Barrancas National Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Barrancas National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery
located at Naval Air Station Pensacola
, in the city of Pensacola, Florida
. It encompasses 94.9 acres (384,047 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 32,643 interments.
. In 1838 it was established as a United States Navy
cemetery. During the Civil War
, Pensacola was hotly contested, as it was considered to be the best port for access to the Gulf of Mexico
. Numerous soldiers on both sides were interred in the cemetery after falling in combat, or dying in nearby hospitals. After the war, in 1868, Barrancas was officially made a National Cemetery and many other nearby makeshift burial grounds were disinterred and relocated to Barrancas. In each year, 1944, 1950, 1986, and 1990, more area was transferred from NAS Pensacola to expand the facilities for the cemetery.
. It was erected in 1884 by the Marine Guard
of the Pensacola Navy Yard.
United States National Cemetery
"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 146 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...
located at Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola
Naval Air Station Pensacola or NAS Pensacola , "The Cradle of Naval Aviation", is a United States Navy base located next to Warrington, Florida, a community southwest of the Pensacola city limits...
, in the city of Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. It encompasses 94.9 acres (384,047 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 32,643 interments.
History
The area has been used as a burial ground since the construction of Fort BarrancasFort Barrancas
Fort Barrancas or Fort San Carlos de Barrancas is a historic United States military fort in the Warrington area of Pensacola, Florida, located physically on Naval Air Station Pensacola....
. In 1838 it was established as a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
cemetery. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Pensacola was hotly contested, as it was considered to be the best port for access to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. Numerous soldiers on both sides were interred in the cemetery after falling in combat, or dying in nearby hospitals. After the war, in 1868, Barrancas was officially made a National Cemetery and many other nearby makeshift burial grounds were disinterred and relocated to Barrancas. In each year, 1944, 1950, 1986, and 1990, more area was transferred from NAS Pensacola to expand the facilities for the cemetery.
Notable monuments
Barrancas National Cemetery has a monument honoring those soldiers who died from yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
. It was erected in 1884 by the Marine Guard
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
of the Pensacola Navy Yard.
Notable interments
- Commander Clyde Everett LassenClyde LassenClyde Everett Lassen , a native of Fort Myers, Florida, was a retired Commander in the United States Navy and a Naval Aviator...
, Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient for action in the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. - Major Stephen W. PlessStephen W. PlessStephen Wesley Pless was a major in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. He earned the Medal of Honor as a UH-1 Iroquois "Huey" helicopter pilot for rescuing soldiers trapped by heavy enemy fire.-Childhood:...
, Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Vietnam War. - Staff Sergeant Clifford Chester SimsClifford Chester SimsClifford Chester Sims was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.-Biography:...
, Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Vietnam War. - Colonel Arthur D. SimonsArthur D. SimonsColonel Arthur D. "Bull" Simons was a US Army Special Forces officer, best known for leading the Son Tay raid, an attempted rescue of American prisoners of war from a North Vietnamese prison at Son Tay.-Early life:Arthur David Simons was born in New York City, moving to Missouri in his youth...
, Special Forces commander and leader of the Son Tay raid - Admiral Maurice F. WeisnerMaurice F. WeisnerMaurice Franklin Weisner was a United States Navy four-star admiral who served as Vice Chief of Naval Operations from 1972 to 1973; Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1973 to 1976; and Commander in Chief, United States Pacific Command from 1976 to 1979...
, former commander of US Pacific CommandUnited States Pacific CommandThe United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
from 1976 to 1979. - "Ga-Ah", one of the many wives of the ApacheApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the Southwest United States. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, which is related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
Indian GeronimoGeronimoGeronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, who died of Bright's diseaseBright's diseaseBright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
while being held captive. - 17 casualties of the 2nd Seminole WarSeminole WarsThe Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
. - 10 BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
aviators killed during training at the Naval Air Station during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
See also
- United States Department of Veterans AffairsUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsThe United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
- United States National CemeteryUnited States National Cemetery"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 146 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...