Black Hills National Cemetery
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Black Hills National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located east of the city of Sturgis in Meade County, South Dakota. It encompasses 105.9 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 19,147 interments.
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[edit] History
The area around the Black Hills Cemetery originally belonged to the Lakota indians. French explorers went through the region in the 1740s, and Spain laid claim to the area in 1762 until it was acquired by the United States in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Fort Randall was established in 1856, and the 1861 establishment of Dakota Territory brought more settlers to the region, but it wasn't until gold was discovered in the Black Hills that the area was truly populated. Under the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the United States granted the land of the Black Hills to the Lakota, but there was no stopping the settlers from entering the region, which lead to several conflicts. Most of the original interments in the cemetery were soldiers who fell in battles of the Indian Wars, but it has since been used to inter veterans from every major campaign the United States has been involved in.
[edit] Notable interments
- Sergeant Charles Windolph, Medal of Honor recipient for action at the Battle of Little Bighorn during the Indian Wars.
- Senator Francis Higbee Case, World War I veteran, United States House of Representatives for the 75th–81st congresses, United States Senate from 1951 until his death in 1962.
