VA national cemetery
Mound City National Cemetery
Mound City, Illinois
Location
141 State Highway 37
Mound City, IL 62963
Visiting
- Address
- 141 State Highway 37, Mound City, IL 62963
- Phone
- 618-694-1391
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from dawn to dusk.
- Office hours
- Cemetery maintained by Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery .
- Time zone
- Central Time
- Burial space
- Open
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Fresh cut flowers may be placed at gravesites at any time.
Artificial floral arrangements may be placed on gravesites starting the second Saturday in October through the second Sunday in April.
Fresh or artificial floral arrangements should be no taller than 24".
Floral arrangements should not completely cover the headstone or marker and should not encroach upon adjacent gravesites.
Floral items will be removed from gravesites when they become faded or unsightly.
Christmas wreaths (18" or smaller) and grave floral blankets (not to exceed 2' x 3') may be placed on gravesites beginning December 1. They will remain until the January wreath and floral pick-up. Please contact the cemetery for specific pick-up dates.
Easter, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day decorations and artificial floral arrangements may be placed the Thursday prior to the holiday and must be removed by the Sunday following the holiday.
Please do not secure floral items or other types of decorations to headstones or markers.
Permanent flower containers are not authorized.
The national cemetery will honor all Veteran gravesites prior to Memorial Day with a small U.S. flag. These flags will be removed immediately after Memorial Day.
We suggest that items placed at a gravesite be marked with the section and site number of your loved one. This is so they can be identified by the person who placed them, as well as for assisting employees in returning them to the correct gravesite if items are moved during inclement weather.
The following items are prohibited for placement at a gravesite, columbarium, or memorial wall and are subject to removal by cemetery staff:
- Alcoholic products
- Balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, or other similar items
- Decorative and breakable glass or plastic items
- 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
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
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery maintains this cemetery. Please contact Jefferson Barracks at the telephone number listed above.
Directions from Nearest Airport
The nearest airport is in Marion. Take Interstate 57 south to Mounds exit (approximately 50 miles). Follow signs to Highway 51. Turn left and travel four miles to cemetery.
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.
Mound City National Cemetery is located in Pulaski County, approximately one mile from Mound City, IL. This area was the home of large naval shipyards that provided warships to the Union's Mississippi Squadron during the Civil War. The Mississippi Squadron was composed of 80 vessels including the famous ironclads USS Cairo, USS Cincinnati, and USS Mound City.
Mound City was also the site of a large Civil War hospital complex. Originally, the city's hotel and foundry were converted to hospitals to house both Union and Confederate wounded pouring into the city in the wake of battles at Shiloh, Vicksburg and elsewhere. In April 1862, the gunboat Mound City captured the steamer Red Rover, which had been used as a Confederate floating barracks. Union officials refitted the vessel as a hospital ship and assigned it to the U.S. Naval hospital at Mound City. The Red Rover sailed with the Mississippi Squadron in its engagements. Although the shipyards have largely vanished, one hospital building remains near the Ohio River levee.
In 1864, the federal government designated a plot of land near the general hospital to serve as a national cemetery. The original 1,644 interments at Mound City National Cemetery were men who had died there. Later interments would include casualties of battles at Cairo, IL; Belmont, MO; and Paducah, KY. A 1871 report by the inspector of national cemeteries lists approximately 2,300 known service men interred at Mound City and over 2,400 unknowns.
Mound City National Cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Monuments and Memorials
The Illinois State Soldiers and Sailors Monument is a marble and concrete construction honoring 2,637 unknown soldiers and sailors who lost their lives in defense of the country during the Civil War. It was erected in 1874 by the state of Illinois.
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. Mound City National Cemetery (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. VA National Cemetery Sites (dataset).