National Cemetery System: Difference between revisions

The '''United States National Cemetery System''' is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the [[United States]] and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=012/llsl012.db&recNum=627|access-date=2020-12-13|website=memory.loc.gov}}</ref>  By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administration |first=National Cemetery |title=Dates of Establishment: National Cemeteries & NCA Burial Sites (1 of 6) - National Cemetery Administration |url=https://www.cem.va.gov/facts/Dates_of_Establishment_1.asp |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=www.cem.va.gov |language=en}}</ref> Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, [[Arlington National Cemetery]] which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, and [[Gettysburg National Cemetery]], under the jurisdiction of the [[National Park Service]], were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.

Twelve national cemeteries were established in 1862.  A total of 34 were established during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865.  Additional cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clements.umich.edu/Webguides/Schoff/UZ/Whitman.html |title=Edmund Whitman (1812–1873) |access-date=2008-10-31 |publisher=University of Michigan }}</ref> Congress passed additional laws to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867.<ref>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl&fileName=014/llsl014.db&recNum=430 Chap. LXI. 14 Stat. 399] from [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation:  U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875"]. [[Library of Congress]], [[Law Library of Congress]].  Retrieved April 25, 2012.</ref> The National Cemetery Administration lists a total of 73 Civil War-Era National Cemeteries from 1861 to 1868.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Administration |first=National Cemetery |title=VA.gov {{!}} Veterans Affairs |url=https://www.cem.va.gov/facts/Dates_of_Establishment_1.asp |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=www.cem.va.gov |language=en}}</ref>