North Alton Confederate Cemetery

North Alton Confederate Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Alton, Illinois. 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 North Alton Confederate Cemetery

The prison building in Alton, Illinois, was constructed in 1833 to serve as the Illinois State Prison. Located in a low area close to the Mississippi River, the State of Illinois abandoned the prison in 1860 at the urging of social reformer Dorthea Dix, who complained about the unhealthy conditions there.

Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, the federal government re-opened the facility as a Confederate prison. The maximum capacity of Alton prison was estimated at 800; in the last year of the war it held close to 1,900 Confederate prisoners.

As in many Confederate prisons, the inmate population was ravaged by disease, and over the course of the war smallpox claimed the lives of hundreds of prisoners. In an attempt to minimize the number of smallpox deaths, prison officials quarantined those stricken with the disease in a hospital on Tow Head Island, in the Mississippi River. Prisoners who died of smallpox were buried on the island itself. In the years after the Civil War, frequent flooding of the river eroded all of the grave markers. Today, the location of the smallpox hospital and the burials is unknown.

Confederates who died from causes other than smallpox were interred two miles north of Alton, in an area known as "Buck Inn." This became the official prison burial ground, and today is the location of the North Alton Confederate Cemetery.

Monuments and Memorials A Confederate monument erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 marks the collective graves of the soldiers. The names of 1,354 Confederate soldiers who died in the prison or on Tow Head Island are inscribed on six bronze plaques attached to the 58' high granite obelisk.

Directions

From St. Louis Airport (East Alton, Illinois) take State Highway 111 to Broadway Street. Turn right on Broadway Street. Follow Broadway Street to College Avenue. Turn left on College Avenue. Follow College Avenue to Piasa Street. Turn right on Piasa Street then bear left on Belle Street. Continue on Belle Street to Rozier Street. Turn right on Rozier Street and travel approximately 500 feet the entrance of the cemetery.

From the North: Interstate 55 South to Exit 30. Turn right towards Illinois-140. Continue straight on SR-111. Approximately four miles turn left onto Godfrey Road. Name changes to State Street. In .1 mile turn right onto Rozier. From the South: Interstate 255 north. Make left turn onto SR-143 (Edwardsville Road). Approximately three miles make right turn onto SR-3 (Lewis and Clark Boulevard). Road name changes to SR-111. 3.5 miles turn left onto Godfrey Road. This becomes State Street. Turn right onto Rozier.

Flowers and grounds rules

Fresh cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time. Metal temporary flower containers are permitted.

Artificial flowers may be placed on graves only during the period of October 10 through April 15.

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 North Alton Confederate Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System North Alton Confederate Cemetery

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

VA lists North Alton 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 North Alton Confederate Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for North Alton 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 North Alton Confederate Cemetery directly at 314-845-8320.

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 North Alton Confederate Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Alton National Cemetery, Alton, IL: 3 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
• Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, St. Louis, MO: 29 mi, open for burials
• Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, IL: 72 mi, open for burials