Richmond National Cemetery

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Richmond National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located three miles east of the city of Richmond in Henrico County, Virginia. It encompasses 9.7 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 9,322 interments. It is currently closed to new interments.

[edit] History

The cemetery lies inside what once were the fortification lines when the Confederate army defended Richmond during the American Civil War. The original plot of land was purchased from local resident, William Slater in 1867. Additional land purchases in 1868 and 1906 brought the cemetery to its current acreage.

The original interments in the cemetery were reinterments from Oakwood Cemetery and Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. Later the cemeteries from Belle Island Confederate Prison as well as those from the battlefields of the Battle of Cold Harbor and the Battle of Seven Pines were transferred to Richmond National Cemetery.

Richmond National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.