
		The Alabama Civil War Round Table A Discussion on the American Civil War

The Alabama Civil War Round Table... established 1990 Birmingham, AL

2010-2011 ACWRT Board of Directors

The American Civil War
(1861 - 1865)

Trivia Question
Who was the "Angel of Marye's Heights"?

The answer can be found on the About Us page.

National Cemeteries

National Cemeteries Were Authorized by the U.S. Government
July 17, 1862

Dead Federal soldiers on a battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

What happens to soldiers when they die during a battle? During the Civil War, soldiers who died on the battlefields, in field hospitals, or in prison camps were buried where they fell. At the end of the war, search and recovery teams visited all the places where soldiers might have been hastily buried and dug up the remains to bring them home. It took five years to complete this process, and more than 250,000 sets of remains were recovered.

On July 17, 1862, President Lincoln signed legislation authorizing the creation of national cemeteries by the U.S. government. By 1870, 73 national cemeteries had been established, many in the southeastern United States, the site of many battles and field hospitals during the war.

National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in 1863

"We here highly resolved that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

President Lincoln spoke these words on November 19, 1863, as he dedicated the national battlefield cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His short speech became known as the Gettysburg Address and is one of the most often-quoted addresses in American history.

Sailor and girl at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, D.C., 1943

Of all the national cemeteries in the U.S., Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, is the best known. Soldiers who died in battle, other war veterans, U.S. presidents, and government leaders are all buried there. Arlington National Cemetery also includes the Tomb of the Unknowns, a tomb in honor of the people who lay unidentified on battlefields from wars fought for freedom and independence.

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