Alexandria National Cemetery (Alexandria, Louisiana)

Alexandria National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the city of Pineville, in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. It occupies approximately , and is site to 10,164 interments as of the end of 2005.

History 
In 1867, an  plot was appropriated from a local resident to establish the Alexandria National Cemetery. It was originally intended as a place to bury Union soldiers who died in the area during the Civil War, but later, remains from Mount Pleasant, Cheneyville, Yellow Bayou, and Fort Brown, Texas, were re-interred in Alexandria. Of approximately 1378 Civil War burials, 507 are known and 871 are unknown.

Alexandria National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Notable burials 
There are fifty-seven Buffalo Soldiers interred at the Alexandria National Cemetery.
Retired Army Col. Thomas L. Gaines (1901-1989), director of Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant in Minden from 1961 to 1969
Former U.S. Representative Gillis William Long.
Former Alexandria Mayor John K. Snyder is buried in the front row on the left side of the entrance road.
Major Jacob Brown, for whom Fort Brown in  Texas is named.
John J. Williams (American Civil War), the last soldier killed in the American Civil War.
Captain Ira W. Claflin

New Interments 
The cemetery is closed to new interments. Exceptions to this include subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Cemetery policy allows for first-come, first-served waitlist to eligible veterans if burial space becomes available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed.

See also 
United States Department of Veterans Affairs

References

External links 

National Cemetery Administration
Alexandria National Cemetery in Louisiana
Alexandria National Cemetery at Find A Grave

Category:Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana
Category:United States national cemeteries
Category:Pineville, Louisiana
Category:Protected areas of Rapides Parish, Louisiana
Category:Historic American Landscapes Survey in Louisiana
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Rapides Parish, Louisiana