Keokuk National Cemetery
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Keokuk National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Keokuk in Lee County, Iowa. It encompasses 22.7 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 4,638 interments. It is administered by Rock Island National Cemetery.
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[edit] History
Keokuk National Cemetery was created in a separate, donated plot of Oakland Cemetery during the American Civil War as a place to inter veterans who died in the five military hospitals in the area. By the end of the Civil War, the cemetery had the interments of over 600 Union soldiers, and 8 Confederate prisoners of war.
In 1908 when Fort Yates, North Dakota was abandoned, the remains in its post cemetery were moved to Keokuk National Cemetery. In 1948, another post cemetery, in Des Moines, Iowa, also had its remains moved to the National Cemetery.
Keokuk National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
[edit] Notable monuments
- The Unknown Soldiers monument, a large granite obelisk topped with the figure of a Confederate soldier, erected in 1912.
[edit] Notable interments
- First Sergeant Columbus H. McCaa, Rough Rider, veteran of the Battle of San Juan Hill.
- Private First Class John F. Thorson, Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II.
