Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 04/28/1995
NRHP Listing Date 08/10/1995
NRHP Reference Number 95000921
Taking its name from the nearby Confederate fortification, part of the Richmond defenses, Fort Harrison National Cemetery was established in May 1866. Of the 1,522 total interments, the majority of which are known and unknown Civil War dead, most were killed in the fighting around Richmond in 1964. One, Pvt. George A. Buchanan, of the 148th New York Infantry, fell on September 29, 1964 while attacking a Confederate Battery at Fort Harrison and was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. Four others died while prisoners of war. Many buried in the cemetery were soldiers of the United States Colored Troops. The Second Empire-style superintendent’s lodge was built in 1871 from a design by Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs. The largest monument in the cemetery is a seacoast artillery tube set in a concrete base.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: October 21, 2021
