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Fort Smith National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Fort Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas. It encompasses 22.3 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 13,127 interments.
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History
Fort Smith was a frontier fort first established in 1817, by General William Bradford as a post to prevent hostilities between the Cherokees and the Osage. Despite the strategic importance of the post, the army closed it after a severe outbreak of disease which had taken the lives of several of the men stationed there by 1824. The initial interments were made in the area during this time.
In 1838, a new fort was constructed on the site, including an officer's quarters where General Zachary Taylor lived from 1841 until 1845. At this time, the original post cemetery was repaired, expanded, and improved.
On April 23, 1861, the start of the American Civil War, the post was abandoned by the forces that were there, and it was occupied by a Confederate garrison. During their occupation of the fort, nearly 400 Confederate soldiers were buried in the cemetery. The fort was retaken by Union forces on September 1, 1863. In 1867 the post cemetery officially became a National Cemetery and many of the nearby battlefield cemeteries had their remains re-interred there.
Notable monuments
- A memorial to Unknown Confederate Dead, made of marble. It also commemorates Brigadier General James M. McIntosh, who died at the Battle of Pea Ridge and Brigadier General Alexander E. Steen, who was killed at the Battle of Prairie Grove.
- A Vietnam Veterans memorial, constructed of granite and bronze, erected in 1998.
Notable interments
- Brigadier General William Orlando Darby, World War II veteran, leader of Darby's Rangers.
- Isaac C. Parker, U.S. representative, frontier judge known as "The Hanging Judge".
- Major John J. Mawn (1915-2007), a decorated World War II officer, who was the information officer during Elvis Presley's military tour in Germany and the technical advisor on the film G.I. Blues.