Natchez
National Cemetery
Adams
County, Mississippi
Photographs Copyright
Dale Woosley, Natchez, MS - 1997
The
Natchez National Cemetery was established in 1866, as part of the
Federal Government's plan to prevent desecration of the graves of Union
soldiers who had fought in the War Between the States. During the war,
many soldiers had been buried across the Mississippi River along the west
shore at, and north of, Vidalia, Concordia Parish, Louisiana. Identification
and movement of those remains, to the Natchez National Cemetery, began
in the fall of 1866.
Most
of the Civil War dead, whose remains were brought to the Natchez National
Cemetery, died during the years 1863 and 1864. Just north of the present
cemetery, an old Natchez home called The Gardens had been used as a Union
hospital. Some of the original burials are of soldiers who died in that
"hospital."
Early
records indicate that many of the remains are of Union Navy personnel.
Most of those burials are in what is now Section D, of the cemetery.
There
are a total of 6055 interments in the Natchez National Cemetery, and it
remains an active Cemetery for veterans and their eligible dependents.
An
office, at the entrance to the cemetery, houses a small display of historical
documents that relate to the cemetery. A Burial Registrar is available
outside of the office, for use when the office is closed. The cemetery
remains open 24 hours a day. |
