Fort Meade National Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Fort Meade National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery
located near the city of Sturgis
in Meade County, South Dakota
. It encompasses 1.9 acres (7,689 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 188 interments. It is maintained by Black Hills National Cemetery
.
's 7th cavalry, not long after Fort Meade was constructed. It was named for General George Meade
. It has been closed to new interments since the end of World War II
.
Fort Meade National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
on May 22, 1973.
United States National Cemetery
"United States National Cemetery" is a designation for 146 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A National Cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses but not exclusively so...
located near the city of Sturgis
Sturgis, South Dakota
Sturgis is a city in Meade County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,627 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Meade County. Sturgis is famous for being the location of one of the largest annual motorcycle events in the world, which is held annually on the first full week...
in Meade County, South Dakota
Meade County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,253 people, 8,805 households, and 6,700 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 10,149 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
. It encompasses 1.9 acres (7,689 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 188 interments. It is maintained by Black Hills National Cemetery
Black Hills National Cemetery
Black Hills National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located south of the city of Sturgis in Meade County, South Dakota. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 19,147 interments.- History :...
.
History
First established on September 24, 1878, by the surviving members of George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
's 7th cavalry, not long after Fort Meade was constructed. It was named for General George Meade
George Meade
George Gordon Meade was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from...
. It has been closed to new interments since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Fort Meade National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on May 22, 1973.
Notable interments
- Private Abram B. Brant Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient for action at the Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
, during the Indian WarsIndian WarsAmerican Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
. - Private Albert Knaak, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Arizona TerritoryArizona TerritoryThe Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....
during the Indian Wars. - Several Buffalo soldierBuffalo SoldierBuffalo Soldiers originally were members of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas....
s.