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Because of its location at the confluence of the Des Moines and
Mississippi rivers Keokuk became a transportation hub for assembling Union forces
during the Civil War. Thousands of these soldiers would return from
Southern battlefields to Keokuk as casualties, either having been
wounded or contracting an illness, to be cared for at one of the five
military hospitals that were eventually located in Keokuk. The decision
to located these hospitals in Keokuk was due to the presence of the College of Physicians and
Surgeons and the ability of the Union Army to transport the casualties
up the Mississippi River. The Keokuk National Cemetery was one of fourteen national
cemeteries to be authorized by the U.S. Congress in an act of
July 17, 1862 whereby President Lincoln was authorized "to purchase
cemetery grounds... to be used as a National Cemetery for soldiers who
shall have died in the service of their country." Most of these
cemeteries, like Keokuk, were not battlefield sites but as a general
rule located within properties owned by cemetery associations at
sites where troops were mobilized and where hospitals were located. The
Keokuk National Cemetery is located on 22.7 acres of land that was part
of Oakland Cemetery and donated by the City of Keokuk in 1862. By the end of the war there were 635
interments in the Keokuk National Cemetery: 600 known Union soldiers, 27 unknown
soldiers, and the remains of 8 Confederate soldiers who died in
Keokuk as prisoners of war.
The cemetery is currently the final resting place for the remains of
over 4,000 American soldiers from all of the conflicts that have
occurred since the Civil War.
In 1908, the remains buried at the frontier post of
Fort Yates, N.D. were reinterred at Keokuk as were the remains of 156 from the
post cemetery at Des Moines, IA in 1948. There are several monuments to
veterans at the cemetery. The Unknown Soldiers monument was erected in
1912 by the Women’s Corps of Keokuk in honor of 48 unknown soldiers
buried at the cemetery. This monument is a large granite obelisk topped
with the figure of a Confederate soldier standing at parade rest. At an
unknown date the American War Dads and Auxiliaries of Iowa erected a
bronze wreath dedicated to Unknown Soldiers.
The Keokuk Veterans’ Memorial (photo above) was dedicated in 2005. This granite and
marble structure with five arches flanked by two wings and an obelisk
topped with an eagle stands gracefully on a grassy triangle between the
entrance to the historic portion of the Keokuk
National
Cemetery and
Oakland
Cemetery. Engravings of
battle scenes, the stirring words of Honor, Duty, Courage and Freedom, and
the names of nearly 1,400 Tri-State Area veterans are inscribed on the
memorial.
Visiting the
Keokuk National Cemetery & Veterans' Memorial
Visiting Hours
The the Keokuk
National Cemetery and Veterans' Memorial can be
visited daily from dawn to dusk.
There is no charge to visit the Keokuk National
Cemetery & Veterans' Memorial.
Location:
The Keokuk National Cemetery is located northwest
of downtown Keokuk. Take Main Street northwest and take a left on S.
16th Street. Follow S. 16th Street and take a right on Elm Street. Elm
Street will intersect with J. Street. Follow J Street to the Keokuk
National Cemetery & Veterans' Memorial. The Keokuk Veterans' Memorial is
located nearby at the corner of 18th and Carroll Streets.
 Learn more about the
Keokuk
area.
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