Loudon Park National Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Loudon Park National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery
located in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It encompasses 5.2 acres (21,043.7 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 7,138 interments. It is currently closed to new interments, and is maintained by the Baltimore National Cemetery
.
. It was one of the 14 original National Cemeteries established under the National Cemetery Act on July 17, 1862. Most of the original interments were from area veteran hospitals. During the American Civil War
, Fort McHenry
was a prisoner of war camp, and the prisoners who died while incarcerated there were interred at Loudon Park National Cemetery.
Land acquisitions in 1874, 1875, 1882, 1883 and lastly in 1903, brought the cemetery to its current size.
Loudon Park National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1996.
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 in the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It encompasses 5.2 acres (21,043.7 m²), and as of the end of 2005, had 7,138 interments. It is currently closed to new interments, and is maintained by the Baltimore National Cemetery
Baltimore National Cemetery
Baltimore National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located along Maryland Route 144 on both sides of the boundary between the neighborhoods of Beechfield in Baltimore City and Catonsville in Baltimore County...
.
History
Loudon Park National Cemetery was originally established as a plot within the Loudon Park CemeteryLoudon Park Cemetery
Loudon Park Cemetery a subsidiary of Stewart Enterprises, Inc., the second largest operator of funeral homes and cemeteries in the United States, is a cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated in 1853 on the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by a local merchant and politician...
. It was one of the 14 original National Cemeteries established under the National Cemetery Act on July 17, 1862. Most of the original interments were from area veteran hospitals. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
was a prisoner of war camp, and the prisoners who died while incarcerated there were interred at Loudon Park National Cemetery.
Land acquisitions in 1874, 1875, 1882, 1883 and lastly in 1903, brought the cemetery to its current size.
Loudon Park 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...
in 1996.
Notable monuments
- The MarylandMarylandMaryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
Sons Monument, a three-foot-tall terra cottaTerra cottaTerracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
friezeFriezethumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
with a bas relief sculpture. Dedicated in 1885. - Rigby Monument, a marble monument erected in 1891 dedicated to Captain James H. Rigby and the 1st Maryland Light Artillery.
- The Unknown Dead Monument, a marble sculpture, dedicated in 1895.
- The Maryland Naval Monument, dedicated in 1896.
- The Confederate Monument, erected in 1912, marking the burial place of Confederate prisoners of war.
- Weiskittel-Roehle Burial VaultWeiskittel-Roehle Burial VaultWeiskittel-Roehle Burial Vault is a historic burial vault located in Section P, Loudon Park National Cemetery, Baltimore, Maryland. It is a rectangular structure made of cast iron built into the side of a hill, constructed to look like ashlar masonry and painted gray. It was made as the tomb of...
, listed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1976.
Notable interments
- Private Henry G. Costin, 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 during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. - Private James T. Jennings, Medal of Honor recipient for action during the American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. - First Sergeant Henry NewmanHenry Newman (Medal of Honor)Henry Newman was a German-born soldier in the U.S. Army who served with the 5th U.S. Cavalry during the Indian Wars. In the Apache Wars, he was one of three men received the Medal of Honor for gallantry against a hostile band of Apache Indians in the Whetstone Mountains of Arizona on July 13,...
, 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 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...
. - First Sergeant Wilhelm O. Philipsen, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Colorado TerritoryColorado TerritoryThe Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
during the Indian Wars. - Charles Reginald SchirmCharles Reginald SchirmCharles Reginald Schirm was a U.S. Representative from Maryland.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Schirm attended the public schools. He commenced, but did not complete, an apprenticeship in iron molding, and attended Washington and Jefferson College of Washington, Pennsylvania. He went on to teach...
, US Congressman. - Hans SchulerHans SchulerHans K. Schuler was a German-born American sculptor and monument maker. He was the first American sculptor ever to win the Salon Gold Medal. His works are in several important museum collections, and he also created many public monuments, mostly for locations in Maryland and in the Washington,...
, sculptor. - Henry Stockbridge, Jr.Henry Stockbridge, Jr.Henry Stockbridge, Jr. was a U.S. Representative from Maryland.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Stockbridge attended public and private schools and Williston Academy of Easthampton, Massachusetts. He graduated from Amherst College in 1877, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity...
, US Congressman. - Sergeant William TaylorWilliam Taylor (Medal of Honor)William Taylor was a Union Army soldier and officer during the American Civil War. He received the Medal of Honor for gallantry during two separate Virginia engagements...
, two time Medal of Honor recipient for action during the Civil War. - Frank Charles WachterFrank Charles WachterFrank Charles Wachter was an American politician and Congressman from Maryland.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Wachter attended private schools and St. Paul's Evangelical School at Baltimore. He learned the trade of cloth cutting and in 1892 engaged in the cloth-shrinking business...
, US Congressman. - Colonel Joseph Martin Sudsburg, Reowned Wood Sculptor
See also
- United States Department of Veterans AffairsUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsThe United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
- United States National CemeteryUnited 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...