Alexandria National Cemetery (Louisiana)

Alexandria National Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	209 Shamrock Ave., Pineville, Louisiana
Coordinates	31°19′21″N 92°25′56″W
Area	8.2 acres (3.3 ha)
Built	1867
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
MPS	Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS
NRHP reference No.	97000767
Added to NRHP	July 9, 1997

Alexandria National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Pineville, in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It occupies approximately 8 acres (3.2 ha), and is site to over 10,000 interments as of the end of 2020.

History

In 1867, an 8-acre (3.2 ha) plot was appropriated from a local resident to establish the Alexandria National Cemetery. It was originally intended as a place to bury Union soldiers who died in the area during the Civil War, but later, remains from Mount Pleasant, Cheneyville, Yellow Bayou, and Fort Brown, Texas, were re-interred in Alexandria. Of approximately 1378 Civil War burials, 507 are known and 871 are unknown.

Alexandria National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Notable burials

• Sputnik Monroe (1928–2006), professional wrestler
• Patsy Flaherty (1876-1968), professional baseball player
• US Representative Gillis William Long (1923–1985)
• Major Jacob Brown (1778–1846), for whom Fort Brown, Texas is named
• John J. Williams (American Civil War) (1843–1865 †), the last soldier killed in the American Civil War
• Civil War Union Army Captain Ira W. Claflin (1834–1867)
• There are fifty-seven Buffalo Soldiers interred at the Alexandria National Cemetery
• There are 5 German POWs interred at The Alexandria National Cemetery

New interments

The cemetery is closed to new interments. Exceptions to this include subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Cemetery policy allows for first-come, first-served waitlist to eligible veterans if burial space becomes available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed.

See also

• United States Department of Veterans Affairs

External links

• National Cemetery Administration
• Alexandria National Cemetery in Louisiana
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Alexandria National Cemetery (Louisiana)
• Alexandria National Cemetery at Find a Grave
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. LA-4, "Alexandria National Cemetery, 209 East Shamrock Street, Pineville, Rapides Parish, LA", 33 photos, 3 photo caption pages
• HALS No. LA-4-A, "Alexandria National Cemetery, Lodge", 7 data pages
• HALS No. LA-4-B, "Alexandria National Cemetery, Rostrum", 3 data pages