Fort McPherson National Cemetery

Fort McPherson National Cemetery
Fort McPherson National Cemetery.
Details
Established	1863
Location	Lincoln County, Nebraska
Country	United States
Coordinates	41°01′31″N 100°31′32″W
Type	United States National Cemetery
Size	20 acres (8.1 ha)
No. of graves	10,000+
Fort McPherson National Cemetery
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	12004 S. Spur 56A Maxwell, Nebraska
NRHP reference No.	12000075
Added to NRHP	March 7, 2012
Website	Fort McPherson National Cemetery

Fort McPherson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery, located 4 miles (6 km) south of the village of Maxwell in Lincoln County, Nebraska. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 20 acres (8.1 ha), and as of 2014, it had over 10,000 interments.

History

Fort McPherson was established in 1863 as an outpost to protect travellers along the Oregon and California Trails, and to keep the peace with the local Native Americans. It was named for Major General James B. McPherson, who was killed in action at the Battle of Atlanta. A cemetery was created along with the fort. In 1873, 20 acres (8.1 ha) were set aside to be a National Cemetery, and the remains interred in the original post cemetery were moved to it.

Twenty-three cemeteries were moved from abandoned frontier forts to Fort McPherson; the last of these was moved from Fort Robinson when it was closed in 1947.

Monuments

• A marble monument, erected in memory of those killed at the Grattan massacre.

Notable interments

• Medal of Honor recipients
  • Private First Class James W. Fous (1946–1968 †), for action in the Vietnam War
  • Sergeant George Jordan (1847–1904), for action in New Mexico Territory during the Indian Wars
  • Private Daniel Miller (1841–1874), for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars
  • Sergeant Emanuel Stance (1843–1887), for action in Texas during the Indian Wars
• Others
  • California Joe Milner (1829–1876), Western miner and frontier scout
  • 63 Buffalo soldiers

External links

• National Cemetery Administration
• Fort McPherson National Cemetery
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fort McPherson National Cemetery
• Fort McPherson National Cemetery at Find a Grave
• Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) No. NE-1, "Fort McPherson National Cemetery, 12004 South Spur 56A, Maxwell, Lincoln County, NE", 34 photos, 3 photo caption pages