GENERAL INFORMATION

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HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Hampton National Cemetery is located in Hampton, Va., near Hampton Roads, in the vicinity of where the historic Civil War naval battle between the Confederate Merrimac/Virginia and the Union Monitor iron-clad ships occurred in 1862. The cemetery’s first burials took place in 1862 and the cemetery is among numerous national cemeteries with origins that date to the Civil War.

The great number of sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War resulted in numerous military hospitals being set up near battle sites. A 1,800-bed military hospital was established at Fort Monroe, near Hampton. Although the Fort Monroe hospital was better staffed and organized than many Civil War hospitals, the mortality rate was high. Consequently, burials at Hampton National Cemetery included many soldiers who died at Fort Monroe and other military hospitals in the vicinity. Although burials began at the cemetery in 1862, it was not classified by the U.S. Government as a national cemetery until 1866. The legal transfer of 4.749 acres for the cemetery did not occur until 1868.

There are 638 unknowns soldiers buried at Hampton National Cemetery--most of them Civil War soldiers who fell in combat and were originally hastily buried on the battlefield. There are also 272 Confederate soldiers buried in a separate section.

Hampton National Cemetery is one of 13 national cemeteries in which World War II prisoners of war are interred. There are 55 German and five Italian POWs buried in the Phoebus Addition section of Hampton National Cemetery, which is a discontiguous tract of the cemetery.

During World War II, on April 14, 1942, a German U-boat, U-85, was sunk by the U.S.S. Roper on April 14, 1942 off of Cape Hatteras. The entire crew was lost and the boat sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. On April 15, 1942, full military honors were provided for 28 German sailors from U-85 and they were interred at Hampton National Cemetery. The bodies and a few life jackets were all that surfaced after the submarine was sunk. On board the ship, when it sank, was an Enigma decoding machine. The machine was recovered from the ship during a dive in 2001 and is currently on loan from the German government to the Atlantic Graveyard Museum located in Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Through acquisition of additional land parcels since 1862, the cemetery has grown in acreage from its original size of 4.749 acres to its present size of 27.071 acres. Hampton National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 26, 1996.

Monuments and Memorials
The Union Soldiers monument is a 65’ tall granite obelisk that was erected through the efforts of Dorothea Dix, the superintendent of women nurses in the U.S. Army during the Civil War. In 1868 Dix transferred ownership of the monument to the United States. The monument inscription reads: “In Memory of Union Soldiers Who Died to Maintain the Laws.”

Two small, rusticated granite blocks inscribed “To Our Confederate Dead” are situated near the burial location of 272 Confederates in the cemetery.
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NOTABLE BURIALS

Medal of Honor Recipients
Landsman Michael Cassidy, (Civil War), U.S.Navy. Aboard U.S.S. Lackawanna, in Mobile Bay, Aug. 5, 1864 (Phoebus Section B., Grave 9503).

Ordinary Seaman John Davis, (Civil War), U.S. Navy. Aboard U.S.S. Valley City, near Elizabeth City, N.C., Feb. 10, 1862 (Phoebus Section B, Grave 9534).

Coal Heaver James R. Garrison, (Civil War), U.S. Navy. Aboard the U.S.S. Hartford, in Tennessee in Mobile Bay, Aug. 5, 1864 (Phoebus Section B., Grave 9523).

Sergeant Alfred B. Hilton, (Civil War), 4th U.S. Colored Troops, Company H. At Chains Farm, Va., Sept. 29, 1864 (Hampton Section E, Grave 1231).

First Sergeant Harry J. Mandy, (Civil War), 4th New York Cavalry, Company B. At Front Royal, Va., Aug. 15, 1864 (Phoebus Section C, Grave 8709).

First Lieutenant Ruppert L. Sargent, (Vietnam Conflict), 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, Company B. Hau Nghia Province, Republic of Vietnam, March 15, 1967 (Hampton Section FI, Grave 7596).

Private Charles Veale, (Civil War), 4th U.S. Colored Troops, Company D. At Chapins Farm, Va., Sept. 29, 1864 (Hampton Section F, Grave 5097).

Coxswain David Warren, (Civil War), U.S. Navy. Aboard the U.S.S. Monticello, June 23 to 25, 1864 (Phoebus Section B, Grave 7972).
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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 periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 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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