Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette 

GOVERNMENT MARKED GRAVES OF FRONTIER SOLDIERS

 When soldiers died at military posts or garrisons on the American frontier, post commanders were compelled to bury their dead in cemetery plots within post reservations. When soldiers died away from the post, they were often buried at or near their place of death.

 While no centralized system of recording burials existed on the frontier, the military organized a fairly uniform method of marking burial sites. They used a standard size wooden board with a rounded top. The marker bore a registration number or inscription. Needless to say, the board eventually deteriorated and weathered away. Most were never replaced.

 General orders #75 dated September 11, 1861 issued two months after the First Battle of Manasas directed Union commanders to mark the graves of soldiers who died while in service during the Civil War. The orders required a record of burial be recorded in a book dedicated to that purpose. After the war, the cost of replacing wooden grave markers prompted the US Government to begin using marble headstones to mark graves of deceased soldiers. This custom has continued to present times.

VETERANS ELIGIBLE FOR HEADSTONE OR GRAVEMARKER

 Graves of deceased veterans who were discharged from the US Armed Forces under conditions other than dishonorable are eligible for a headstone or grave marker provided at government expense.

 Service by a veteran after September 7, 1980 must be for a minimum of 24 months or completed under special circumstances such as death on active duty. Those who have retired from the National Guard or Reserves and those who served on active duty while in the National Guard or Reserves may also be eligible.

 Gravemarkers and headstones for veterans who served prior to WWI, including the Civil War and the Revolutionary War, must have detailed documentation to prove eligibility. Documentation may include muster rolls, pension records or extracts from state or federal military records.

ORDERING A MILITARY HEADSTONE

 When burial or memorialization of an eligible veteran is in a national, post, or State veterans' cemetery a headstone or marker will be ordered by an official of the cemetery.

 When requesting a headstone or grave marker for an eligible veteran for burial or memoralization in a private cemetery, VA Form 40-1330, Application for Standard Government Headstone or Marker for Installation in a Private or State Veteran's Cemetery,  must be submitted by the next of kin, a funeral director or cemetery representative. The application must be accompanied by a copy of the veteran's military discharge documents.

 VA Form 40-1330 may be obtained at any VA national cemetery or regional VA office or by calling 1-800-827-1000. It may, also, be downloaded from the VA website at http://www.cem.va.gov.

 Completed VA Form 40-1330's should be mailed to Memorial Programs Service (403), Department of Veterans Affairs, 810 Vermont Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20420-0001.

NEWS FROM THE BOOK SHELF

 Ancestry.Com has produced several CD-Roms with muster rolls from the United State's early and recent wars. Each word of the CD-Rom has been formatted to allow a search by word, name or date. One may easily search for the name of a soldier, the soldier's company, his rank or microfilm roll number. In addition the user may add their own note, tag relevant records or bookmark important passages for future reference.

 The minimum system requirements for each of the CD-Roms is: a
486/33 processor (Pentium processor recommended) Windows 95 or better 16mb RAM 15mb hard disk space double-speed CD-ROM 15" monitor with 800x600 pixel display 16 bit color or higher recommended.

  The Revolutionary War Muster Rolls CD-Rom ($39.95) contains the records of 426,000 soldiers who served the American cause during the Revolutionary War.

 The War of 1812 Muster Rolls CD-Rom ($39.95) contains the records of 580,000 soldiers who served in the United States military during the War of 1812.

 The Civil War Muster Rolls contains 3 CD-Roms ($49.95) and contains the names of 5,300,000 men who served in Union and Confederate military units during the Civil War.

 The WWII & Korean Conflict Overseas Internments CD-Rom ($39.95) contains the names of 159,000 American service personnel who died during WWII and the Korean War and are interred in cemeteries outside the United States.

 The above military CD-Roms are priced individually as noted or as a bundle containing all the above CD-Roms for $99.95. They may be purchased from Ancestry.Com's Texas Representative, Paula Parke,  at P.O. Box 842052 Houston, TX 77284-2052 or by telephone at 281-550-7935.