Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot

Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot is a VA national cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 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 Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot

Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, PA, is among the oldest rural cemeteries in the United States. Forty of the most prominent citizens of the city, merchants, manufacturers, professionals and politicians, chartered the non-profit cemetery on April 24, 1844. The group purchased the first 100 acres for the cemetery for $50,000. Today the cemetery is composed of approximately 300 acres, in which about 120,000 persons are interred.

The soldiers' lot is located in Section 33, lot 66, and consists of 303 individual interments. While most of the burials are Union Civil War soldiers, the lot also includes 15 Confederates and a small number of Spanish-American War veterans.

Soldiers were originally interred in two places within Allegheny Cemetery: the plot donated to the federal government by the cemetery association, and the "stranger's field," also known as the "potter's field," an area for the poor. It is likely that all the remains were consolidated into the soldiers' lot in the 1870's.

Allegheny Cemetery, including the National Cemetery Administration's soldiers' lot, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in December 1980.

Monuments and Memorials Following the Civil War, the Allegheny County Ladies Memorial Association commissioned local artist Fred Mayer to sculpt a monument for the soldier's lot. Erected in 1876, the 16-foot-tall limestone monument was dedicated in memory of those who died during the Civil War. The figure of a woman holding a wreath with her head bowed sits atop the monument, with four sculpted cannons located on the monument base. Two small cannons mounted on concrete bases mark the front of the soldiers' lot.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, with section and site where recorded.

Directions

Take US 119 out of Grafton to Morgantown, WV. Then take Interstate 68 West ramp towards Interstate 79. Merge onto Interstate 68 West. Take Interstate 79 North towards Washington, PA. Take Interstate 70 West/Interstate 79 North exit on the left towards Washington, PA. Merge onto Interstate 79 North. Take Interstate 79 North exit towards Pittsburgh, PA. Merge onto Interstate 79 North. Take the Interstate 279 North exit number 14 towards Pittsburgh. Merge onto US 22 East. Stay straight to go onto Interstate 279 North. Take Interstate 279 North towards Ft. Duquesne Boulevard/Convention Center/Strip District. Take the PA 28 North exit number 13 towards Chestnut Street/East Ohio Street/ETNA. Merge onto PA 28 North. Take the 40th Street Bridge exit number 2, on the left. Turn right onto Washington Crossing Bridge. Washington Crossing Bridge becomes 40th Street. From 40th Street turn left onto Butler Street.

Flowers and grounds rules

Contact the cemetery for information regarding the floral/grounds policy.

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 Allegheny Soldiers' Lot.

A National Cemetery System Allegheny Soldiers' Lot

Who can be buried at Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot?

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 Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot?

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 Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

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

Where is the Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot 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 Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot directly at 724-746-4363.

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 Pennsylvania law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Pennsylvania 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 Allegheny Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, by straight-line distance:

• National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, Bridgeville, PA: 15 mi, open for burials
• Grafton National Cemetery, Grafton, WV: 79 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
• West Virginia National Cemetery, Grafton, WV: 84 mi, open for burials