GENERAL INFORMATION

The Salisbury National Cemetery has two locations. One is the old historic section, which is located at 202 Government Avenue. This cemetery has space available for cremated remains. We may be able to accommodate casketed remains in the same gravesite of previously interred family members.

The new annex and administration offices are located at 501 Statesville Boulevard. This portion of the cemetery is located behind the W.G. (Bill) Hefner VA Medical Center at 1601 Brenner Avenue and has space available to accommodate casketed interments. This site is open and is currently constructing a columbarium for future interment of cremated remains.

Military Funeral Honors
Either the family or a funeral director must make arrangements for military funeral honors. When these arrangements have been made, please notify the cemetery representative.

Some telephone numbers that may be helpful in obtaining military funeral honors are:  

Local Numbers for Military Funeral Honors:
U.S. Marine Corps – (843) 228-2770
U.S. Army – (800) 682-6973
U.S. Air Force – (910) 394-9000
U.S. Navy – (904) 542-1536
U.S. Coast Guard – (757) 398-6390

The Department of Veterans Affairs and cemetery staff members do not exercise authority over the extent, content, or nature of honors and ceremonies furnished by the individual branches of the military service. Questions and inquiries regarding these matters should be directed to the branch of service in which the veteran served.

The Rowan County Veterans Council will also perform Military Funeral Honors. Call Buddy Kyles at (704) 637-6552.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Salisbury National Cemetery was established by Confederate authorities to serve as the burial ground for captured Union soldiers incarcerated at the prison in Salisbury. The practice of prisoner exchange kept the prison populations down until 1864, after which their populations swelled. In the fall of 1864, the number of soldiers at Salisbury prison doubled from 5,000 to 10,000. It suffered from one of the highest prison death rates, with as many as half the men dying of starvation or disease.

Recent historical research has led to a disparity over how many men are believed to have died during the last year or so of the war and are buried at the cemetery. The dead were buried in 18 trenches measuring about 240 feet long, located at the southeast end of the cemetery. Colonel Oscar A. Mack, the inspector of cemeteries, said in his report of 1870-71, "The bodies were placed one above the other, and mostly without coffins. From the number of bodies exhumed from a given space it was estimated that the number buried in these trenches was 11,700. The number of burials from the prison pen cannot be accurately known." The figure of 11,700 was accepted for many years, however, it is probably lower and it is doubtful we will ever know exactly how many unknown remains are there.

After the war this was designated Salisbury National Cemetery, and another 412 remains were relocated here from Lexington, Charlotte, Morgantown, and other places. The cemetery was dedicated in 1874, a wall was built around the perimeter the following year, and by 1876 the headstones and a monument were in place. Salisbury National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Monuments and Memorials
In June 1908, the state of Maine erected a 25-foot high granite monument topped by a soldier, to commemorate its soldiers who perished here.

The Federal Monument to the Unknown Dead is a granite obelisk that was commissioned by Congress in 1873. The government contracted Alexander McDonald of Mount Auburn, Massachusetts, to build the monument by Dec. 31, 1876. The monument, measuring 50 feet tall with a base of 18 feet, was built to honor the unknown soldiers who died in the Salisbury Confederate Prison.

The Pennsylvania Monument was erected in 1909, and stands 40 feet high on a granite base that is 20 feet by 20 feet. This monument was erected to commemorate the patriotic devotion, heroism and self sacrifice of the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania volunteers who died while confined as POWs in the Confederate military prison at Salisbury. Dedicated Nov. 16, 1910, according to speakers at the ceremony, the 736 men honored represent the largest number of Pennsylvania dead buried in any cemetery

The All Wars Monument is a cast-stone monument located near the flagpole, which contains plaques of each service designation (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard). The Rowan County Veterans Council donated it on May 27, 1990.

A memorial in honor of the 4th Marine Division was erected in 2002.
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NOTABLE BURIALS

Other Burials
Private First Class Marshall Sharp, Cook, Service Troop, Troop K, 10th Regiment, U.S. Calvary. Buffalo Soldier. Date of interment - June 19, 1946, (Section A, Grave 680).
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS

Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.

Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.

Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during the period of October 10 through April 15, and 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.

Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.

Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.

Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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