Baton Rouge National Cemetery, Louisiana

Baton Rouge has been under the authority of seven different nations since its founding: France, England, Spain, the West Florida Republic, Louisiana, the Confederate States of America, and the United States of America. French explorers discovered the area in the late 17th century. The local Native Americans referred to it as Istrouma or Red Stick, which translates into French as Baton Rouge. Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861 and became an independent republic for six weeks before joining the Confederacy. Union forces captured New Orleans in May 1862 and subsequently moved upriver to Baton Rouge. The Battle of Baton Rouge took place on August 5, 1862. After a brief skirmish, Union troops overwhelmed the small Confederate force, and Baton Rouge remained under Union control for the duration of the war. During the Civil War, soldiers and sailors were buried at the present site of Baton Rouge National Cemetery, and in 1867 it was designated a national cemetery. Remains were brought to Baton Rouge National Cemetery from the surrounding battlefields. At the end of the Civil War, it was reported that the government paid a bonus to anyone who discovered the grave of a Union soldier so that his remains could be reinterred in the national cemetery.

In 1886, the remains of Gen. Philemon Thomas were disinterred from the old Baton Rouge post cemetery and reinterred in the national cemetery. Thomas was born in Virginia in 1763 and died in Baton Rouge on November 18, 1847. He fought in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, and commanded the forces that captured the Spanish fort at Baton Rouge in 1810. Later in life, Thomas served in both the Kentucky and Louisiana legislatures and was twice elected to the U.S. Congress.