GENERAL INFORMATION
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.
Union Cemetery Historical Society
227 East 28th Terrace
Kansas City, MO 64108-3277
(816) 472-4990
This monument site is overseen by Leavenworth National Cemetery.
Please contact the national cemetery for more information.
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Established in 1857 between the towns of Westport and Kansas, Missouri, the 49-acre Union Cemetery was intended for both communities. Thus, the cemetery was not named after the Union Army, but for the union of the two communities. In 1889, the town of Kansas changed its name to Kansas City, and annexed Westport in 1897. Today, the cemetery is located within downtown Kansas City. Many notable local figures are interred in Union Cemetery, including George Caleb Bingham, a 19th-century painter, and Alexander Majors, who helped establish the Pony Express.
The 8’ tall granite obelisk commemorates 15 Confederate prisoners of war who died in Kansas City. Originally buried in the city cemetery, their remains were subsequently interred in Union Cemetery, although the location of the individual graves are not known. Two bronze tablets fastened to the monument list the names of the prisoners, who were taken during the Battle of Westport, the turning point in the Missouri Campaign of Confederate Major General Sterling Price.
The lot is located in the northeast section of the cemetery and it is identified as stop #15 in the cemetery’s walking tour.
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NOTABLE PERSONS
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FLORAL/GROUNDS POLICY
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. Fresh-cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. Cemetery visitors are free to use flower containers located in receptacles placed throughout the grounds. Flowers are picked up on the first and third Mondays of the month during the mowing season, April 1 through October 1.
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 seven days before through seven 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, flags, vigil lights, breakable objects, balloons, pin wheels, shepherd hooks 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 donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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