Andersonville National Cemetery

Andersonville National Cemetery
Name	Andersonville National Cemetery
Established	1865
Country	United States
Location	Andersonville, Georgia
Type	Military
Owner	United States Department of Veterans Affairs
Size	2.5acre
Graves	20,000+

Andersonville National Cemetery Andersonville National Cemetery is a United States national cemetery located near Andersonville, Georgia within the site of the former Confederate prisoner-of-war camp known as Camp Sumter (Andersonville prison). The cemetery serves as the final resting place for Union prisoners who died at the prison and for subsequent veterans, and it forms a component of the Andersonville National Historic Site managed to commemorate Civil War history and memory. The interrelated subjects of Civil War prison camps, American Civil War mortality, and postwar commemoration converge at this site adjacent to the Andersonville Prison Site and the National Prisoner of War Museum.

History

The cemetery was established in 1865 following the closure of Camp Sumter (Andersonville prison) and the surrender of Confederate forces after the Appomattox Campaign. Union authorities and organizations including the United States Sanitary Commission, the Freedmen's Bureau, and the Army of the Potomac personnel undertook initial burials and later reinterment efforts to identify and consolidate remains from surrounding burial plots, enlistment records, and hospital rolls. The cemetery grew in the immediate postwar years as the United States Congress and the War Department (United States) authorized national cemeteries, echoing processes used at Arlington National Cemetery and National Cemetery of Gettysburg. Monuments and markers were erected by veterans’ organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic and by state governments including Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio to honor regimental sacrifices, reflecting broader trends in Reconstruction Era memorialization and the activities of the Ladies' Memorial Associations.

Notable postbellum developments involved efforts by the United States Army Quartermaster Corps and later the National Park Service to improve grounds, commemorate unknown soldiers, and administer burial records. The site figured in 20th-century commemorations tied to veterans' groups like the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and it was formally incorporated into the Andersonville National Historic Site overseen by the National Park Service after legislation enacted by the United States Congress in the 20th century.

Layout and Monuments

The cemetery occupies a compact tract of land near the Andersonville Prison Site and is organized with aligned rows of headstones, regimental markers, and unit memorials. Primary monuments include memorials commissioned by state legislatures such as the Massachusetts soldiers' monument and regimental tablets placed by the Pennsylvania and New Jersey veteran associations. There is a prominent granite monument to unknown Union dead erected by the United States Sanitary Commission tradition and later emplaced by the United States Army.

Landscaping follows design principles used at Fort Hill (Cemetery) and other 19th-century military cemeteries, incorporating specimen trees and stone curbing installed with oversight by the United States Army Quartermaster Corps. The site includes interpretive panels linked to exhibits at the National Prisoner of War Museum and features inscriptions referencing events like the Siege of Petersburg insofar as they relate to prisoner transport and mortality. Commemorative ceremonies are often held at the cemetery in coordination with organizations including the American Battle Monuments Commission and state veterans’ departments such as the Georgia Department of Veterans Service.

Notable Interments

Burials include named Union soldiers and sailors from regiments such as the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, and the 79th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment whose regimental histories intersect with broader campaigns like the Gettysburg Campaign and the Overland Campaign. Interred are members of famed units including veterans who also served in the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Potomac. Some headstones mark soldiers transferred from battlefield cemeteries associated with actions at places like Andersonville environs, the Battle of Fort Pillow, and other Civil War encounters.

Individual interments of historical note include officers and enlisted men whose service records link to figures such as Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, and George G. Meade through unit assignments, as well as prisoners memorialized for resistance or escape attempts connected to the administration of Camp Sumter (Andersonville prison). The cemetery also contains graves of later veterans from conflicts including the Spanish–American War, World War I, and World War II, reflecting the cemetery’s evolving role as a national burial ground administered under federal veterans policy.

Administration and Preservation

Administration of the cemetery has involved multiple federal agencies over time, beginning with the United States Army Quartermaster Corps and transitioning to oversight by the National Park Service as part of the Andersonville National Historic Site. The National Cemetery Administration within the United States Department of Veterans Affairs maintains burial records, headstone standards, and interment policies consistent with legislation such as acts passed by the United States Congress governing national cemeteries. Preservation efforts have included archaeological surveys conducted in partnership with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, academic programs at Emory University, and state historical societies including the Georgia Historical Society.

Conservation projects have addressed stone conservation, landscape rehabilitation, and interpretive signage in coordination with the National Trust for Historic Preservation and veteran organizations such as the Grand Army of the Republic descendant groups. Legal protections derive from federal designations that align with statutes administered by the National Park Service and oversight by offices within the United States Department of the Interior.

Visitor Information

Visitors typically access the cemetery via Georgia State Route 49 and through the Andersonville National Historic Site visitor facilities, which include the National Prisoner of War Museum. Onsite resources encompass interpretive signage, staff-led ranger programs sponsored by the National Park Service, and educational materials produced in cooperation with the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. The cemetery is included in tours organized by regional historical organizations such as the Georgia Historical Society, the Sumter County Historical Society, and Civil War heritage tour operators.

Visitation guidelines conform to national cemetery regulations administered by the National Park Service and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and special events such as Memorial Day observances involve partnerships with the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and state veterans’ councils. Researchers consult burial registers maintained by the National Cemetery Administration and archival collections held at repositories including the National Archives and Records Administration and university libraries with Civil War holdings.

Category:National cemeteries in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:American Civil War cemeteries