Fort McPherson National Cemetery

Fort McPherson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery which is 4 miles (6 km) south of the village of Maxwell in Lincoln County, Nebraska. It encompasses 20 acres, and as of the end of 2005, it had 8,355 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 were set aside to be a National Cemetery, and the remains interred in the original post cemetery were moved to it.

23 cemeteries at abandoned frontier forts were moved to Fort McPherson, the last of which were 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

*Private Daniel Miller, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Arizona Territory during the Indian Wars.
*Sergeant Emanuel Stance, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Texas during the Indian Wars.
*Sergeant George Jordan, Medal of Honor recipient for action in New Mexico Territory during the Indian Wars.
*Private First Class James W. Fous, Medal of Honor recipient for action in the Vietnam War.
*63 Buffalo soldiers

See also

*United States Department of Veterans Affairs
*United States National Cemetery

External links

* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/ftmcpherson.asp Fort McPherson National Cemetery]