- Fort Gibson National Cemetery
Fort Gibson National Cemetery is a
United States National Cemetery located a mile north of the town of Fort Gibson, inMuskogee County, Oklahoma . It encompasses convert|48.3|acre|m2, and as of the end of 2005, had 17,426 interments.History
Fort Gibson was established in 1833, on a plot of land within the
Cherokee nation. It is at what is considered to be the end of theTrail of Tears . Frontier life was hard,yellow fever was common, and at least three separate cemeteries were created between 1833 and 1857 when the Fort was abandoned.In 1863 the Fort was remanned by Brigadier General
James G. Blunt . In 1868 the National Cemetery was established in a convert|7|acre|m2|sing=on plot, and all of the nearby cemeteries had their interments transferred to it, this included the remains of many civilians.Fort Gibson National Cemetery was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places onMay 20 ,1999 .Notable monuments
*An "In Memory Of" marker to Corporal John Haddoo,
Medal of Honor recipient for action inMontana Territory during theIndian Wars who is buried in a mass grave inCuster National Cemetery .Notable interments
*Major Joel Elliot, commanded a unit under
George Armstrong Custer atBattle of Washita River
*CaptainSonuk Mikko (Billy Bowlegs),Seminole who fought for the Union in theAmerican Civil War
*First LieutenantJack C. Montgomery ,Medal of Honor recipient for action inWorld War II
*Private First ClassJohn N. Reese, Jr. , Medal of Honor recipient for action inWorld War II
*Talahina Rogers, Cherokee wife of GeneralSam Houston
*Vivia Thomas , figure of a local legend that she was the daughter of a wealthy Boston family, and that she was abandoned at the wedding altar by a soldier who was assigned to Fort Gibson. She disguised herself as a man so she could pass as a soldier and travelled to the Fort alone, confronted him and killed him. She later died of pneumonia that she was said to have contracted while repeatedly braving cold and harsh weather to visit his grave site.ee also
*
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
*United States National Cemetery External links
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/ftgibson.asp Fort Gibson National Cemetery]
* [http://ksbyways.org/military/index.html Kansas Territory: Frontier Military Scenic Byway]
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