Loudon Park National Cemetery

Loudon Park National Cemetery was one of the first 14 national cemeteries established by the federal government in 1862. It is 5.2 acres in size and contains just over 7,000 burials, many of which are Union soldiers, including around 238 African American soldiers. Confederate soldiers and a small number of civilians are interred here as well. Notable burials include five Medal of Honor recipients, two of whom died in the Civil War. There are several monuments as well, the most notable of which is the Maryland Sons Monument, which is 25-feet tall and features are three-foot tall frieze with bas relief sculptures and an obelisk. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

During the Civil War, Baltimore was bustling with activity with military and prison camps, hospitals, and forts. Union troops occupied the city throughout the war which was necessary since many residents in the city supported the Confederacy (retaining control of Baltimore was paramount given how near it is to Washington D.C.). On December 24, 1861, the U.S. Sanitary Commission selected a half-acre plot of land in Loudon Park Cemetery, which was a private burial ground, to bury Union soldiers who died at the nearby hospitals. The federal government leased it under and agreement with the Loudon Park Cemetery Company. An army sergeant managed the cemetery and by the end of the war it was overseen by a superintendent. It wasn't until Congress passed the National Cemetery Act on July 17, 1862, that the cemetery (and the 13 others) was officially established as a national cemetery.

In June 1874, the federal government acquired the cemetery for $500. In the coming decades the cemetery was gradually expanded and reached its current size by the early 1900s. By 1874, it had around 1,646 graves of Union soldiers. The remains of the African American Union troops were moved to the cemetery from a government lot in Laurel Cemetery in 1884. The graves of 256 Confederate soldiers were identified in 1912. Twenty-nine were reburied as well but their graves could be found. As a result, a monument was erected to them. A two-story folk Victorian lodge was built in the 1890s.

"Loudon Park National Cemetery." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed August 1, 2022. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=135081.

"Loudon Park National Cemetery." National Cemetery Association. Accessed August 2, 2022. https://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/loudonpark.asp.

Sammartino, Therese T. "Loudon Park National Cemetery." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 20, 1996. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/c897c0d3-fb21-41bf-8962-81fa0dc8c442.