Wilmington National Cemetery
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Wilmington National Cemetery is a
United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress o ...
located in the city of Wilmington, in
New Hanover County, North Carolina New Hanover County is one of 100 counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land area, it is one of the most populous, as its county seat, Wi ...
. Administered by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
, it encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had over 6,000 interred remains.


History

In 1867, the land for Wilmington National Cemetery was purchased by the federal government. Most of the original interments were remains moved from Wilmington City Cemetery and nearby forts, such as
Fort Fisher Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865. The fort was located on one of Cape Fear Rive ...
. By 1870 there were over 2,000 interments. In 1918, there was an outbreak of
influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...
on board a ship docked at the
Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Caro ...
which was carrying a group of Puerto Rican laborers to
Fayetteville, North Carolina Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city. Fayetteville has received the All-America ...
to aid in the construction of Camp Bragg. Twenty-eight of the laborers died from the disease and were interred at Wilmington National Cemetery. Wilmington National Cemetery was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1997.


Notable interments

* George "Possum" Whitted (1890–1962), major league baseball player,
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
veteran. There is one British Commonwealth war grave, of a
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
Gunner of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
CWGC Casualty Record.


References


External links


National Cemetery Administration

Wilmington National Cemetery
* *
CWGC: Wilmington National Cemetery
{{Authority control Protected areas of New Hanover County, North Carolina United States national cemeteries Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in New Hanover County, North Carolina Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the United States