This cemetery is the first national cemetery and was established when, in July 1861, the Commissioners of the United States Military Asylum offered six acres on the north end of the asylum grounds for the burial of soldiers and officers. The first burials in this cemetery were made on 3 August 1861. The cemetery is currently nearly 16 acres in size and is the resting place for 21 recipients of the Medal of Honor. The cemetery is maintained by the Department of the Army.

The cemetery was completely reorganized and the dead relocated in the late 19th century complete with all new alpha-numeric grave listings that bear no resemblance to the original grave registries that can be found in genealogy records.

There are no on-site burial registries or human help locating graves for photo volunteers to this cemetery — those making photo requests have to call the Dept of the Army line (same as for Arlington National Cemetery) to find out the grave location BEFORE making the request. Even though this is a national cemetery, there isn’t an office that is “open” during the day. The gates are unlocked in the morning and locked in the evening — no staff are onsite.

This cemetery is the first national cemetery and was established when, in July 1861, the Commissioners of the United States Military Asylum offered six acres on the north end of the asylum grounds for the burial of soldiers and officers. The first burials in this cemetery were made on 3 August 1861. The cemetery is currently nearly 16 acres in size and is the resting place for 21 recipients of the Medal of Honor. The cemetery is maintained by the Department of the Army.

The cemetery was completely reorganized and the dead relocated in the late 19th century complete with all new alpha-numeric grave listings that bear no resemblance to the original grave registries that can be found in genealogy records.

There are no on-site burial registries or human help locating graves for photo volunteers to this cemetery — those making photo requests have to call the Dept of the Army line (same as for Arlington National Cemetery) to find out the grave location BEFORE making the request. Even though this is a national cemetery, there isn’t an office that is “open” during the day. The gates are unlocked in the morning and locked in the evening — no staff are onsite.