Santa Fe National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military 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. ...

in the city of Santa Fe, in

Santa Fe County, New Mexico Santa Fe County (; meaning "County of the Holy faith" in Spanish) is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 census, its population was 154,823, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Count ...

. It encompasses , and as of 2021, had 68,000 interments. 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 lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

, it is one of two national cemeteries in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

(the other being Fort Bayard). It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2016.

History

The first known burial in the cemetery occurred in 1868 prior to the formal establishment of the land as a national cemetery. Though

only played a small part in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the cemetery was created after the war to inter the Union soldiers who died fighting there, primarily at the

Battle of Glorieta Pass The Battle of Glorieta Pass was fought March 26–28, 1862, in the northern New Mexico Territory, by Union Army, Union and Confederate States Army, Confederate forces during the American Civil War. While not the largest battle of the New Mexic ...

. The

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the southwestern region of the United States in the state of New Mexico. While the mother church of the archdiocese, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Fr ...

donated the land to the federal government in 1870. In 1876 its status was changed to a post cemetery, but in 1885 it became a national cemetery once again. The remains of Governor Charles Bent, the first American governor of the Territory of New Mexico, were among 47 bodies removed in 1895 from the old Masonic Cemetery in Santa Fe to the national cemetery. Between 1896 and 1912, the government moved remains here from several abandoned forts which had small post cemeteries including

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

and Grant in Arizona, Hatch and

Wingate Wingate may refer to: Places New Zealand * Wingate, New Zealand, a suburb of Lower Hutt United Kingdom * Wingate, County Durham * Wingate Quarry, a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham * Old Wingate, County Durham * Wingate ...

in New Mexico, and Duchesne in Utah among many other smaller posts. In 1953, the government acquired an additional 25 acres, bringing the cemetery to 34 acres. On June 23, 1987, the remains of 31 Confederate soldiers of the Texas Mounted Volunteers who were killed or died as a result of wounds during the Battle of Glorieta Pass were discovered in a mass grave on the battlefield. Three were identified and 28 who could not be identified were reburied in Section K together. In 2007 the remains of sixty-four federal soldiers and civilians discovered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at the site of

Fort Craig Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet nor ...

were relocated to here. In 2017 the Veterans Administration was unsuccessful in purchasing six acres of land adjacent to the cemetery and current estimates are that the site will be at capacity before 2030.

Notable monuments

* Memorial made of granite and bronze dedicated to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Glider Pilots, erected in 1994. * Memorial to "Women Who Served in the Navy" erected in 1995. * The China-Burma-India Veterans Memorial, dedicated to World War II veterans, erected in 2002. * The Navajo Code Talkers Memorial, erected in 2013.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipients ** First Lieutenant Alexander Bonnyman Jr., for action at the

Battle of Tarawa The Battle of Tarawa was fought on 20–23 November 1943 between the United States and Japan on Tarawa Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, and was part of Operation Galvanic, the U.S. invasion of the Gilberts. Nearly 6,400 Japanese, Koreans, and Am ...

during World War II ** Watertender Edward A. Clary, for peace time service on board USS Hopkins ** Private Edwin L. Elwood, for action in Arizona Territory during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...

** Specialist Four Daniel D. Fernandez, for action during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

** Corporal Jacob Guenther, for action in Arizona Territory during the

** Second Lieutenant Raymond G. Murphy USMC, for action in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

on February 3, 1953 ** Corporal Thomas Murphy, US Army, for action in the Indian Wars ** Yuma Indian and Army Scout Sergeant Y. B. Rowdy, for action in

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona, commonly known as the Arizona Territory, was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the ...

during the

** Captain Robert S. Scott, for action in World War II ** Private First Class Jose F. Valdez, for action during World War II * Others ** Captain George Nicholas Bascom, Union officer killed in the Battle of Val Verde in 1862 ** Governor Charles Bent, first American governor of

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of '' Nuevo México'' becomi ...

** Lieutenant Colonel José Francisco Chaves, Union Army officer during the

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from the

** Colonel Gale Cleven, World War II B-17 Bomber Pilot ** John O. Crosby, musician, conductor and arts administrator, U.S. Army Veteran ** Forrest Fenn, US Air Force pilot and the person behind the

Fenn treasure The Fenn Treasure was a cache of gold and jewels that Forrest Fenn, an art dealer and author from Santa Fe, New Mexico, hid in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. It was found approximately a decade later in 2020 in Wyoming by an anonymous ...

. **

Tony Hillerman Anthony Grove Hillerman (May 27, 1925 – October 26, 2008) was an American author of detective novels and nonfiction works, best known for his mystery novels featuring Navajo Nation Police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. Several of his w ...

, novelist and journalist ** Van Dorn Hooker, University architect for the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

Patrick J. Hurley Patrick Jay Hurley (January 8, 1883July 30, 1963) was an American attorney, Republican Party politician, military officer, and diplomat. He was the 51st United States Secretary of War from 1929 to 1933 in the cabinet of Herbert Hoover and a ke ...

, Major General,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and World War II, U.S. Ambassador to China from (1944–45), and

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

for President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

** James B. Jones, lieutenant governor of New Mexico ** Jack P. Juhan, Marine Corps Major General ** Oliver La Farge, 1930

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

winning author of the novel ''Laughing Boy'', Army Major during

** Francis W. Nye, Air Force Major General during

and

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

** James P. Riseley, Marine Corps Lieutenant General ** William G. Ritch, acting Governor of the New Mexico Territory, member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

** John Bristol Speer, attorney, judge, politician, and writer ** Roy Tackett, Marine Corps

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

credited with the introduction of Sci-Fi to Japan and co-founder of Bubonicon **

Valentin de Vargas Valentin de Vargas (born Albert Charles Schubert; April 27, 1935 – June 10, 2013) was an American actor known for appearing in films in the 1950s and 1960s. Two of his prominent roles were as a gangster threatening Janet Leigh in Orson Welles' ...

, actor, U.S. Army veteran. ** Rebecca Welles, American television and film actress ** Frank Chee Willeto, Navajo code talker,

Congressional Silver Medal A Congressional Silver Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. They have been made in either non-portable (not designed to be worn) or decoration (designed to be worn) form. Congress has been authorizing Congressional Gold Med ...

recipient and Vice President of the Navajo Nation (1998–1999)

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Santa Fe National Cemetery
* * * {{Authority control United States national cemeteries Protected areas of Santa Fe County, New Mexico Historic American Landscapes Survey in New Mexico Tourist attractions in Santa Fe, New Mexico 1870 establishments in New Mexico Territory Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Santa Fe, New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture in Santa Fe, New Mexico

History

Notable monuments

Notable interments

See also

References

External links