Fort Scott National Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Fort Scott National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery
located near Fort Scott
, in Bourbon County, Kansas
. It encompasses 21.8 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 5,789 interments.
. It was named for Lieutenant General Winfield Scott
. During the initial years, a small plot on the west side of the fort was used as a cemetery. In 1861, a new plot was purchased, and named Presbyterian Graveyard as it was maintained by the Presbyterian Church. During the American Civil War
, it was used to inter soldiers who died in battles near in the area. The plot and an adjacent tract of land became Fort Scott National Cemetery on November 15, 1862.
At the end of the Civil War, the original fort cemetery interments were moved into the National Cemetery, as well, at the close of the Indian Wars
, many frontier posts, such as Fort Lincoln, were abandoned and had their cemeteries transferred to Fort Scott.
Fort Scott National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1999.
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 near Fort Scott
Fort Scott, Kansas
Fort Scott is a city in and the county seat of Bourbon County, Kansas, United States, south of Kansas City, on the Marmaton River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,087. It is the home of the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Fort Scott National...
, in Bourbon County, Kansas
Bourbon County, Kansas
Bourbon County is a county located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 15,173...
. It encompasses 21.8 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 5,789 interments.
History
Fort Scott was established in 1842, on what was known as Military Road, between Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Fort Gibson, OklahomaFort Gibson, Oklahoma
Fort Gibson is a town in Cherokee and Muskogee counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 4,054 at the 2000 census. It is the location of Fort Gibson National Cemetery and is located near at the end of the Cherokees' Trail of Tears at Tahlequah, Oklahoma.Colonel Matthew Arbuckle of...
. It was named for Lieutenant General Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852....
. During the initial years, a small plot on the west side of the fort was used as a cemetery. In 1861, a new plot was purchased, and named Presbyterian Graveyard as it was maintained by the Presbyterian Church. During the American 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...
, it was used to inter soldiers who died in battles near in the area. The plot and an adjacent tract of land became Fort Scott National Cemetery on November 15, 1862.
At the end of the Civil War, the original fort cemetery interments were moved into the National Cemetery, as well, at the close of the Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
, many frontier posts, such as Fort Lincoln, were abandoned and had their cemeteries transferred to Fort Scott.
Fort Scott National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1999.
Notable monuments
A granite monument, erected in 1984 in memory of the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry which was stationed at the fort in 1863 and took the most casualties of any Kansas regiment, in numerous engagements of the Civil War.Notable interments
- Captain Eugene Fitch Ware aka "Ironquill", poet, politician, and Civil War veteran.