United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery

The United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, one of the country’s oldest national cemeteries, is located just north of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (commonly referred to as the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home) in Washington, D.C. It is the final resting place of more than 14,000 veterans, including many who fought in the Civil War and 21 recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Along with Arlington National Cemetery, Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries maintained by the Department of the Army.

During the Civil War, churches and other public buildings around Washington were commandeered for use as military hospitals to care for wounded troops or those stricken with illness on the front lines. Just days after the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the commissioners of the United States Military Asylum offered six acres of land at the north end of the home’s grounds as a burial ground for soldiers and officers. The first burials were conducted later that summer.

From 1861 to 1864, the cemetery accepted thousands of soldiers’ remains from across the nation, which quickly filled its six acres. An 1874 report on the condition of the cemetery noted that it contained more than 5,600 interments, including 278 unknowns, 125 Confederate prisoners of war and 117 civilians (relatives of the deceased and employees of the home). In 1883, nine acres were added to the grounds, bringing the cemetery’s size to nearly 16 acres.

The imposing main gate at the west corner of the cemetery consists of four pairs of Doric order columns, each inscribed with the name of a well-known U.S. general, including George Washington, Winfield Scott and Ulysses S. Grant. Just inside the gate, you will see the two-story superintendent’s lodge, built around 1867, and the Logan Mausoleum, the most prominent monument at the cemetery.

The granite, Norman-style mausoleum, designed by prominent federal architect Alfred B. Mullett, houses the remains of Maj. Gen. John A. Logan and his family. (See first stop.)