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Fort Winnebago Cemetery Soldiers' Lot
Highway EE
Portage, WI 53901
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Office Hours:
See General Information
Visitation Hours:
Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
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Burial Space:This soldiers’ lot is closed to interments.
Acreage: 2
Floral/Ground Regulations
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Directions from nearest airport:
Take Interstate 94 toward Madison, Wisconsin, to exit 108 North, 78 (51). Follow 78 North to 33 East. Take 33 East through the town of Portage. At the fork, marked by a red granite monument, ease left to Highway EE. Follow Highway EE for approximately two blocks, the cemetery will be on the right side. The gate to the cemetery will be closed but not locked.
From Dane County Regional Airport: The airport is 40.9 miles to the cemetery. From the airport turn right on Darwin Road. Turn right on Packers Avenue. Continue on County Road CV; continue on Anderson Road/County Road Q. Turn left on US-51. From US-51 take Interstate 39 North/Interstate 90 West/Interstate 94 West, exit 108B. Merge onto Interstate 39 North. Continue on West State Road 33 and turn right on East Cook Street. Continue on WI-33 and turn left on Garrison. From Garrison turn right onto Military Road. From Military Road turn left on Quarry Road and then bear right on CR-EE. The cemetery will be on your right.
From the North: Take 89B-A/Wisconsin-16/Portage (Wisconsin-127) exit towards WIS DELLS. Continue towards Wisconsin-16 East. Continue on West Wisconsin Street. Turn left on West Cook Street, continue on East Cook Street. East Cook Street becomes Wisconsin-33. Turn left on CR-EE and the cemetery is on the right.
From the South: Take the Wisconsin-33 exit towards Portage, exit #87. Continue on Wisconsin-33, then turn left on CR-EE and the cemetery is on the right. From the East: Take Wisconsin-22/Wisconsin-23/CR-C. Then turn left on Main Street, then turn right on the CR-F. Then turn left on Clark Road, then turn right on Wilcox Road. Turn right on CR-EE and the cemetery is on the left.
From the West: Take the Wisconsin-33 exit towards Baraboo/Portage, exit #106. Turn right on Wisconsin-33, then turn left on CR-EE and the cemetery is on the right. |
GENERAL INFORMATION
There is no office at this cemetery. It is overseen by Wood National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Fort Winnebago Cemetery Soldiers’ Lot is located near the site of Old Fort Winnebago, 2.5 miles north of Portage, Wisconsin. Established in 1828, Fort Winnebago was one in a series of forts along the Fox-Wisconsin Waterway, a portage used to link the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, connecting Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Jefferson Davis was stationed at Fort Winnebago as a young soldier, before going on to become the president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.
Interments in the post cemetery began in 1835. Fort Winnebago closed in 1853 and was sold at a public sale. Although not exempted from the sale, the cemetery property was omitted from the deed. As a result, by default, the United States retained the post cemetery. The 2-acre site was designated as a soldiers’ lot in 1862. There are 75 gravesites in the lot, including dead from the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I.
Monuments and Memorials
In 1924 the Wau-Bun chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a granite boulder monument dedicated to the memory of the unknown dead. The monument also marks the site of the surrender of Winnebago chief Red Wing in 1827 to the Euro-American settlers of the region.
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NOTABLE PERSONS
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FLORAL/GROUNDS REGULATIONS
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 and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
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.
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