Confederate cemetery · VA-listed site
Crown Hill Confederate Plot
Indianapolis, Indiana
Location
700 W 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46208
Visiting
- Address
- 700 W 38th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208
- Phone
- 765-674-0284
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
- Office hours
- Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day.
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- Burial space
- Closed
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Natural, fresh-cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year and will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations.
Artificial flowers are permitted on graves only from October 10 through April 15. Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20.
One small American flag may be placed on the grave and will be removed when it is damaged, faded or tattered.
At no time shall any object be attached to a grave marker, placed directly on top of a grave marker, or encroach on an adjacent grave.
The following items are prohibited for placement at a gravesite, and are subject to removal by cemetery staff:
- Alcoholic products or other similar items
- Balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, or other similar items
- Decorative and breakable glass or plastic items such as: vigil lights, glass vases or decorative glass
- Non-government supplied floral containers (pots, planters, vases, etc.)
- Any objects that could become projectiles when caught in grounds maintenance equipment (such as rocks, coins, or other small durable objects)
- Offensive items or those deemed inconsistent with the cemetery setting
- Permanent in-ground plantings
- Weapons of any kind, explosives, or ammunition
- Any object attached to headstones, markers, or niche covers
Using permanent markers or paint on headstones is always strictly prohibited.
Cemetery personnel will inspect each grave for unsightly or unauthorized items on the first and third Wednesday of each month. Durable items removed from graves will be held for one month. These items remain property of the donor but are under custodianship of the cemetery. If not claimed within 30 days, they are governed by rules for disposal of federal property.
Weapons Policy
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
General information, from the VA
The private and community cemeteries that contain NCA soldiers' and government lots, and Confederate cemeteries, do not always have staffed offices on site. When administrative information for the larger cemetery is available, it is provided below.
Crown Hill Cemetery
Phone: 317-925-8231
Website: www.crownhill.org
Note: Link will take you outside the VA website. VA does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of the linked website.
This plot is overseen by Marion National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
Directions from Nearest Airport
Travel east on Airport Expressway. Take Interstate 74 West/Interstate 465 North exit. Merge onto Interstate 465 North/Interstate 74 West. Continue straight to Interstate 465 North. From Interstate 465 North take the 38th Street exit, exit number 17. Keep right at the fork in the ramp. Merge onto West 38th Street. Turn Left onto Clarendon Road. From Clarendon Road turn left onto West 38th Street. The cemetery will be on the right.
Pay your respects
Visitors to veterans’ graves sometimes leave a coin on the headstone to show that someone came. You can leave a symbolic coin here. No money is involved, and nothing about you is published. About the custom, and what each coin is said to mean.
History
Reproduced from the VA National Cemetery Administration’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026. This is the VA’s text, unedited; it is not independent research by this site.
The Crown Hill Confederate Plot is located in Section 32, Lot 285, of Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN. Crown Hill Cemetery is notable as one of the largest private cemeteries in the country at 555 acres. Incorporated September 25, 1863, as a non-denominational facility, Crown Hill Cemetery provided much needed burial grounds at a time when space was diminishing in the city cemetery. Following the contemporary movement to locate cemeteries away from urban cores, Crown Hill Cemetery was established approximately three miles away from downtown Indianapolis. Among the many notables buried in Crown Hill Cemetery are President Benjamin Harrison, 11 governors of Indiana, and the notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
The Crown Hill Cemetery Confederate Plot was established in 1931 as a memorial and burial place for 1,616 unknown Confederate Soldiers. Most of the soldiers interred here died at Camp Morton, a Union prison on the north side of Indianapolis. Between 1862 and 1865, at least 9,000 Confederate prisoners passed through the gates of Camp Morton. Initially, deceased prisoners were interred in the nearby Greenlawn Cemetery. In 1912, the federal government erected an imposing, 27' tall Confederate monument in Greenlawn Cemetery, featuring the names of persons who perished at Camp Morton. However, Greenlawn Cemetery closed in 1928, and the Confederate monument was relocated to the city's Garfield Park to make it more visible to the public. Five years later, the remains of the Confederate soldiers were moved to Crown Hill Cemetery, and placed in a mass grave. On top of the mound a new granite monument was erected, commemorating the unknown Confederate dead.
Crown Hill Cemetery, including the Confederate Plot and the nearby Crown Hill National Cemetery - established for the Union dead - was listed on the National Register for Historic Places in February 1973.
Monuments and Memorials
The original inscription on the 6' tall granite monument erected on the site in 1933 read: "Remains of 1616 Unknown Confederate Soldiers who died at Indianapolis while Prisoners of War." In 1993, a local effort led to the rededication of the site, which included a modification of the original monument. Today, a bronze tablet on its base reads: "Confederate Mound: These Confederate soldiers and sailors died at Indianapolis while prisoners of war. They were transferred here from Greenlawn Cemetery in 1933 to rest eternal. A large monument to these dead now stands in Garfield Park, Indianapolis, Indiana." In addition, ten bronze tablets on granite bases were placed nearby, which contain the names of the Confederate dead believed to have been re-interred here.
Notable burials and memorials
Reproduced from the VA’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026, including Medal of Honor recipients where the VA lists them. Links lead to the VA’s own records. To correct an entry, contact the VA; to tell us our copy is out of date, report it.
Nearby veterans cemeteries
Sources
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Find a Cemetery: all national cemeteries, and each cemetery’s own page. U.S. government work (public domain). Retrieved November 11, 2026. Used for: name, address, phone and burial-space status, hours, policies, history and notable burials.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Crown Hill Confederate Plot (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. VA National Cemetery Sites (dataset).