Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. 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 Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery is located in Franklin County, Ohio, six miles west of downtown Columbus. The federal government purchased the site in 1879.

Camp Chase shifted from a training camp for Union Army recruits to a prisoner-of-war camp early in the war. The facility was named after Salmon P. Chase, Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln, and former governor of Ohio. The first inmates at Camp Chase were chiefly political and military prisoners from Kentucky and Western Virginia allegedly loyal to the Confederacy. Union victories at Fort Donaldson, Tennessee, on February 16, 1862, and at Mississippi River Island No. 10, on April 8, 1862, brought an influx of prisoners. All of the officers taken at these battles were moved to Camp Chase, save for generals and field officers, who were sent to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

The establishment of the Confederate Stockade on Johnson's Island in Lake Erie led to the transfer of most of the officers to the new prison. Subsequently, enlisted men and non-commissioned officers made up the bulk of the Confederate soldiers confined at Camp Chase. By 1863 Camp Chase held 8,000 men, the peak of the prison population. Similar to many prisons in the north, Camp Chase was ravaged by disease; during late 1864, a smallpox epidemic resulted in many deaths.

Prior to the establishment of the cemetery at Camp Chase, the Confederate dead were interred in the city cemetery of Columbus. Their remains were re-interred in the prison cemetery after its opening. In addition, the remains of 31 Confederate soldiers who died at Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati, were removed to Camp Chase Cemetery shortly after the cessation of the Civil War.

By the mid 1890's, efforts began to mark the graves of the Confederate dead within Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. Led by William H. Knauss, a wounded Union veteran, this movement succeeded in bringing together both Union and Confederate veterans organizations to pay tribute to those interred in the cemetery. In 1904, Congress allocated funds for the maintenance of Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery.

Officially, there is an estimate of 2,168 remains in 2,122 gravesites in Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. However, this does not match the inscription on the Boulder monument.

The Camp Chase site, including the Confederate Cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Monuments and Memorials There are two monuments in Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery. The first depicts a bronze figure of a Confederate Civil War soldier standing atop a granite arch, his rifle held vertically in front of him, with both hands resting on the top of the barrel. Originally the memorial consisted of a wooden arch inscribed with the word AMERICANS, but in 1902 the wooden arch was replaced with this 17' tall stone memorial.

The second monument is a 3' tall boulder underneath the stone arch. Installed in 1897, the inscription reads: "2260 Confederate Soldiers of the war 1861–1865 buried in this enclosure."

Directions

From Dayton take Interstate 70 East and take Wilson Road exit (west of Columbus). Make a left onto Wilson. Follow Wilson Road for 1-2 miles to Sullivant Avenue. Turn left on Sullivant. Cemetery will be one mile on the left.

Flowers and grounds rules

Natural, fresh-cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year and will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations.

Artificial flowers are permitted on graves only from October 10 through April 15. Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from December 1 through January 20.

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 Chase Confederate Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery

Who can be buried at Camp Chase Confederate 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 Chase Confederate 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 Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

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

Where is the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Camp Chase Confederate 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 Chase Confederate Cemetery directly at 937-268-2221.

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 Ohio law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Ohio 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 Chase Confederate Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Dayton National Cemetery, Dayton, OH: 64 mi, open for burials
• Evergreen Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, Southgate, KY: 96 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
• Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, Seville, OH: 98 mi, open for burials