Little Rock National Cemetery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Little Rock National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery, located two miles south of the city of Little Rock, in Pulaski County, Arkansas. It encompasses 31.7 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 25,172 interments. It is currently closed to new interments.
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[edit] History
The area around Little Rock National Cemetery was once a Union encampment. The cemetery itself was a plot within the Little Rock City Cemetery, purchased by the federal government in 1866 and was used to inter Union soldiers who died anywhere in Arkansas. It was officially declared a National Cemetery on April 9, 1868 at which time 3 additional acres were added.
In 1884, an 11 acre Confederate cemetery was established immediately adjacent to the National Cemetery. In 1938, the two cemeteries were combined, though the Union and Confederate burials continued to be in separate sections.
In 1990, additional land was purchased from the nearby Oakland Fraternal Cemetery, and in November of 1999 the city of Little Rock donated another acre, bringing the cemetery to its current size.
Little Rock National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
[edit] Notable monuments
- The Confederate Monument, erected in 1884.
- The Minnesota Monument, a granite and bronze monument erected in 1916.
[edit] Notable interments
- Lieutenant Maurice Britt, Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II, Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas.
- Simon Haley, father of Alex Haley the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family.
- Earl Sutton Smith, major league baseball player.
