The Knoxville National Cemetery has served as the final resting place for many local veterans from every US conflict since the Civil War—including UT’s General Robert Neyland.
Community members are invited to a walking tour of and presentation about the cemetery on Saturday, May 26. The Memorial Day weekend event, “A Place of Honor and Memory: Knoxville National Cemetery and Veterans’ Legacy,” begins at 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
Knoxville historian Jack Neely will lead the walking tour. Participants are encouraged to meet at the front gate of the North Knoxville cemetery, 939 Tyson Street.
Participants will hear stories of the cemetery’s evolution from a burying place for mostly obscure soldiers to as a place of honor for well-known veterans of modern wars. The national cemetery, one of the nation’s oldest, was established by Union Major General Ambrose Burnside following the siege of Knoxville and the Battle of Fort Sanders during the Civil War.
At 5 p.m., a program at Remedy Coffee, 800 Tyson Street, will include talks by Neely and Vejas Liulevicius of the UT Department of History. This event is free and will include the presentation of a new book, Knoxville’s National Cemetery: A Brief History, written by Neely. Free copies of the book will be made available to veterans and their families. Space at the event is limited, so RSVP to mcopela8@utk.edu.
The UT Center for the Study of War and Society and Department of History are hosting the event as part of a contract from the US Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration to support the work through the Veterans Legacy Program.
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CONTACT:
Vejas Liulevicius (865-974-7320, vliulevi@utk.edu)