Civil War Medicine (and Writing): Jefferson City (MO) National Cemetery

Friday, May 23, 2014

Jefferson City (MO) National Cemetery

Jefferson City National Cemetery - Photo by Jim Schmidt

In commemoration of Memorial Day 2014, I happily share photos from my recent visit to Jefferson City (Missouri) National Cemetery.

Entrance to Jefferson City National Cemetery - Photo by Jim Schmidt

There are 147 national cemeteries in the United States, maintained by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of the Army, or the National Park Service (NPS) maintains 14 cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields. Additionally the American Battle Monuments Commission maintains 24 American military cemeteries overseas.

It's always a good time to visit one of the cemeteries, but especially on Memorial Day. My visit to the Jefferson City National Cemetery added to the list that I've been privileged to visit:

Cold Harbor (VA) National Cemetery
Vicksburg (MS) National Cemetery
Fredericksburg (VA) National Cemetery
Springfield (MO) National Cemetery - (blog posts here, here, here)
Jefferson Barracks (MO) National Cemetery
Houston (TX) National Cemetery
Jefferson City (MO) National Cemetery

You can learn more about particulars of the Jefferson City National Cemetery at the official VA and NPS websites. Extracts from the NPS website appear below with some of my photographs.

Located a quarter-mile southeast of the state capitol building, the Jefferson City National Cemetery was [officially] established in 1867 as a burial place for Union soldiers who died in the area. The cemetery features a rectangular layout that has changed little since the 1860s. Union troop burials at the cemetery occurred as early as 1861, long before its official establishment as a national cemetery in 1867. The grounds are surrounded by an ashlar stone wall, which replaced the original wooden fence in 1871. - NPS

Jefferson City National Cemetery - Photo by Jim Schmidt

Just inside the main gate is the superintendent’s lodge, a one-and-one-half story brick building of the Second Empire style. The lodge’s design follows the standard plan issued by U.S. Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs. The lodge is one of the 17 remaining Second Empire-style Meigs lodges found at Civil War-era national cemeteries. Built in 1870, the L-shaped building was constructed of ashlar stone and features stone quoins on the corner of the building. Typical of Second Empire architecture, the lodge is topped by a Mansard roof covered in hexagonal slate tiles of varying colors. In 1931, a one-story kitchen addition was built at the rear of the lodge. - NPS

1870s Superintendent's Lodge- Photo by Jim Schmidt

Between burial sections 7 and 9, a monument dedicated to the 108 members of the Missouri Volunteer Infantry killed in 1864 in an unsuccessful Union attack in Centralia, Missouri was constructed. Originally, 78 of the dead were buried in a trench grave in Centralia. In 1873, their remains were reinterred at Jefferson City National Cemetery. The monument, a limestone obelisk, bears the name of each of the 108 volunteers killed, including their commander Major A.V.E. Johnson. - NPS

[Note: The 150th anniversary of the Centralia Massacre is this September; stay tuned to this blog for more on this tragic, but interesting, event]