St. Elizabeths Hospital East and West Cemeteries are two historic cemeteries located on the grounds of St. Elizabeths Hospital.
| Saint Elizabeths Hospital East and West Cemeteries | |
|---|---|
 Saint Elizabeth West Cemetery c. 1897 | |
 | |
| Details | |
| Established | 1856 |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°51′17″N 77°00′13″W / 38.854827°N 77.003513°W |
| Type | public |
| Owned by | US Public Health Service |
| Size | 10 acres (40,000 m2) |
| Find a Grave | Saint Elizabeths Hospital East and West Cemeteries |
 | |
The West cemetery has burials from the Civil War and hospital patients. Most of the veterans buried in the cemetery, on the West Campus, were patients of the hospital and not casualties of the war.[1] A burial ledger of hospital patients between 1917 and 1983 was transcribed and published in 2008.[2]
On the East Campus is the John Howard Cemetery. This cemetery has burials of veterans of multiple conflicts including the Civil War, Spanish–American War, World Wars I and II, a lone veteran of the War of 1812, and a Black Seminole Scout from the Seminole War.
Access to the cemeteries today is controlled by the General Services Administration with only authorized persons allowed.
History
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A plaque on a wall of the West cemetery states:[3]
Founded during the Civil War for wounded soldiers that died on the St Elizabeths Campus during and after the Civil War. This small cemetery houses the remains of some 300 Civil War dead, both Confederate and Union, Black and White. When the foliage of the local forest subsides in the winter, the cemetery is visible from a considerable distance, since the white headstones are placed in the form of a cross.
When the West cemetery was considered full by 1873 with a little over 0.7 acres and about 600 graves,[4] plans were drawn up for an East cemetery. The latter grew over the following 120 years into a nine-acre cemetery, with more than 5,000 total burials: over 2,050 military and over 3,000 civilian.
In 2016, a new headstone was added to recognize Medal of Honor recipient Joseph B. Noil, buried in 1882, whose previous headstone had misspelled his surname as Noel and had no acknowledgement of his award.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Saint Elizabeths Hospital Cemeteries – Cemeteries on Saint Elizabeths' West and East campuses offer an important window into the hospital's history". DC Historic Sites.
- ^ Sluby, Sr., Paul E (2008). Burial Ledger of St. Elizabeths Hospital, Washington, D. C., July 5, 1917 – August 30, 1983. Heritage Books.
- ^ "St. Elizabeths Hospital Civil War Cemetery".
- ^ Sluby, Sr., Paul E (2004). "Evolution of the Cemeteries for St. Elizabeths Hospital". In Michael Maggioncalda (ed.). Resource Tools, Drawings, and Photographs for St. Elizabeths Hospital. Heritage Books.
- ^ "Family adds Medal of Honor to their pride and legacy – Joseph B. Noil's bravery is remembered in ceremony". US Dept of Veterans Affairs.
