Camp Butler National Cemetery

5063 Camp Butler Rd, Springfield, IL, 62707

GPS Coordinates: 39.833424, -89.557475
County: Sangamon
Record count: 30,527

Ownership: National Cemetery Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Directions: Located just outside city limits in the north-east part of the city, take E Sangamon Ave (Highway 29) east, continue as it changes into Highway 54, then bear right as it empties into Camp Butler Rd, and follow this to the cemetery entrance.

Background: Camp Butler National Cemetery, located near Riverton in Sangamon County, Illinois, originated in 1861 as part of a military training camp established following President Abraham Lincoln’s call for Union troops during the Civil War. Selected by General William Tecumseh Sherman and named after state treasurer William Butler, the site included space for training and burials. It later served as a prisoner of war camp, where about 2,000 Confederate soldiers were held after the fall of Fort Donelson; poor conditions led to a deadly smallpox outbreak in 1862, killing around 700 prisoners. The cemetery became the final resting place for veterans of subsequent wars, including World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

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Camp Butler National Cemetery, Springfield, IL