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VA National Cemetery

Little Rock National Cemetery

2523 Springer Boulevard · Little Rock, AR 72206

Closed to new in-ground burials

Little Rock National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas. 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 Little Rock National Cemetery

Little Rock National Cemetery is located in Little Rock, AR, approximately two miles southeast of the state capital. The first European visitor to this region was Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto who, in 1541, first crossed the Mississippi into what would become Arkansas. Unable to locate the fabled city of gold, de Soto left the region and it was almost 200 years before French explorer Bernard de la Harpe brought new attention to area. In 1722, during his survey of the Arkansas River, Le Harpe named the river bluff La Petite Roch, or "the Little Rock." The area turned out to be a convenient point for crossing the Arkansas River and was near a Quapaw Indian settlement, so La Harpe established his trading post here. When Arkansas became a territory in 1819, the capital was located at Arkansas Post, a site downriver. Two years later it moved to the busy town of Little Rock. Little Rock was incorporated as a city in 1831 and became the capital in 1836 when Arkansas was admitted to the Union.

Although Arkansas had entered the Union as a slave state, its population was divided on the question of secession. In 1861, after officials refused to send troops to fight in the Union Army, a convention met and voted to secede from the Union, reversing an earlier decision. Following the Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862, Union forces captured Little Rock and held the city for the remainder of the war.

Early in the Civil War, the land that is currently the national cemetery was located outside city limits and was used for Union encampments. With Union troops still occupying the city in 1866, a portion of the new city cemetery was purchased by the government and set aside for military interments.

The government purchased the military plot in Little Rock City Cemetery as two parcels: 9.1 acres in September 1866 and 3.2 acres in April 1868. On April 9, 1868, it was designated a national cemetery with the stated purpose to concentrate remains of Union dead who had been buried throughout Arkansas. By this time, there were 5,425 interments: 3,092 known dead and 2,333 unknowns. In 1868, 1,482 remains removed from area battlefield graves were reinterred here.

In 1884, an 11-acre Confederate cemetery was established adjacent to the national cemetery. The remains of 640 Confederate soldiers were removed from Mt. Holly Cemetery in Little Rock and reburied here. In 1913, Congress authorized the Secretary of War to accept a deed from the City of Little Rock for the Confederate cemetery, with the restriction that only Confederate veterans could be interred on the newly acquired land. In 1938, this restriction was removed and the Confederate cemetery became the Confederate Section of Little Rock National Cemetery.

In 1990, the National Expansion Corp. purchased additional land from the adjoining Oakland Fraternal Cemetery and formally donated it to the United States for expansion of the national cemetery. In November 1999, the City of Little Rock donated one additional acre. Little Rock National Cemetery, encompassing a little over 31 acres, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Monuments and Memorials The granite and bronze Minnesota Monument was dedicated to 162 Minnesota soldiers who fell in Arkansas during the Civil War. Erected in 1916, it is one of seven Minnesota monuments found in the national cemeteries. The memorialized soldiers were enlisted in the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 10th Minnesota U.S. Volunteers. The sculptor was John K. Daniels of St. Paul, MN. Other Minnesota monuments are located at Marion, IN (1913); Memphis (1916), Nashville (1920) and Shiloh (1908) TN; Jefferson Barracks, MO (1922); and Vicksburg, MS (1906–1907). Daniels also did the monuments at Nashville and Shiloh national cemeteries.

The marble Confederate Monument was erected in 1884 by trustees of the Mount Holly Cemetery in honor of the 640 Confederate soldiers originally buried in this cemetery and later re-interred in Little Rock National Cemetery. The soldiers died in Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and Louisiana between1861–1863.

As a significant sculpture of the post-Civil War period (1886–1934) in Arkansas, both monuments were individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Little Rock 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:

Captain Maurice L.

Britt (World War II). He received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 3rd Infantry Division, for actions north of Mignano, Italy, November 10, 1943. Britt died in 1995 and is buried in Section 20, Site 319.

Other Burials Tennessean Simon A.

Haley (1892–1973) was the youngest child of former slaves. His father was a sharecropper. Haley worked the farm and attended school at Lane College, then A&T College in Greensboro, NC. He struggled to pay for the tuition and one summer took a job as a Pullman Porter. Upon returning to campus, Haley learned that a passenger from the train paid all his fees. He finished top in his class and won a scholarship to Cornell University, but World War I interrupted his graduate studies. Sergeant Haley served in the U.S. Army in France, 1918–1919. After the war, he finished his degree and taught agriculture at universities in Alabama and Arkansas through the mid-1950s. He is buried in Little Rock National Cemetery . His son and World War II veteran, Alex, wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Roots: The Saga of an American Family.

Section 16, Site 1429

Louisiana native Frank Moore (1888–1932) began as a sharecropper but became one of the "Elaine 12," a benchmark case heard by the U.S.

Supreme Court. Moore registered for the draft in 1917 and was called to active duty with the 162nd Arkansas Depot Brigade. Private Moore was honorably discharged in December 1918. After World War I, he joined the Progressive Farmers and Household Union to advocate for equitable treatment for sharecroppers and crop compensation. In 1919, racial violence erupted at a union meeting in Elaine, AR, where about 200 black citizens were killed in the aftermath. Twelve men were condemned to death for their association with the riot; the case went to the Supreme Court, whose ruling addressed due process and strengthened the Bill of Rights. Moore and his co-defendants were freed. Moore moved to Chicago where he died. He is buried in Little Rock National Cemetery .

Section 5, Site 6528

Directions

Cemetery is located in the southeast section of Little Rock. It may be reached from Interstate 30. Exit at Roosevelt Road, and travel east approximately three blocks. From Little Rock National Airport, travel Interstate 440 west to Springer Boulevard. Turn right, proceed approximately 3/4 mile to the 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. 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 Little Rock National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Little Rock National Cemetery Confederate Burials in the National Cemetery - The Old Confederate Cemetery

Who can be buried at Little Rock 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 Little Rock 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 Little Rock National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

VA lists Little Rock 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 Little Rock National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Little Rock 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 Little Rock National Cemetery directly at 479-783-5345.

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 Arkansas law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Arkansas 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 Little Rock National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

Funeral homes near Little Rock 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.

  1. 1.2 mi from the cemetery
  2. 1.3 mi from the cemetery
  3. 1.7 mi from the cemetery
  4. 1.9 mi from the cemetery
  5. Robinson Mortuary Inc
    North Little Rock, AR
    2.0 mi from the cemetery
  6. Hubble Brothers, Inc.
    North Little Rock, AR
    2.1 mi from the cemetery

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