Chattanooga National Cemetery: Difference between revisions

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>

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