Grave Markers - Poplar Grove National Cemetery

Man on bench at Poplar Grove National Cemetery

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

5008 Vaughan Road, Petersburg, VA

Significance:

National Cemetery

Amenities

1 listed

Wheelchair Accessible

Grave Markers
Initially, the grave markers of known and unknown burials were the same: a wooden board with a rounded top painted white with black lettering. Workers laid out the graves in concentric circles with the markers facing the central flagstaff. The wooden headboards quickly became a constant maintenance problem. They required continual repainting and replacement due to rot. Superintendent Miller pressed for more durable headstones.

In 1873, officials approved the first gravestone design to use in all national cemeteries. This design distinguished between known and unknown graves. Known graves used upright polished marble headstones featuring a curved top and a recessed shield that displayed the grave number, name, rank, and state in uppercase letters. They marked unknown graves with a six-by-six-inch block. Poplar Grove finished installing the new gravestones on July 7, 1877, one of the last cemeteries to do so. This transformation created a powerful visual distinction between known and unknown soldiers.

This would not be the only transformation to take place. In 1933, the management of Poplar Grove National Cemetery transferred to the National Park Service from the War Department. In 1934, the National Park Service determined the grave markers should be laid flat to simplify mowing and achieve a more park-like appearance. The Civilian Conservation Corps crews cut the gravestones and reset them. In doing so, they erased the historic view of the concentric circles, and the visual representation of the soldiers buried there. The plan also backfired. Mowing and edging around the flat stones proved just as tricky. Over time, markers became illegible, and markers settled into the ground, creating an uneven surface.

In 2017, after years of planning, the cemetery was transformed once again. Every marker was replaced with new upright stones for the known and blocks for the unknown. Visitors today once more see the concentric circles and the stark contrast between the number of known and unknown burials. Today there are 5613 graves honoring the 6,292 buried here. Poplar Grove National Cemetery now endures as a nationally significant landscape.