Fort Gibson National Cemetery
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Fort Gibson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located a mile north of the town of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. It encompasses 48.3 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 17,426 interments.
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[edit] History
Fort Gibson was established in 1833, on a plot of land within the Cherokee nation. It is at what is considered to be the end of the Trail of Tears. Frontier life was hard, yellow fever was common, and at least three separate cemeteries were created between 1833 and 1857 when the Fort was abandoned.
In 1863 the Fort was remanned by Brigadier General James G. Blunt. In 1868 the National Cemetery was established in a 7 acre plot, and all of the nearby cemeteries had their interments transferred to it, this included the remains of many civilians.
Fort Gibson National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 20, 1999.
[edit] Notable monuments
- An "In Memory Of" marker to Corporal John Haddoo, Medal of Honor recipient for action in Montana Territory during the Indian Wars who is buried in a mass grave in Custer National Cemetery.
[edit] Notable interments
- Major Joel Elliot, commanded a unit under George Armstrong Custer at Battle of Washita River
- Captain Billy Bowlegs, Seminole chief who fought for the Union in the American Civil War
- First Lieutenant Jack C. Montgomery, Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II
- Private First Class John N. Reese Jr., Medal of Honor recipient for action in World War II
- Talahina Rogers, Cherokee wife of General Sam Houston
- Vivia Thomas, figure of a local legend that she was the daughter of a wealthy Boston family, and that she was abandoned at the wedding altar by a soldier who was assigned to Fort Gibson. She disguised herself as a man so she could pass as a soldier and travelled to the Fort alone, confronted him and killed him. She later died of pneumonia that she was said to have contracted while repeatedly braving cold and harsh weather to visit his grave site.
