Description

Battleground National Cemetery is one of the country's smallest national cemeteries, encompassing only about one acre of land. It was established in 1864 under the direction of then-President Abraham Lincoln, as a dedicated place to bury 41 Union soldiers who died in the Battle of Fort Stevens. The cemetery is appointed with various patriotic elements, including two Civil War smoothbore guns, a central flagpole surrounded by 41 headstones to commemorate the late soldiers, and a bronze plaque of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. There are also four granite pillars adorning the cemetery's grounds to commemorate the four volunteer companies who fought bravely to protect Fort Stevens.