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Salisbury National Cemetery

Memorials	:	5492
Location	:	Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Phone	:	(704) 636-2661
Coordinate	:	35.6612282, -80.4746475
Description	:	Read before adding a memorial This is the older of two Salisbury National Cemeteries. It contains Sections A through N and 1 to 7. Burials from sections 8 to 28 and Columbarium C1 to C3 and Columbarium W1 to W33, see the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex at 501 Statesville Boulevard. Records for the original Salisbury National Cemetery are maintained at the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex. Salisbury National Cemetery Annex 501 Statesville Blvd. Salisbury, NC 28144 Phone: (704) 636-2661 Salisbury National Cemetery was established by Confederate authorities to serve as the burial ground for captured Union soldiers incarcerated at the prison in Salisbury. The practice of prisoner exchange... Read More	Read before adding a memorial This is the older of two Salisbury National Cemeteries. It contains Sections A through N and 1 to 7. Burials from sections 8 to 28 and Columbarium C1 to C3 and Columbarium W1 to W33, see the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex at 501 Statesville Boulevard. Records for the original Salisbury National Cemetery are maintained at the Salisbury National Cemetery Annex. Salisbury National Cemetery Annex 501 Statesville Blvd. Salisbury, NC 28144 Phone: (704) 636-2661 Salisbury National Cemetery was established by Confederate authorities to serve as the burial ground for captured Union soldiers incarcerated at the prison in Salisbury. The practice of prisoner exchange kept the prison populations down until 1864, when exchanges ended. By fall 1864, the number of soldiers at Salisbury prison doubled from 5,000 to 10,000. It suffered from one of the highest prison death rates, with as many as half the men dying of starvation or disease. Recent historical research has led to a dispute over how many men are believed to have died during the last year or so of the war and are buried in the cemetery. The dead were buried in 18 trenches measuring about 240 feet long, located at the southeast end of the cemetery. Colonel Oscar A. Mack, the inspector of cemeteries, said in his report of 1870-71, "The bodies were placed one above the other, and mostly without coffins. From the number of bodies exhumed from a given space, researchers estimated that the number buried in these trenches was 11,700. The number of burials from the prison pen cannot be accurately known." The figure of 11,700 was accepted for many years. However, the actual number of burials is probably lower and it is doubtful we will ever know exactly how many unknown remains are buried there. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers were likely buried here after dying at Salisbury Prison. Even in the years immediately after the Civil War, the federal government was unable to verify the number of dead or compile a credible list of interments to a degree that would have allowed them to inscribe names on a single memorial or on individual headstones. The most accurate government-issued document associated with these burials is found in the Roll of Honor, No. XIV, compiled by the U.S. Army Quartermaster General's Office, and published in 1868. Salisbury National Cemetery was established by Confederate authorities to serve as the burial ground for captured Union soldiers incarcerated at the prison in Salisbury. The practice of prisoner exchange kept the prison populations down until 1864, when exchanges ended. By fall 1864, the number of soldiers at Salisbury prison doubled from 5,000 to 10,000. It suffered from one of the highest prison death rates, with as many as half the men dying of starvation or disease. Recent historical research has led to a dispute over how many men are believed to have died during the last year or so of the war and are buried in the cemetery. The dead were buried in 18 trenches measuring about 240 feet long, located at the southeast end of the cemetery. Colonel Oscar A. Mack, the inspector of cemeteries, said in his report of 1870-71, "The bodies were placed one above the other, and mostly without coffins. From the number of bodies exhumed from a given space, researchers estimated that the number buried in these trenches was 11,700. The number of burials from the prison pen cannot be accurately known." The figure of 11,700 was accepted for many years. However, the actual number of burials is probably lower and it is doubtful we will ever know exactly how many unknown remains are buried there. An estimated 3,000 to 4,000 soldiers were likely buried here after dying at Salisbury Prison. Even in the years immediately after the Civil War, the federal government was unable to verify the number of dead or compile a credible list of interments to a degree that would have allowed them to inscribe names on a single memorial or on individual headstones. The most accurate government-issued document associated with these burials is found in the Roll of Honor, No. XIV, compiled by the U.S. Army Quartermaster General's Office, and published in 1868. After the war this was designated Salisbury National Cemetery, and another 412 remains were relocated here from Lexington, Charlotte, Morgantown, and other places. The cemetery was dedicated in 1874, a wall was built around the perimeter the following year, and by 1876 the headstones and a monument were in place. Salisbury National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Monuments and Memorials In June 1908, the state of Maine erected a 25-foot high granite monument topped by a soldier, to commemorate its soldiers who perished here. The Federal Monument to the Unknown Dead is a granite obelisk that was commissioned by Congress in 1873. The government contracted Alexander McDonald of Mount Auburn, Massachusetts, to build the monument by Dec. 31, 1876. The monument, measuring 50 feet tall with a base of 18 feet, was built to honor the unknown soldiers who died in the Salisbury Confederate Prison. The Pennsylvania Monument was erected in 1909, and stands 40 feet high on a granite base that is 20 feet by 20 feet. This monument was erected to commemorate the patriotic devotion, heroism and self sacrifice of the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania volunteers who died while confined as POWs in the Confederate military prison at Salisbury. Dedicated Nov. 16, 1910, according to speakers at the ceremony, the 736 men honored represent the largest number of Pennsylvania dead buried in any cemetery The All Wars Monument is a cast-stone monument located near the flagpole, which contains plaques of each service designation (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard). The Rowan County Veterans Council donated it on May 27, 1990. A memorial in honor of the 4th Marine Division was erected in 2002.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Salisbury National Cemetery?
Salisbury National Cemetery is located at 202 Government Road Salisbury, Rowan County ,North Carolina , 28144USA.
Salisbury National Cemetery cemetery's updated grave count on graveviews.com?
5468 memorials
Where are the coordinates of the Salisbury National Cemetery?
Latitude: 35.6612282
Longitude: -80.4746475

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Nearby Cemetories:

1. Dixonville Cemetery
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2. Saint John's Lutheran Columbarium and Garden
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3. Presbyterian Session House Burial Ground
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4. Chestnut Hill Cemetery
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5. Oak Grove Freedman's Cemetery
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6. Old English Cemetery
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7. First Baptist Church of Salisbury Columbarium
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8. Old Lutheran Church Cemetery
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9. Memorial Park Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6784680, -80.4800140

10. Oakdale Union Hill Cemetery
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11. Oakwood Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6789040, -80.4985750

12. Salisbury National Cemetery Annex
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Coordinate: 35.6879710, -80.4912790

13. Owen Family Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6652985, -80.5159988

14. Henderson Grove Baptist Church Cemetery
Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6352010, -80.5017230

15. Rowan County Home Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6248820, -80.4806410

16. Shiloh Reformed Church Cemetery Old
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Coordinate: 35.6243690, -80.4623400

17. Ribelin Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6301833, -80.4400333

18. Calvary Lutheran Church Columbarium
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Coordinate: 35.6906720, -80.4373860

19. Canaan Baptist Church Cemetery
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Coordinate: 35.6215050, -80.4561610

20. Ardis Chapel AME Zion Church Cemetery
Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.7038918, -80.4660721

21. Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Columbarium
Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6938358, -80.5110054

22. Dunns Mountain Baptist Church Cemetery
Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6330223, -80.4319382

23. Wittenberg Lutheran Church Cemetery
Granite Quarry, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6169014, -80.4522018

24. New Zion Baptist Church Cemetery
Salisbury, Rowan County, USA
Coordinate: 35.6420059, -80.4205017

Salisbury National Cemetery

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