Mound City National Cemetery is one of the twelve original National cemeteries. It was established in 1864 pursuant to the Act of July 17, 1862, whereby President Lincoln was authorized





FAX: 618-748-9108

Office Hours: Cemetery maintained by Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.



Visitation Hours: Open daily from dawn until dusk.



Mound City National Cemetery is located in Pulaski County, approximately one mile from Mound City, Ill. This area was the home of large naval shipyards that provided warships to the Union's Mississippi Squadron during the Civil War. The Mississippi Squadron was composed of 80 vessels including the famous ironclads USS Cairo, USS Cincinnati, and USS Mound City.



Mound City was also the site of a large Civil War hospital complex. Originally, the city's hotel and foundry were converted to hospitals to house both Union and Confederate wounded pouring into the city in the wake of battles at Shiloh, Vicksburg and elsewhere. In April 1862, the gunboat Mound City captured the steamer Red Rover, which had been used as a Confederate floating barracks. Union officials refitted the vessel as a hospital ship and assigned it to the U.S. Naval hospital at Mound City. The Red Rover sailed with the Mississippi Squadron in its engagements. Although the shipyards have largely vanished, one hospital building remains near the Ohio River levee.



In 1864, the federal government designated a plot of land near the general hospital to serve as a national cemetery. The original 1,644 interments at Mound City National Cemetery were men who had died there. Later interments would include casualties of battles at Cairo, Ill.; Belmont, Mo.; and Paducah, Ky. An 1871 report by the inspector of national cemeteries lists approximately 2,300 known service men interred at Mound City and over 2,400 unknowns.



Mound City National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.



Monuments and Memorials

The Illinois State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a marble and concrete construction honoring 2,637 unknown soldiers and sailors who lost their lives in defense of the country during the Civil War. It was erected in 1874 by the state of Illinois.