VA national cemetery
Mobile National Cemetery (Post Section)
Mobile, Alabama
Location
763 Owens Street
Mobile, AL 36604
Visiting
- Address
- 763 Owens Street, Mobile, AL 36604
- Phone
- 850-453-4846
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
- Office hours
- Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Barrancas National Cemetery office. Open Memorial Day. Closed all other federal holidays.
- Time zone
- Central Time
- Burial space
- Closed
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Artificial flowers will be permitted on graves only during the period from November 10 through March 15.
Potted plants will be permitted on graves only during the period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Christmas.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 15 through January 10.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the 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
Mobile National Cemetery is divided into two separate parcels of land.
Mobile National Cemetery is located at:
763 Owens St
Mobile, AL, 36604
Mobile National Cemetery Post is located at:
1202 Virginia St
Mobile, AL, 36604
The Mobile National Cemetery is administered by Barrancas National Cemetery. Please contact them at the telephone number listed above.
The cemetery is located on both sides of Virginia Street. The Post Section, Memorial Section and Sections 1 through 4 are located on the east side of Virginia Street. Sections 5 through 8 are located on the west side of Virginia Street.
Military Funeral Honors
Arrangements for military funeral honors are the responsibility of the funeral director or the family. The Barrancas Cemetery staff will provide the contact telephone numbers upon request.
Local Military and Chaplain Telephone Numbers:
U.S. Air Force: 850-882-2156 for Chaplain and Honors
U.S. Army: 334-255-9081 or 9311 for Chaplain and Honors
U.S. Coast Guard: 251-441-6014 or 305-335-4591 for Honors and 850-452-2341 for Chaplain
U.S. Marine Corps: 866-826-3628 for Honors and 850-452-2341 for Chaplain
U.S. Navy: 904-452-1536 or 9807 for Honors and 850-452-2341 for Chaplain
Directions from Nearest Airport
From the Mobile Airport, travel east on Airport Boulevard approximately eight miles to Old Government Street. Turn right and travel ¼ mile to Government Street. Bear to your left and stay on Government (east) about two miles to South Ann Street. Turn right and proceed one mile then turn left onto Virginia Street. Cemetery is on your left.
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.
Mobile National Cemetery was established in 1865 after the Port of Mobile fell into Union hands under the assault of Rear Admiral David Farragut during the Civil War.
Two years after defeating the Confederate fleet at Vicksburg, Farragut was summoned from his New York home to lead an attack on Mobile Bay, the last Confederate stronghold in the Gulf of Mexico. Mobile was not only protected by Fort Morgan and a fleet of wooden vessels, but also by the formidable confederate ship, the Tennessee and a field of explosive mines called torpedoes. Undaunted, Farragut readied his fleet for battle. Using a strategy that had worked before, he ordered his wooden ships lashed together in pairs, one large ship and one small ship. In this manner, if the larger frigate was disabled in battle, the smaller vessel could tow it to safety.
Farragut's fleet of wooden ships, along with four small ironclad monitors, began the attack on Mobile Bay early in the morning of August 5, 1864. When the smoke of battle became so thick that he couldn't see, Farragut climbed the rigging of the Hartford and lashed himself near the top of the mainsail to get a better view. It wasn't long before the Tecumseh, one of the monitors leading the way, was struck by a torpedo and sank. In a state of confusion, the fleet came to a halt in front of the powerful guns of Fort Morgan. Realizing the fleet was reluctant to move forward due to the "infernal machines," Farragut rallied his men to victory, shouting: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
The Union fleet steamed through the minefield, blasted Fort Morgan, and captured the Confederate ironclad Tennessee. Mobile Bay fell into Union hands in one of the most decisive naval victories of the Civil War.
When Union forces first took Mobile, they interred their casualties in portions of the city-owned Magnolia Cemetery, but following the Army's request for additional burial space, Mobile provided the Union troops with three acres. The first interments were remains from surrounding military sites and forts. An inspector's report of the cemetery, dated February 1871, states that of 841 burials only 124 were identified. In 1872, the Army ranked Mobile a first-class cemetery, a categorization probably based on size and activity; by 1876 it was reassessed as a second-class cemetery.
In addition to the number of Civil War dead, a number of Apache Indians are buried in Mobile National Cemetery. After Geronimo's surrender, members of the Apache nation were first sent to Florida, then transferred to Vernon Barracks. During their time at the barracks, 13 fell ill and were subsequently buried here, including Chappo, the son of the great Apache leader Geronimo.
Mobile National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
Monuments and Memorials
The 76th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment Monument was erected in 1892 by survivors of the Battle of Port Blakely, AL, in honor of their fallen comrades.
The Confederate Fortification Monument marks the remains of an old Confederate breastwork. The granite monument was erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1940.
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.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 435 Medal of Honor recipients interred at VA national cemeteries including 6 double recipients.
» Medal of Honor recipients interred or memorialized here:
Private First Class John Dury New (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor posthumously for service in the U.S. Marine Corps, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in recognition of gallantry and self-sacrifice on Peleliu Island, Palau Group, September 25, 1944. New is buried in Section 7, Site 2147.
Other Burials
Chappo, son of Apache Indian Geronimo (Section 1, Site 621-B).
Larry (Lanny) Fun, cousin of Geronimo (Section 3, Site 656-C).
841 Civil War dead, which includes 628 Union soldiers, 23 civilian employees of the U S Army, 112 Unknowns, and 78 US Colored Troops representing 10 Infantry regiments from various states.
There are also 4 Confederate soldiers interred in the cemetery.
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. Mobile National Cemetery (Post Section) (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Census Bureau. Census Geocoder and 2025 Gazetteer files.