Historic veterans cemetery in Henrico County, Virginia
Richmond National Cemetery
is a
United States National Cemetery
three miles (4.8 km) east of
Richmond
in
Henrico County, Virginia
. Administered by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
, it encompasses 9.7 acres (3.9 ha), and as of 2021
[update]
had more than 11,000 interments. It is closed to new interments. Richmond National Cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1995.
History
[
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]
The cemetery lies within what was once Richmond's wartime
fortification
lines built when the
Confederate
army defended Richmond during the
American Civil War
. The cemetery was established by the
United States Congressional
legislation in 1866 but the original plot of land was not formally purchased from local resident William Slater until 1867. Additional land purchases in 1868 and 1906 brought the cemetery to its current physical size.
The original burials in the cemetery were re-interments from
Oakwood Cemetery
and
Hollywood Cemetery
in Richmond. Those re-interments were primarily of Federal Union soldiers who perished from the effects of wounds while
prisoners of war
in the Richmond area military hospitals. Federal dead from the
prisoner of war
cemetery at
Belle Island Prison Camp
in the
James River
were also re-interred here. Some of the dead intended for the
Seven Pines National Cemetery
and
Cold Harbor National Cemetery
were transferred to Richmond when those smaller burial grounds quickly reached their initial capacities from post-war burials and reburials of the dead from the
battle of Seven Pines
(also known as
Fair Oaks
) and the
battle of Cold Harbor
.
Also re-interred in the Richmond National Cemetery were the remains of more than 500 Union prisoners of war, who had been originally interred in the "Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground", the city of Richmond's second African Burying Ground.
[3]
The "
Shockoe Hill African Burying Ground
" was Shockoe Hill Cemetery's segregated burying ground for free people of color, and the enslaved.
Military veterans from later eras are also buried here at Richmond National Cemetery.
Description
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]
The site is rectangular in shape and enclosed by a granite and sandstone wall, extending approximately 2,588 feet (789 m), constructed c. 1890. The main entrance is at the center of the north side and is protected by ornamental
wrought iron
gates supported by ornamental
cast iron
posts. Graves are marked with upright marble headstones.
The lodge was constructed in 1870 from a design by
Quartermaster
General
Montgomery C. Meigs
and is
Second Empire
in style. It is an L-shaped brick and stone structure with a slate
mansard
and tin roof. The main portion is one-and-one-half stories with
dormer
windows projecting from the mansard roof. The first floor contains an entry porch, living room, dining room, kitchen and office. The upper story contains two bed-rooms and a bath. The lodge also contains a basement, which is divided into two rooms by a
masonry
wall. A single-story rear addition was constructed c. 1900. There is a total of 1,501 square feet (139.4 m
2
) of living space. The windows on the first story are one-over-one double-hung sash, while the upper-story windows are modern one-over-one sash replacements. The interior is finished with hardwood floors. The old porch was demolished in 1936 and a new larger porch constructed.
A 16-foot (4.9 m) octagonal iron
gazebo
,
Chinese
Chippendale
in style, was constructed c. 1890 in the north-east segment of the cemetery at the intersection of Sections 13-A, 14-A, 21-A, and 22-A. It was built to be used as a rostrum. The gazebo was removed in 1952, leaving only a concrete base and floor.
In 1934, a combination brick and concrete utility building with comfort station, 33 feet 4 inches (10.16 m) by 22 feet 3 inches (6.78 m), was constructed to the rear and south of the lodge. The roof is asphalt.
A brick and concrete gasoline storage building, 8 feet 5 inches (2.57 m) by 8 feet (2.4 m), with an asphalt roof, was constructed in 1936 between the utility building and the northwest perimeter wall.
Capacity
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]
Richmond National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed. When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis.
References
[
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]
External links
[
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]
- National Cemetery Administration
- Richmond National Cemetery
- "The Soldiers of Shockoe Hill" ? POW Burials
- Historic American Landscapes Survey
(HALS) No. VA-22, "
Richmond National Cemetery, 1701 Williamsburg Road, Montrose, Henrico County, VA
"
- HALS No. VA-22-A, "
Richmond National Cemetery, Rostrum, 1701 Williamsburg Road, Montrose, Henrico County, VA
"
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Richmond National Cemetery
- Richmond National Cemetery
at
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