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Knoxville National Cemetery: Difference between revisions
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'''Knoxville National Cemetery''' is a [[United States National Cemetery]] located in the city of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], United States. Established during the | '''Knoxville National Cemetery''' is a [[United States National Cemetery]] located in the city of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]], United States. Established during the Civil War in 1863, the cemetery currently encompasses {{convert|9.8|acre|ha}}, and as of the end of 2007, had 9,006 interments. The {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} Union Soldier monument, which stands in the eastern corner of the cemetery, is one of the largest Union monuments in the South.<ref name=marblecity>Jack Neely, ''The Marble City: A Photographic Tour of Knoxville's Graveyards'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1999), pp. xx–xxi, 47.</ref> In 1996, the cemetery was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as part of a multiple properties submission for national cemeteries. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
Knoxville National Cemetery was established by Major General [[Ambrose Burnside]], whose | Knoxville National Cemetery was established by Major General [[Ambrose Burnside]], whose Union forces had liberated [[Knoxville]] in September 1863 at the height of the Civil War. Burnside assigned the task of layout out the cemetery to his assistant [[quartermaster]], Captain E.B. Chamberlain. The cemetery's first burials were Union dead exhumed and moved from [[Cumberland Gap]] and other parts of the region. Chamberlain's plan was so effective, that the cemetery was one of the few in the nation that required no alterations upon being designated a national cemetery at the end of the war.<ref name=pdf>[http://www.cem.va.gov/pdf/knoxville.pdf Knoxville National Cemetery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622012639/http://www.cem.va.gov/pdf/knoxville.pdf |date=2011-06-22 }}. Retrieved: 28 April 2010.</ref> | ||
==Layout== | ==Layout== | ||
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The graves at Knoxville National Cemetery are arranged in a circular pattern, with each burial section separated by walkways. The burial sections each form one quarter of the circle, with the headstones converging toward the middle, where there is a flagpole and cloth canopy. A stone wall surrounds the perimeter, the southeast section of which divides the cemetery from the adjacent [[Old Gray Cemetery]]. The northeast section of the wall, which contains the main entrance, is topped by an iron fence, with the entrance secured by an iron double-gate. The administrative office and service building is located just inside the gate. A marker containing several lines from the [[Theodore O'Hara]] poem, ''[[Bivouac of the Dead]]'', faces the graves in the northeast corner.<ref name=pdf /> | The graves at Knoxville National Cemetery are arranged in a circular pattern, with each burial section separated by walkways. The burial sections each form one quarter of the circle, with the headstones converging toward the middle, where there is a flagpole and cloth canopy. A stone wall surrounds the perimeter, the southeast section of which divides the cemetery from the adjacent [[Old Gray Cemetery]]. The northeast section of the wall, which contains the main entrance, is topped by an iron fence, with the entrance secured by an iron double-gate. The administrative office and service building is located just inside the gate. A marker containing several lines from the [[Theodore O'Hara]] poem, ''[[Bivouac of the Dead]]'', faces the graves in the northeast corner.<ref name=pdf /> | ||
Most of the grave markers are marble headstones of a standard size and shape, although a few have larger and more elaborate markers. Inscriptions typically give the deceased's name and years lived, and in some cases, note the deceased's rank, company, and/or war in which they served. The burials are limited to veterans and spouses of veterans. After the | Most of the grave markers are marble headstones of a standard size and shape, although a few have larger and more elaborate markers. Inscriptions typically give the deceased's name and years lived, and in some cases, note the deceased's rank, company, and/or war in which they served. The burials are limited to veterans and spouses of veterans. After the Civil War, the cemetery only accepted Union burials, although the cemetery contains at least one [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] grave. The cemetery is currently administered by [[Mountain Home National Cemetery]], and contains veterans of every war since the Civil War.<ref>U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEMs/nchp/knoxville.asp Knoxville National Cemetery]. 12 January 2010. Retrieved: 28 April 2010.</ref> | ||
==Union Soldier monument== | ==Union Soldier monument== | ||
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The Union Soldier monument, in the cemetery's eastern corner, was erected in the early 1900s. In 1892, Knoxville's [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] veterans installed a {{convert|48|ft|m|adj=on}} monument topped by a statue of a Confederate soldier at the Confederate National Cemetery near the [[Mabry-Hazen House]] in [[East Knoxville]]. Not to be outdone, the local chapter of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] formed a commission, headed by former [[Union Army]] officer and ''Knoxville Journal'' publisher [[William Rule (American editor)|William Rule]] (1839–1928), to raise money to build a monument of greater size at Knoxville National Cemetery.<ref name=marblecity /> | The Union Soldier monument, in the cemetery's eastern corner, was erected in the early 1900s. In 1892, Knoxville's [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] veterans installed a {{convert|48|ft|m|adj=on}} monument topped by a statue of a Confederate soldier at the Confederate National Cemetery near the [[Mabry-Hazen House]] in [[East Knoxville]]. Not to be outdone, the local chapter of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] formed a commission, headed by former [[Union Army]] officer and ''Knoxville Journal'' publisher [[William Rule (American editor)|William Rule]] (1839–1928), to raise money to build a monument of greater size at Knoxville National Cemetery.<ref name=marblecity /> | ||
Completed in 1901, the monument initially stood {{convert|50|ft|m}} – the height having been calculated to surpass that of the Confederates' monument – and was topped by a bronze eagle with wings spread.<ref name=marblecity /><ref name=pdf /> On August 22, 1904, however, the eagle was shattered by a bolt of lightning, the sound of which rattled [[Knoxville]] and could be heard for miles all around.<ref name=marblecity /> Undaunted, the GAR commissioners planned immediate reconstruction, using federal funds secured by Congressman [[Henry R. Gibson]]. The new monument, designed by the local architectural firm [[Baumann family (architects)|Baumann Brothers]], largely followed the original design, the exception being a marble statue of a | Completed in 1901, the monument initially stood {{convert|50|ft|m}} – the height having been calculated to surpass that of the Confederates' monument – and was topped by a bronze eagle with wings spread.<ref name=marblecity /><ref name=pdf /> On August 22, 1904, however, the eagle was shattered by a bolt of lightning, the sound of which rattled [[Knoxville]] and could be heard for miles all around.<ref name=marblecity /> Undaunted, the GAR commissioners planned immediate reconstruction, using federal funds secured by Congressman [[Henry R. Gibson]]. The new monument, designed by the local architectural firm [[Baumann family (architects)|Baumann Brothers]], largely followed the original design, the exception being a marble statue of a Union soldier placed atop the monument rather than an eagle. The new monument was completed on October 15, 1906.<ref name=pdf /> | ||
The monument, built of [[Tennessee marble|locally quarried marble]], represents a medieval fortress, with stained glass windows and an inner room and staircase. The {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} soldier statue stands at post atop the main tower. The monument is sometimes called the "Wilder Monument," as local legend suggests the soldier bears the likeness of Union general and [[East Tennessee]] businessman [[John T. Wilder]].<ref name=pdf /> | The monument, built of [[Tennessee marble|locally quarried marble]], represents a medieval fortress, with stained glass windows and an inner room and staircase. The {{convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} soldier statue stands at post atop the main tower. The monument is sometimes called the "Wilder Monument," as local legend suggests the soldier bears the likeness of Union general and [[East Tennessee]] businessman [[John T. Wilder]].<ref name=pdf /> | ||
==Notable interments== | ==Notable interments== | ||
* | * Medal of Honor recipients | ||
Sergeant [[Troy A. McGill]] (1914–1944), for action in [[World War II]]. | |||
Private [[Timothy Spillane]] (1842–1901), for action at the [[Battle of Hatcher's Run]] during the Civil War.<ref>[http://www.vconline.org.uk/timothy-spillane/4594309455 vconline.org.uk]</ref> | |||
* Others | * Others | ||
Brevet Major General [[Joseph Alexander Cooper]] (1823–1910), veteran of the [[Mexican–American War]] and U.S. Civil War. | |||
Brigadier General [[Robert Neyland]] (1892–1962), veteran of World War I and World War II; aide to [[Douglas MacArthur]], then superintendent of [[West Point]]. Neyland was head coach of the [[Tennessee Volunteers football]] team and [[Neyland Stadium]] is named after him. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||