While in Marietta, after spending most of the morning in the Marietta Confederate Cemetery, I went by the Marietta National Military Cemetery. This is a large cemetery just east of old downtown Marietta. It was a marked contrast to the Confederate Cemetery. Where the Confederate Cemetery told the story of the Confederate soldiers and the widows they left behind who struggled to tend their final resting place with statues, monuments, benches, in a park-like setting, the National Military Cemetery was stark in contrast. It was immaculately maintained with closely cut and edged grass throughout but the only monuments were one set by the state of Wisconsin with a Badger set atop commemorating those from that state who died in the War Between the States, a plaque inscribed with the Gettysburg Address and, a granite structure between them sitting at the top of the hill in the middle of the cemetery. The graves were set in circular arcing and circular patterns which the mowing pattern accentuated.
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| Wisconsin Memorial and Granite Memorial Structure at the Marietta National Military Cemetery |
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| The Grounds of the Marietta National Military Cemetery |
The entrance to the cemetery was framed by a beautiful arch. The back side of the arch states, "Marietta National Military Cemetery, Here Rest the Remains of 10,132 Officers and Soldiers Who Died in Defence (sic) of the Union, 1861 to 1865". There are many more graves here than at the Confederate Cemetery and interestingly, soldiers from subsequent wars including WWI and WWII and the Korean and Vietnam Wars and in some cases their spouses, are interspersed with those from the War for Southern Independence. What was also interesting to note was I was the only person at the Marietta National Military Cemetery (MNMC) for the duration of my visit. In comparison, there were a couple cars at the Confederate Cemetery when I was there and a school bus which I noticed when I passed back by driving home.
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| Entrance to the Marietta National Military Cemetery |
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| Graves at the MNMC, Taller Tomstones in the Foreground are Unknown Soldiers of the WBTS |
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