HISTORY of MILITARY CEMETERIES.

During the CW there was an entire cluster of military cemeteries around DC, which mostly got the dead from the General Hospital system in DC. A good rule was that if a person was badly wounded or KIA he was buried on the field, and never got near that system.

At end of the war the Union did a massive study of military graves, published I believe as the Roll of Honor. They were all over Virginia—crossroads, apple orchards and behind someone's house. In 1866-67 they had them exhumed (mostly unknowns by then) and moved into the national cemeteries.

DC, on the other hand, had this cluster of cemeteries, mostly receiving either the lesser wounded who died of infection after reaching the hospital (generally 2-3 days from the battlefield, but sometimes a week) or those who died of illness and had time to be transported. Some of these were, after the war, exhumed and moved to Arlington. I recall that Kalorama cemetery, which had been reserved for those dying of contagious disease (I assume because it was felt that corpses had to be quarantined) was so relocated.

But Soldier's Asylum, if I recall, was what is now called Soldier's Home. It was a cemetery outside a hospital on the very north end of DC, and still exists. The Soldier's Home was the first VA-type hospital... one place was enough in the small, pre-CW army. It was founded by General Scott, out of the money he got in tribute from some place (Mexico City?) during the Mexican War. (Apparently it was then accepted that if a town surrendered, it would pay a tribute as an alternative to a messy sack and the commander could keep it or divide it as he pleased—sort of like the Naval officers' right to prize money. )

Scott invested his in a home for old soldiers (I've visited the cemetery--a nice if crowded one in north DC) As I recall, it was filled up in April, 1864, which led to the beginning of burials at Arlington. I think it was "relatively" filled up, since I recall from my visit that there were some very modern graves there--as in 1960's.