| Description | Vicksburg National Cemetery was established by Congress in 1865 and opened a year later, to provide a burial place for "soldiers who shall die in the service of the country." It lies on ground once manned by Major-General William T. Sherman's XV Army Corps. Embracing 116 acres it is the final resting place of 17,000 Union Soldiers, a number unmatched by any other national cemetery. Many soldiers had been interred originally in scattered locations in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi during the campaign for control of the Mississippi River.
Following the Spanish-American War veterans of later wars became qualified for burial in national cemeteries. Approximately 1,300 veterans of conflicts subsequent to the Civil War are interred at Vicksburg. A scattering of other burials include wives and children of veterans and government workers of the past century.
Upright headstones mark the graves of known soldiers. Small, square blocks, incised with a grave number only, designate the unknown veterans. No one of national fame is buried in Vicksburg National Cemetery. Brevet Brigadier-General Embury D. Osband qualifies as the highest ranking veteran interred, Grave #16648, Section O. The Vicksburg National Cemetery has been closed for burials since 1963, except for a few individuals whose applications for interment had been validated prior to that time. Opposite the cemetery, on the high ground to the South, is Fort Hill, the extreme left flank of the Confederate defenses.
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