The Santa Fe National Cemetery is a national shrine, which serves as a reminder of the untold histories of the veterans who helped preserve our freedom. Though New Mexico only played a small part in the American Civil War, the cemetery was created after the war to inter the Union soldiers who died fighting there, primarily at the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe donated the land to the federal government in 1870. In 1876 its status was changed to a post cemetery, but in 1885 it became a national cemetery once again. Now administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of two national cemeteries in New Mexico (the other being Fort Bayard). It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Photo by Ed Mackerrow
