{"nrhp_refnum":"99000393","name":"Salisbury National Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"202 Government Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Salisbury","county":"Rowan County","state":"NC","lat":35.659634834500054,"lon":-80.47408059252658,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1999-04-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Salisbury National Cemetery is a national cemetery at 202 Government Road, about one-half mile southwest of downtown Salisbury in Rowan County, North Carolina, established in 1863 and covering 13.0 acres.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the cemetery is significant under Criterion A for its association with the Civil War, as the burial place of about 11,700 unknown Union prisoners who died in the nearby Salisbury Confederate prison, and as a national cemetery holding veterans of every war and branch of service. The surrounding history of Salisbury as a Confederate military depot and the prison's conditions are presented as context for the burials.","narrative":"Salisbury National Cemetery occupies 13.0 acres about half a mile southwest of downtown Salisbury, North Carolina, and was established in 1863. It holds the graves of Union prisoners who died in the Salisbury Confederate prison, with 11,700 unknown soldiers buried in eighteen trenches in the southwest corner, each up to 240 feet long. Monuments on the grounds include a granite obelisk erected under an Act of Congress of March 3, 1873, a Maine monument of 1908, and a Pennsylvania monument of 1909 marking the burial of Pennsylvania prisoners. The cemetery also contains the graves of veterans from later wars, including Earl Baker Ruth, a former U.S. Congressman and Governor of American Samoa. The grounds include a stone perimeter wall, a 1934 lodge, and a 1929 utility building, and the cemetery was enlarged through donations in 1976, 1985, and 1995. Its importance rests on the prisoner burials and its role as a Civil War-era national cemetery.","period_of_significance":"1863-1949","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Dutch Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Active cemetery with a lodge used as the administration building, a utility building, monuments, and gates; contributing and non-contributing resources are listed in the form.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:42.638108-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_AL/99000393.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000393/c5af27addc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/99000393/c5af27addc-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"David Haas, Photographer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unknown_Dead_Monument,_Salisbury_National_Cemetery,_202_Government_Road,_Salisbury_(Rowan_County,_North_Carolina).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">David Haas, Photographer</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unknown_Dead_Monument,_Salisbury_National_Cemetery,_202_Government_Road,_Salisbury_(Rowan_County,_North_Carolina).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77835518","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_National_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7404789"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/rowan-county/salisbury-national-cemetery-99000393/"}