworth.asp (accessed January 3, 2010).</ref>

Due to military tradition, the cemetery was originally divided into burial areas for enlisted personnel and a separate area for officers, but in 1858 the remains were re-interred into a single site. In the years following the Civil War, the bodies of Union soldiers from [[Kansas City, Kansas]] and [[Independence, Missouri]], were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. In addition, the cemetery was used as the burial ground for soldiers who served at frontier posts of [[New Mexico]], [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]] and [[Wyoming]]. By 1870, there were more than 1,000 Union soldiers interred at Fort Leavenworth, along with approximately 170 civilians and 7 [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] prisoners of war. After the [[Indian Wars]], between 1885 and 1907 many of the western Army outposts were vacated and as many as 2,000 remains were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth.

* Medal of Honor recipients

  Captain [[Thomas Custer|Thomas W. Custer]] (1845–1876{{KIA}}), brother of [[George Armstrong Custer]], two time recipient – first for action at the [[Battle of Namozine Church]], and second for action at the [[Battle of Sayler's Creek]], both during the Civil War