Corinth National Cemetery in Corinth, Mississippi

CORINTH CIVIL WAR DRIVING TOUR STOP 14

The Corinth National Cemetery is located at 1551 Horton Road. It is open daily from 8 AM to sunset. While it is not part of Shiloh National Military Park, it is near downtown Corinth and makes for an interesting stopping point for those touring the battlefield sites. It is a small cemetery, only two acres in size. Allow 15-30 minutes for a visit.

The Corinth National Cemetery was established in 1866 as the burial site for 2,300 Union soldiers who died at Corinth and other battles in the surrounding area. By 1870 there were around 5,700 grave sites, with 1,793 of them belonging to unknown soldiers.

Unknown soldier graves at Corinth National Cemetery

Though many National Cemeteries were created to bury Civil War casualties, regulations soon opened the doors for burials of all U. S. military personnel. You will find graves from many wars at Corinth.

Graves of men who served in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq at Corinth National Cemetery

As was often the case in Civil War battles, most of the dead were quickly buried on the battlefield, usually in mass graves. Realizing that providing dignified burials for Union soldiers was a problem, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill on July 17, 1862, that established a National Cemetery system, with the first national cemetery being at Gettysburg. In fact, his Gettysburg Address speech was given at that cemetery’s dedication on November 19, 1863.

Union soldiers buried at Corinth National Cemetery

With a few exceptions, Confederate troops were not allowed to be buried in the National Cemeteries. Since nearly all of the fighting had taken place in the south, many Confederates were buried in town cemeteries by the locals who lived by the battlefield, especially if the battle ended in a Confederate victory. In the case of Union victories, Confederate dead not spoken for by family or friends ended up in mass graves, for the task of burying the dead fell into the hands of the victor. The Union wasn’t about to spend much time on individual funerals for the enemy, especially given the fact that they often had to bury their own troops in mass graves due to the urgency of moving on to the next battlefield or the heat that quickly spoiled the bodies.

Three Confederates are buried at Corinth National Cemetery. Though I could find no explanation as to how they ended up there, most likely they died as prisoners of war. Regulations state that Confederate POWs were the responsibility of the Union in life and death. Confederate soldiers can also be buried at National Cemeteries if they subsequently served in the U. S. military after the Civil War, for they were considered U. S. soldiers at that point. Furthermore, in 1956 Congress changed the National Cemetery rules to allow Confederate burials. However, a body would have to be moved from its original grave and reinterred in a National Cemetery, and thus very few such burials have taken place.

Next Tour Stop | Previous Tour Stop | Corinth Civil War Driving Tour

Back to the Top