Pikes Peak National Cemetery, Colorado Springs

The first national cemeteries were developed at the start of the Civil War (1861–1865) to bury Union dead. The Civil War was the result of passionate and opposing philosophies surrounding slavery and the nation’s future. An unprecedented number of men enlisted for federal service and by the early 1870s, more than 350,000 Union dead had been buried in a national cemetery. While originally intended for those who died during the war, Civil War Veterans argued for the right to be buried next to their compatriots. Since then, criteria for burial in national cemeteries have expanded dramatically in the areas of family eligibility and military service.