Unknown U.S. Soldiers, Mound City National Cemetery

National cemeteries are always such somber and sobering places for me to visit. This is the fourth I can recall (Springfield, MO; Arlington, VA; Nashville, TN). Hmm; should I have gray-scaled this? Have to consider that for a possible filler…

Also, note the penny on top of the front headstone. They all had pennies on top.
» Penny: the grave was visited;
» Nickel: the person visiting the site trained at boot camp with the deceased veteran;
» Dime: the person served with the deceased veteran in some capacity;
» Quarter: the person who left the coin was with the veteran when they were killed.
Source: Tradition of leaving coins on veterans’ gravestones

A high school classmate of Clare’s is staying with us for several days, rescheduled from a year ago (not surprisingly). She was here many, many years ago, so this is an opportunity for Clare and me to visit some sites we’ve missed in our first 38 years living here. We stopped here on our way to the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.

This is Mound City National Cemetery, outside Mound City, in southern Illinois: “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.”

» Qualifications for burial in a national cemetery

Day’s agenda:
» Confluence of Ohio & Mississippi Rivers: [ NASA’s Earth Observatory :: Ohio River Parks Project ]
» Lunch: Katy O’Ferrell’s Publick House
» Great Wall of Cape Girardeau
» Site of Third Lincoln-Douglas Debate
» Banterra Center

Looking back
  1 year ago: “Swabbed”
 2 years ago: No post
 3 years ago: “Wasn't going to tell Clare where this was…”
 4 years ago: “Great Spangled Fritillary [Filler #42]”
 5 years ago: “Zebra swallowtail”
 6 years ago: “They're e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e!” (Cicadas!)
 7 years ago: “Green Lacewing larva”
 8 years ago: “Honey bee on Sedum”
 9 years ago: “Eastern Amberwing (male)” —Without a long lens anymore, no dragonfly posts :(
10 years ago: “Blue heron”

[ IMG_2457e175cwS12x8tm :: 44mm ]

[Jane Pittenger]

The use of dof really adds to the story of being forgotten. Nicely moodily melancholy

[Thom Mitchell]

@jgpittenger Thanks, Jane. And that's part of why it's so sobering to me. It's row upon row upon row. And it's just one of many national cemeteries…

[Mags]

Bittersweet image for me and so meaningful.

[Kathy]

A nice shot of the cemetery. B&W would have given it a different feel. I never knew that about the coins on the stones. I've heard of putting pebbles on a tomb stone when visiting.

[Danette Thompson]

Lovely image and story. We have a pretty new veterans cemetery here that has so many graves.

[Thom Mitchell]

@danette I do have to remind myself that not every grave means a KIA. They could have served out one tour and been discharged. “Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.” Spouses and children may qualify, too. Being at such a site nevertheless reminds me of the thousands upon thousands who did give “the last full measure of devotion.”

[GaryW]

Always touching!