Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot is a VA national cemetery in Baxter Springs, Kansas. 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 Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot
Baxter Springs Soldiers' Lot is located in the north-central portion of the city cemetery in Baxter Springs, Kansas, approximately 60 miles south of Fort Scott. The cemetery may have been in use before the city of Baxter Springs was incorporated in 1868.
The city of Baxter Springs donated the 0.7-acre soldiers' lot to the United States incrementally after the Civil War in 1869, 1875, 1877, and 1887. The earliest burials in the plot include 132 Union soldiers and officers killed on October 6, 1863, during the Battle of Baxter Springs. The battle, often referred to as the Baxter Springs Massacre, was just one of many murderous attacks on Kansas free-state citizens by the independent force of Confederate guerillas led by the ruthless border ruffian, William Clarke Quantrill.
The federal government intended to remove the bodies of the men who died during the massacre to Springfield National Cemetery, but the citizens of Baxter Springs petitioned to keep them. As part of the arrangement to retain the burials, the city of Baxter Springs donated the tract of land to the government and agreed to keep the graves in good order.
Monuments and Memorials In 1886, the federal government erected a large marble and granite monument at the soldiers' lot in memory of the men killed in the Battle of Baxter Springs, as well as soldiers and officers killed in other nearby engagements. Funds were appropriated to build the monument after the local Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) post launched a petition drive in 1885, collecting signatures from more than 7,000 veterans. The monument was fabricated by Mitchell Granite Works of Quincy, Massachusetts, at a cost of $4,000. Dedicated on Decoration Day 1886, the monument is inscribed with the names of 163 soldiers and officers, including the names of the 132 soldiers killed during the Battle of Baxter Springs. The monument is over 20 feet high and is surmounted with a marble statue of a Union soldier at parade rest. Four 1853 24-pound siege-gun cannons, mounted in concrete bases, are located within the monument's perimeter, one at each corner.
Notable interments
The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot, with section and site where recorded.
Johnny Fry (Pony Express).
Fry was born in Bourbon County, Kentucky in 1840 and his family moved to Missouri in the late 1850s. Weighing less than 120 pounds, Fry was a skilled horseman, winning some races. In 1860 he was asked to become a rider in the newly created, and short-lived, Pony Express. It is believed that Fry was the first rider in the Express’s inaugural western route launched from St. Joseph, Missouri on April 3, 1860. His leg ended in Seneca, Kansas, with other riders continuing on in a relay that delivered mail to Sacramento, Calif., in just 10 days. Fry rode for the Pony Express until it ended following the completion of a transcontinental telegraph line in late 1861. He was employed as a messenger and scout for the Union Army during the Civil War. On October 6, 1863 he was killed by Confederate guerrillas led by William Quantrill in the Battle of Baxter Springs/Baxter Springs Massacre. Many of the dead of this massacre are buried and memorialized here.
Directions
From Kansas City International Airport, take Interstate 29 South 9.4 miles to Interstate 635 South. Travel Interstate 635 South for 12.3 miles. Bear right onto Interstate 35 South. Travel on Interstate 35 South for 4.7 miles, and then merge onto US 69 South for approximately 127 miles. Turn slight right onto US 69 ALT for 11.2 miles. US 69 ALT turns into Military Avenue when entering Baxter Springs. At 12th Street and Military Avenue, turn right onto US 166 West. Cemetery is approximately two miles on the right. Baxter Springs Soldier's Lot is located inside the Baxter Springs City Cemetery.
From Joplin Regional Airport, start out going west on Demott/MO-171 toward Elm Street. Turn slight left onto MO-43/N Main Street Road. Continue to follow MO-43 for 4.1 miles. Turn right onto MO-66 West. Continue to follow MO-66 West 11.4 miles. Turn left onto US-69 ALT. US 69 ALT turns into Military Avenue when entering Baxter Springs. At 12th Street and Military Avenue, turn right onto US 166 West. Cemetery is approximately two miles on the right. Baxter Springs Soldier's Lot is located inside the Baxter Springs City Cemetery.
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.
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 Baxter Springs Soldiers' Lot.
A National Cemetery System Baxter Springs Soldiers' Lot
Who can be buried at Baxter Springs City 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 Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot?
- 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).
- 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.
- You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.
VA lists Baxter Springs City 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 Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot burial schedule?
VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Baxter Springs City 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 Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot directly at 913-727-1376.
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 Kansas law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Kansas 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 Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot, by straight-line distance:
- Fort Scott National Cemetery, Fort Scott, KS: 54 mi, open for burials
- Fayetteville National Cemetery, Fayetteville, AR: 75 mi, open for burials
- Mound City Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, Mound City, KS: 77 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
Funeral homes near Baxter Springs City Soldiers' Lot
A funeral director usually arranges the burial with the cemetery. These are the closest funeral homes by straight-line distance. Each one links to its full listing on FuneralUS, our funeral home directory.
- Derfelt CrematoryBaxter Springs, KS0.8 mi from the cemetery
- Derfelt's Baxter ChapelBaxter Springs, KS2.6 mi from the cemetery
- Derfelt Funeral Home, Inc.Galena, KS6.0 mi from the cemetery
- 10.2 mi from the cemetery
- Bath-Naylor Funeral HomeColumbus, KS11.9 mi from the cemetery
- Midland Cremation SocietyJoplin, MO12.0 mi from the cemetery