| Details | |
|---|---|
| Year established | 1868-1870 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Location | Sitka, Alaska |
| Coordinates | , Elevation: 43 feet (13 m) [1] |
| Type | United States National Cemetery |
| Owned by | United States Army |
| Size | 4.3 acres (0.017 km2) |
| Number of graves | 1,049 (2005) |
| Website | http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/sitka.asp |
Sitka National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Sitka, Alaska. It encompasses 4.3 acres (17,000 m²), and as of the end of 2005 had 1,049 interments. It is administered by Fort Richardson National Cemetery.
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Laid out by General Jefferson C. Davis, at some point between 1868 to 1870 during his time as the first commander of the Department of Alaska, as a place to inter military personnel who died while serving at the local Marine base or were under care at the Naval hospital. In 1912, the military withdrew from the area and the cemetery was neglected until 1921 when the Sitka American Legion petitioned the Secretary of the Navy for an allocation of funds to maintain the site.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge gave an executive order declaring the site a National Cemetery, and the maintenance responsibility was turned over to the United States Department of War. A 1925 revision of the executive order reduced the area of the site, but donations of land in 1957, 1959, and in the mid 1980s made it larger than it was originally.