Civil War Prisoner Burials

Burial detail, August 16th, 1864. Union prisoners of war were used to bury their comrades.

A. J. Riddle/National Archives

The burial trenches used to provide a final resting place for the Union prisoners who died here during the operation of Camp Sumter in 1864 & 1865 form the bulk of the graves found in today's National Cemetery.

The dead were buried side by side, and each body was identified by name when possible and assigned a number. Grave numbers were placed on primitive wooden markers, later replaced by the United States Army in 1865.

 

Historic Grave Site Numbers	Section	Dates of Death
1 - 2645	K	2/27/1864-6/29/1864
2646 - 4151	J	6/29/1864-7/28/1864
4152 - 5694	F	7/28/1864-8/15/1864
5695 - 7267	E	8/15/1864-8/30/1864
7268 - 12853	H	8/30/1864-04/28/1865
12854 - 13189	B
13190 - 13465	C
13466 - 13729	B
13730 - 13872	A