Mexico City National Cemetery

The Mexico City National Cemetery is a cemetery in Mexico City. It was established in 1851 by the United States Congress to gather the American dead of the Mexican-American War that lay in the nearby fields and to provide burial space for Americans who died in the vicinity. A small monument marks the common grave of 750 unidentified American dead of the War of 1847. Inscribed on the monument are the words:

TO THE HONORED MEMORY

OF 750 AMERICANS

KNOWN BUT TO GOD

WHOSE BONES COLLECTED

BY THEIR COUNTRY'S ORDER

ARE HERE BURIED

In this 1-acre (4,000 m²) area are also placed 813 remains of Americans and others in wall crypts on either side of the cemetery. The cemetery was closed to further burials in 1923.

The cemetery, which is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except December 25 and January 1. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitor Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.

Location

Mexico City National Cemetery is at 31 Virginia Fabregas, Colonia San Rafael about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the Metropolitan Cathedral and about 1-mile (1.6 km) north of the U.S. Embassy.

Notable burials

Henry Watkins Allen (1820–1866), Confederates States Brigadier General and Governor of Louisiana, later disinterred and buried in Louisiana^[1]
James E. Slaughter (1827–1901), Confederate States Brigadier General^[2]

References

Sledge, Michael (2005). Soldier Dead: How We Recover, Identify, Bury, and Honor Our Military Fallen. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780231509374. OCLC 60527603.

External links

This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "Mexico City National Cemetery, American Battle Monuments Commission". Coordinates: 19°26′34″N 99°9′56″W / 19.44278°N 99.16556°W / 19.44278; -99.16556

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