What Is a National Cemetery?
Based on the principles articulated by President Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address–“that these dead shall not have died in vain,” the U.S. Congress passed the National Cemeteries Act in 1863. The law established thirteen cemeteries to inter veterans of the Armed Forces and their families, and made stipulations for veterans of the Civil War as well as subsequent armed conflicts. Originally managed by the War Department, the National Cemetery system now includes 114 cemeteries, managed since 1973 by the Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The Growth of San Francisco National Cemetery The first cemetery at the Presidio, used by the governments of Spain and Mexico, was located to the east of the National Cemetery, adjacent to today’s Parade Ground (see sign just north of the Visitor Center). Although this cemetery was never used to inter American dead, not long after the United States assumed control of the military post, the Army established a post cemetery on the current site of the Nation
