Fort Scott National Cemetery

Fort Scott National Historic Site
Location 900 East National Ave., Fort Scott, Kansas
Coordinates 37°49′16″N 94°41′37″W / 37.82111°N 94.69361°W / 37.82111; -94.69361Coordinates: 37°49′16″N 94°41′37″W / 37.82111°N 94.69361°W / 37.82111; -94.69361
Area 6.7 acres (2.7 ha)
Built 1842
NRHP Reference # 66000106[1]
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966

Fort Scott National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Fort Scott, in Bourbon County, Kansas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 21.8 acres (8.8 ha), and as of 2014, had more than 7,000 interments. It is one of three national cemeteries in Kansas (the other two being Fort Leavenworth and Leavenworth).

History

Fort Scott was established in 1842, on what was known as Military Road, between Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. It was named for Lieutenant General Winfield Scott. During the initial years, a small plot on the west side of the fort was used as a cemetery. In 1861, a new plot was purchased, and named Presbyterian Graveyard as it was maintained by the Presbyterian Church. During the American Civil War, it was used to inter soldiers who died in battles near in the area. The plot and an adjacent tract of land became Fort Scott National Cemetery on November 15, 1862. One of the twelve original United States National Cemeteries designated by Abraham Lincoln, it has the distinction of being listed as U.S. National Cemetery #1.[2]

At the end of the Civil War, the original fort cemetery interments were moved into the National Cemetery, as well, at the close of the Indian Wars, many frontier posts, such as Fort Lincoln, were abandoned and had their cemeteries transferred to Fort Scott.

Fort Scott National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Noteworthy monuments

A granite monument, erected in 1984 in memory of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry which was stationed at the fort in 1863 and took the most casualties of any Kansas regiment, in numerous engagements of the Civil War.[3]

Notes

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "City of Fort Scott Official Website". Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Kansas Colored Volunteers at Find a Grave

External links

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