Cemetery Law in a Monument (at Gettysburg National Cemetery)

On the 170th anniversary of the Nat Turner rebellion -- which began on August 22, 1831 -- I thought that I'd post a little on the Civil War.  It would have astonished Turner and the rest of Southampton's residents, I think, if they could have seen how quickly slavery was coming to an end.  Heck, it would have astonished Harriet Beecher Stowe who as late as 1856 was writing about how she saw so little hope for the end of slavery.

A couple weeks back I posted a picture of a monument (a plaque) with property law in it -- this time it's a plaque with cemetery law in it -- about the 1867 act that made desecration of a National Cemetery a federal criminal offense.

I'm curious if that plaque is there to remind people that desecration is a crime; I'd hardly think that would be necessary at Gettysburg.  I'd be shocked if someone were desecrating that cemetery.  But then again, what other purpose would that sign serve in the cemetery?

I must confess that I don't ever remember reading this part of the act when I was working on cemetery access -- though I'm delighted to see that it prohibits cutting tress and bushes -- as well as destruction of memorials.  When I resurface in lovely Chapel Hill I really need to look a little more in the federal criminalization of cemetery destruction. 

Comments

[Retired to teach]

You will find the same cast metal sign at many other national cemetaries, so yes, it seems it is there to warn visiters that it is a crime to desecrate the cemetary. That is reinforced by the presence of another cast metal sign at many cemetaries containing War Department General Order 80 from 1875, banning picnic parties on cemetery grounds. The best indication, based on their similarity to the similar cast metal signs with verses from Theodore O'Hara's 1847 poem "Bivouac of the Dead," seems to be that the original cast metal signs, likely made at the War Department's Rock Island Arsenal, were placed in the early 1880s, replacing earlier wooden signs. By that time the parklike setting would have been an attraction to young people,and overturning headstones is probably not a new development among rowdy youths.

[Alfred Brophy]

Thank you for those thoughtful comments, RTT. Very interesting.

I've never seen a plaque like this, nor one with General Order 80, at a National Cemetery -- or at least I don't remember them. Maybe now that I know what to look for, I'll "see" them.