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Jefferson Barracks
National Cemetery
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
is one of the National Cemetery Administrations oldest interment sites and
serves as a burial place soldiers from all wars. The cemetery was part of
Jefferson Barracks, which was the U.S. Army’s first permanent base west of
the Mississippi River. Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery was formally
established as a national cemetery in 1866 but it is believed that the first
burial occurred the year after the post’s founding in 1827 when the infant
daughter of an officer stationed at Jefferson Barracks was interred at the
post cemetery. The Civil War
initiated the beginnings of a formal network of military cemeteries when
legislation was enacted in 1862 authorizing President Lincoln to purchase
cemetery grounds for use as enclosed national cemeteries for the soldiers
who died in the service of their country. The original portion of the
cemetery is located in the northeastern section of the present acreage. In
1869 the cemetery experienced enormous growth when more than 10,200
recovered remains of soldiers originally buried at other Missouri locations
moved here. The old cemetery contains approximately 20,000 gravesites,
including more than 1,000 Confederate dead. Over the years Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery has grown from its original size. The cemetery expanded to over double its size in the 1890s. During the Depression era Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers were responsible for building hard-surfaced roads and walks and concrete curbs. They also removed some of the original stone wall enclosure, constructed new stone walls, and renovated the 1872 brick rostrum. In 1946 a new stone boundary wall and entrance gate were erected. Legislation was passed in 1947 authorizing the expansion of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery by using federally owned lands no longer needed for military purposes. The cemetery has a number of monuments and memorials dedicated to groups that served their country. Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Visiting Jefferson
Barracks National Cemetery
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