Barrancas National Cemetery
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Location | Pensacola, Florida, US |
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Coordinates | 30°21′18″N 87°17′10″W / 30.3550°N 87.2860°WCoordinates: 30°21′18″N 87°17′10″W / 30.3550°N 87.2860°W |
Area | 45.1 acres (18.3 ha) |
MPS | Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS |
NRHP Reference # | 98000083 |
Added to NRHP | February 12, 1998 |
Barrancas National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, in the city of Pensacola, Florida. It encompasses 94.9 acres (38.4 ha), and as of the end of 2005, had 32,643 interments.
The area has been used as a burial ground since the construction of Fort Barrancas. In 1838 it was established as a United States Navy cemetery. During the Civil War, Pensacola was hotly contested, as it was considered to be the best port for access to the Gulf of Mexico. Numerous soldiers on both sides were interred in the cemetery after falling in combat, or dying in nearby hospitals. After the war, in 1868, Barrancas was officially made a National Cemetery and many other nearby makeshift burial grounds were disinterred and relocated to Barrancas. In each year, 1944, 1950, 1986, and 1990, more area was transferred from NAS Pensacola to expand the facilities for the cemetery.
Barrancas National Cemetery has a monument honoring those soldiers who died from yellow fever. It was erected in 1884 by the Marine Guard of the Pensacola Navy Yard.