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Fort Donelson National Battlefield Frist Bloomers
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Fort Donelson National Battlefield
National Cemetery
National Cemetery

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National Cemetery

In 1863, the Union Army abandoned the Confederate works and constructed a new fortification on this site. A freedmen's community developed around the new Union fort. Four years later, this same site was selected for the establishment of the Fort Donelson National Cemetery and 670 Union soldiers were reinterred here. These soldiers (which included 512 unknowns) had been buried on the battlefield, in local cemeteries, in hospital cemeteries, and in nearby towns.
 
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These totals include five known and nine unknown soldiers from the United States Colored Troops. The high percentage of unknown soldiers can be attributed to the haste in cleaning up the battlefield and the fact that Civil War soldiers did not carry government-issued identification.

Today the national cemetery contains both Civil War veterans and veterans who have served the United States since that time. Many spouses and dependent children are also buried here.

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Did You Know?

Did You Know?
Stewart County was a center of an important iron smelting and manufacturing area. In the previous decade (CW era) the county had produced twice as much iron as any other county in Tennessee.
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Last Updated: March 16, 2011 at 12:14 MST