Camp Butler National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. VA lists it as open for burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.
Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026
History of Camp Butler National Cemetery
Camp Butler National Cemetery is located in Sangamon County near Riverton, IL, and occupies a portion of what was the second-largest military training camp in Illinois during the Civil War.
Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for troops to defend the Union. Each state struggled to fulfill the president's request but found the available men woefully unprepared for the rigors of war. The obvious solution, to federal officials, was to establish facilities for the receipt and training of war recruits. In 1861, the War Department dispatched General William Tecumseh Sherman to Springfield, IL, to select a site for a military training camp. Illinois Governor Richard Yates tasked the state treasurer, William Butler, with assisting the general. The men found an ideal location six miles outside of Springfield with a high ground for camping purposes and a lower, more-level area for drills and training, as well as space for a cemetery. General Sherman was pleased with the site and named it Camp Butler to honor his companion.
The first troops arrived at Camp Butler in August 1861 and by the end of the month, 5,000 men occupied the camp. As the war progressed, additional uses were found for the grounds, including a prisoner of war camp. In February 1862, approximately 2,000 Confederate soldiers captured when Fort Donelson was surrendered, arrived at Camp Butler. As the POWs arrived, from all 11 southern states except Florida, they were put to work constructing a stockade and hospital. The hastily constructed barracks were inadequate and poorly constructed. Sanitation facilities were primitive and the daily ration of food often consisted of little more than hard biscuits and a cup of thin coffee. Almost immediately, the POWs began to die at a rapid rate. The heat of the summer combined with the severe winter cold, as well as diseases such as smallpox, typhus and pneumonia, decimated the prisoner population. Roughly 700 POWs died in the smallpox epidemic of summer 1862.
Along with soldiers who fought for both the Union and Confederate sides during the Civil War, veterans who lost their lives in the Spanish-American War, the two World Wars, the Korea War and the Vietnam War are also buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery. Camp Butler was the final resting place of many remains returned from overseas following World War II. Camp Butler National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Monuments and Memorials The only memorial at Camp Butler is a carillon the American Veterans (AMVETS) donated around 1970 as part of their international living memorial program, which began shortly after World War II.
A monument was erected in December 2005 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and Sons of Confederate Veterans in honor of Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Butler prison camp during the Civil War. The monument is located within the Confederate Section.
A monument honoring the Illinois LST sailors was erected in May 2006.
Blue Star Memorial installed May 19, 2006.
Korean War Veterans Memorial installed May 23, 2006.
Notable interments
The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Camp Butler National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States.
Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the President on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and the eligibility criteria, medal design, and recognition on a recipients' grave marker have all evolved over time. There are 434 Medal of Honor recipients interred at VA national cemeteries including 6 double recipients.
Medal of Honor recipients interred or memorialized here:
Seaman John H.
Catherwood, (Philippines, 1911). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Navy, for actions while attached to the U.S.S. Pampanga on the island of Basilan, Philippine Islands, on September 24. Catherwood died in 1930 and is buried in Section F, Site 1.
Other Burials George W.
Ford was a career national cemetery superintendent and civil rights activist whose headstone at Camp Butler National Cemetery, IL, reads "Supt. of this cemetery for 24 years," reveals nothing of his remarkable life. Born a free black in 1847, he became one of the first African Americans appointed as a national cemetery superintendent, a career that spanned over a half century. Ford left his cemetery post once, to fight in the Spanish-American War. Major Ford went to Cuba with the 23rd Kansas Volunteers, commanded by Teddy Roosevelt. As a result he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1899, where Roosevelt was nominated as vice president. In 1905, Ford lobbied for civil rights as a charter member of the Niagara Movement. He died on June 20, 1939, and is buried in Camp Butler National Cemetery .
Section 3, Site 869
Otis Beverly Duncan was born on November 18, 1873, in Springfield, IL.
His grandfather, William Fleurville, was President Abraham Lincoln's barber and honorary pallbearer at his funeral. The false arrest of his grandson, Duncan's cousin, helped spark the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, which in turn led to the establishment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Duncan worked for the Illinois Superintendent of Public Instruction, and he joined the National Guard in 1902. He served with the 8th Illinois during the 1916 Mexican Border conflict and the 370th Infantry (8th IL) during World War I. At the war's end, Lt. Col. Duncan was the American Expeditionary Forces' highest-ranking African-American officer and he received the French Croix de Guerre. Back in Springfield, he became commanding officer of the 8th Illinois National Guard and the American Legion Post is named for him. Duncan died May 17, 1937, and is buried in Camp Butler National Cemetery .
Section 3, Site 835
Seaman 1st Class George Laws (World War II).
George Edward Laws (1926–2011) was born in Springfield, IL, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on June 1, 1943. He was serving aboard the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) when it was struck by torpedoes fired from a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945. Laws was blown into the air and slammed onto the ship's deck before falling into the ocean. He soon found himself covered in fuel and tried to stay together with other survivors as they awaited rescue. Unaware that the Navy did not know of the torpedoing, Laws and his companions drifted for nearly five days, with many sailors perishing from exposure, dehydration, and shark attacks. When rescued, Laws was one of only 316 men who would survive the sinking, out of an original crew of 1,195. After the war, George got married, started a family, and worked for General Motors. He died five days before his 85th birthday and is interred in Section CREME, Site 293.
Directions
Situated in Sangamon County near Riverton, six miles northeast of Springfield, IL. The cemetery is located 2 ¼ miles east of U.S. Highway 55 (Exit 100, Clinton exit), on Camp Butler Road (old U.S. 36).
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. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. 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 Camp Butler National Cemetery.
A National Cemetery System Camp Butler National Cemetery Confederate Burials in the National Cemetery - Camp Butler Prison Camp
Who can be buried at Camp Butler 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 Camp Butler National Cemetery?
- 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 Camp Butler National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.
Where is the Camp Butler National Cemetery burial schedule?
VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Camp Butler 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 Camp Butler National Cemetery directly at 217-492-4070.
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 Illinois law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Illinois 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 Camp Butler National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:
- North Alton Confederate Cemetery, Alton, IL: 72 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
- Alton National Cemetery, Alton, IL: 73 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
- Quincy National Cemetery, Quincy, IL: 96 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
Funeral homes near Camp Butler National Cemetery
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.
- Walker Funeral Services - SpringfieldSpringfield, IL4.3 mi from the cemetery
- Ellinger-Kunz Funeral Home & Cremation ServiceSpringfield, IL4.5 mi from the cemetery
- Ellinger-Kunz & Park Funeral Home & Cremation ServiceSpringfield, IL5.1 mi from the cemetery
- Kirlin-Egan & Butler Funeral HomeSpringfield, IL5.4 mi from the cemetery
- Staab Funeral Home - ShermanSherman, IL5.5 mi from the cemetery
- Bisch & Son Funeral HomeSpringfield, ILMilitary honors services5.7 mi from the cemetery