NPS Photo
The center of the cemetery is marked by a central flagpole surrounded by 41 regulation marble headstones marking the remains of the honored dead of Fort Stevens. Behind these headstones and to the east, stands a marble rostrum used to conduct yearly Memorial Day services. The four granite pillars are in memory of the four volunteer companies who fought at Fort Stevens.
Battleground National Cemetery was established shortly after the Battle of Fort Stevens in the summer of 1864. The battle, which lasted two days (July 11 through July 12, 1864) marked the defeat of General Jubal A. Early's Confederate campaign to launch an offensive action against the poorly defended nation's capital. The Battle of Fort Stevens was also to gain notoriety as being the only military action in which the commander in chief (President Abraham Lincoln) came under direct fire from an enemy force. With a combined total casualty figure of over 900 killed or wounded during the conflict, 41 of the
Union soldiers who fought and died bravely in Fort Steven's defense were interred in a specially created cemetery dedicated by Abraham Lincoln. Battleground National Cemetery, located one-half mile north of Fort Stevens, is one acre in size and one of our Nation's smallest national cemeteries. The entrance to the Cemetery is flanked by two 6-pounder, smoothbore guns of Civil War vintage. Also near the entrance are monuments commemorating those units which fought at Fort Stevens:
- 25th New York Volunteer Cavalry Monument
- 98th Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument
- 122nd New York Volunteer Monument
- 150th Ohio National Guard Monument
Within the cemetery grounds is a series of cast iron markers containing the words of a poem entitled "The Bivouac of the Dead," written by Theodore O'Hara in memory of those men who perished during the Mexican War. This poem, as well as the words of the Gettysburg Address in bronze found on the side of the caretaker's lodge, are reminiscent of many national cemeteries.
