Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Fort Snelling National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory adjacent to the historic fort and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is one of the two national cemeteries in the state and is the older. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it covers 436.3 acres (176.6 ha), and as of 2020 had over 241,000 interments. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.

Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Memorial Day 2018 at
Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Details
Established1939
Location
Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota
CountryUnited States
Coordinates44°52′11″N 93°12′51″W
TypePublic
Size436.3 acres (176.6 ha)
No. of graves225,000
WebsiteOfficial
Find a GraveFort Snelling National Cemetery

History

Fort Snelling was a frontier fort first established in 1819. Its original purpose was to keep the peace on what was then the western frontier. During the American Civil War it served as a recruiting camp area for Minnesota volunteers. The cemetery was officially established in 1870.

In 1937, the citizens of St. Paul, petitioned Congress to construct a National Cemetery in the area. Two years later, the new plot was dedicated, and the burials from the original post cemetery were moved to it. In 1960, the Fort Snelling Air Force Station transferred 146 acres (59 ha) to the cemetery; another 177 acres (0.72 km2) were acquired in 1961, expanding the cemetery to its current size.

There was a tradition of placing a flag on every grave on Memorial Day, but as the cemetery grew, the staff was forced to stop. In 2017, the nonprofit Flags for Fort Snelling revived the tradition;[1] volunteers placed 200,000 memorial flags in 2019.[2]

Flag Posts at Fort Snelling National Cemetery
Medal of Honor Flag Post

Notable interments

Medal of Honor recipients

Others

The cemetery contains one British Commonwealth war grave, of a Royal Canadian Air Force airman of World War II.[5]

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References
  1. FOX. "Nonprofit seeks help placing flags at every Ft. Snelling grave on Memorial Day". KMSP. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
  2. Steiner, Katie (May 26, 2019). "Fort Snelling Volunteers Place 200K Memorial Flags". WCCO. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  3. "Dungeons and Dragons artist dies". CBC News. June 15, 2005. Archived from the original on 2008-06-30. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  4. "TO PRIVATE TRACIE JOY MCBRIDE (Senate - March 08, 1995)." U.S. Congressional Record, Library of Congress. Retrieved on July 18, 2016.
  5. CWGC Casualty Record.
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