Blandford Cemetery

Infobox_nrhp | name =Blandford Cemetery
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Petersburg, Virginia
lat_degrees = 37
lat_minutes = 13
lat_seconds = 33
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 22
long_seconds = 50
long_direction = W
locmapin = Virginia
area =
built =1702
architect= Davidson,James; Bowie,McCleary & Wright
architecture= Mid 19th Century Revival, Early Republic, Late Victorian
added = October 15, 1992
governing_body = Local
refnum=92001371cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

Blandford Cemetery is located in Petersburg, Virginia, USA. The oldest stone, marking the grave of Richard Fairbrough, reads 1702. Veterans of six wars are buried there, including 30,000 Confederates killed in the Siege of Petersburg (1864-65) during the American Civil War.

In 1866, Blandford Cemetery was the site of the first Memorial Day ceremony in the United States. While visiting the cemetery, the wife of Union General John A. Logan was present and spied Miss Nora Fontaine Davidson, a schoolteacher, and her pupils putting flowers and tiny Confederate flags on the soldiers' graves. Shortly afterward General Logan issued a proclamation calling for the observance of Memorial Day.

Former Confederate General William Mahone, his wife Otelia, and many of their kinfolk are interred there.

References