Memphis National Cemetery
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| Memphis National Cemetery | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | 3568 Townes Ave Memphis, Tennessee |
| Added to NRHP: | October 10, 1996 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 96001233 |
| MPS: | Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS |
| Governing body: | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
Memphis National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Nutbush neighborhood of the city of Memphis, in Shelby County, Tennessee.
It encompasses 44.2 acres (0.18 km2), and as of the end of 2005, had 41,873 interments.
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[edit] History
[edit] Establishment
Originally established as Mississippi River National Cemetery when the Union Army forces took control of the city of Memphis during the American Civil War, it served to inter veterans who died while in the many military hospitals in the region. After the war, several battlefield cemeteries were transferred to Memphis.
[edit] Steamboat Sultana disaster
On the night ofApril 26, 1865, the steamboat Sultana, overloaded with Union soldiers who had recently been liberated from Confederate POW camps, exploded due to a boiler rupture on the Mississippi River several miles north of Memphis. Many of the dead from that accident are buried in Memphis National Cemetery.
[edit] Notable monuments
- The Illinois Monument, a granite and bronze sarcophagus by sculptor Leon Hermant, dedicated in 1929.
- The Minnesota Monument, a granite monument erected in 1916.
[edit] Notable interments
- Private James H. Robinson, Medal of Honor recipient for action during the Civil War, interred in Section H, Grave 4131.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
