Alexandria National Cemetery

Alexandria National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Pineville, Louisiana. VA lists it as closed to new burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026

History of Alexandria National Cemetery

Alexandria National Cemetery is located in the community of Pineville, Rapides Parish, LA. In 1804, under the new U.S. Territorial government, Rapides became one of the 12 parishes into which the Territory of New Orleans (later the State of Louisiana) was divided and, by 1805, a crude settlement had developed at the site below the rapids named Alexandria. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in fall 1860, the people of Alexandria and Pineville saw the handwriting on the wall. On January 26, 1861, the citizens of Louisiana voted for secession and swiftly committed to joining the Confederacy.

Ships appeared at the mouth of the Mississippi River determined to go upriver and capture New Orleans in May 1862. Within a year, Rapides Parish citizens were shocked when they realized their homes, the roads leading through Alexandria parish and other crossroads villages of the parish might become part of the battlefield.

Between 1863 and early 1864, the area was invaded twice. Plantations were laid waste, houses burned, fences torn down, trees cut for firewood and sugarhouses and barns burned. Both armies lived off the land, taking away food, livestock and poultry. The final destruction of Alexandria occurred on May 13, 1864, when Alexandria was burned to the ground by Union troops.

After the war, federal troops moved into the region to begin the process of reconstruction. In 1867, an eight-acre plot was appropriated from local resident François Poussin for the establishment of a national cemetery for deceased Union soldiers who died in the region. Approximately a decade later, a suit was filed by Poussin's heirs and the United States was ordered to pay his descendants $1,200 for title to the property. Bodies were removed from the surrounding towns such as Mount Pleasant, Cheneyville and Yellow Bayou and reinterred in Alexandria. Later, remains from Fort Brown, TX, were reinterred at the national cemetery when the fort was no longer deemed necessary. Alexandria (LA) National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Monuments and Memorials The 1911 granite Memorial to Unknowns marks the burial of 1,537 unknown Federal soldiers who were removed from the Brownsville National Cemetery and re-interred at Alexandria National Cemetery.

Another 1911 granite Memorial to Unknowns marks the burial of 16 unknown federal soldiers who were removed from the Fort Ringgold Post Cemetery (Texas) and re-interred at Alexandria National Cemetery.

The remains of 25 unknown soldiers from post and private cemeteries near Fort Jessup, LA, are also interred in one grave and it's marked with a white government marker.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Alexandria National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.

Directions

From Esler Regional Airport sign, take Highway 28 west approximately 10 miles. Go under the Alexandria Expressway and get in the left turn lane. Take the ramp onto the Alexandria Expressway and from the expressway take the first exit on the right staying in the right lane. Turn right at the stop sign onto Melrose Street. Follow Melrose over the railroad tracks and turn right at red light onto Shamrock Street. Take Shamrock approximately three blocks to the cemetery. The cemetery is on the right.

Flowers and grounds rules

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. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Alexandria National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Alexandria National Cemetery

Who can be buried at Alexandria National Cemetery?

VA national cemeteries accept a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty or in training, the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse (even if they remarried), and minor or, in some cases, unmarried adult dependent children. National Guard and Reserve members qualify under narrower rules. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision in advance; it does not reserve a gravesite.

What does burial here include at no cost?

• A gravesite in any VA national cemetery with available space
• Opening and closing of the grave
• A government-provided burial liner
• A government-provided headstone or marker
• Perpetual care of the gravesite

Veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate (presented to the next of kin at the burial) and military funeral honors, which include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the flag. The committal service is held at a committal shelter, not at the grave, and lasts about 20 minutes. National cemeteries have no viewing facilities, so the funeral itself is held elsewhere.

How do you schedule a burial at Alexandria National Cemetery?

1. Gather the veteran's DD214 or other discharge papers, and the deceased's details (Social Security number, dates of birth and death, relationship to the veteran).
2. Fax the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417, or email them to [email protected] with the deceased's name in the subject line.
3. You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Alexandria National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

VA lists Alexandria National Cemetery as closed. Ask the scheduling office what, if anything, can still be arranged here, and about open national cemeteries nearby.

Where is the Alexandria National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Alexandria National Cemetery to see the committal services planned there. It only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them. To change or cancel a burial that's already scheduled, contact Alexandria National Cemetery directly at 225-654-1988.

Headstone, flag and burial allowance

• Government headstone or marker: tell the scheduling office which headstone, marker, niche cover or medallion you want when you schedule the burial.
• Burial flag: VA Form 27-2008.
• Burial allowance: For a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays up to $1,032 toward burial and funeral costs and $1,032 for a plot; for a service-connected death on or after September 11, 2001, the burial allowance is up to $2,000. Claim it with VA Form 21P-530EZ. All benefits

After the funeral: survivor benefits and the estate

A surviving spouse, child or parent may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax-free monthly VA benefit, for example when the death was service connected (VA Form 21P-534EZ). The veteran's estate is settled under Louisiana law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Louisiana and lists each county's probate court. For the rest of the paperwork, from Social Security to bank accounts, DeathUS has a step-by-step checklist of what to do when someone dies.

Nearest cemeteries

The three veterans cemeteries closest to Alexandria National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Central Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Leesville, LA: 50 mi, open for burials
• Natchez National Cemetery, Natchez, MS: 64 mi, open for burials
• Southwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Jennings, LA: 75 mi, open for burials