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Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria 2014.

Photos: Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria

by | Dec 13, 2014 | Government, Non-Profits

Story and photos by Susan Larson

A sea of 15,300 luminaria glowed in Fredericksburg National Cemetery from 8 – 11 p.m. May 24 for the 19th annual Memorial Day Saturday ceremony.

The tradition began in 1995, when representatives of local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts presented to National Park Service staff the idea of starting an annual luminaria program to honor United States soldiers who had died in service to their county.

A Boy Scout lights a luminaria at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery on May 24, 2014.

Hundreds of scouts participate each year, assembling the luminary bags, placing them beside the graves and lighting them as evening falls.

Most of those buried in Fredericksburg National Cemetery are Union soldiers from the Civil War.  There are a fewer number of plots for soldiers of the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II.  The National Cemetery was closed in 1940 to new internments.

The Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery, owned and maintained by the Ladies’ Memorial Association of Fredericksburg, holds a luminaria the same night to honor the 3,553 soldiers buried there.

Everyone pauses to listen as Taps is played every 30 minutes.

Some 80 percent of the Civil War soldiers buried at Fredericksburg National Cemetery were never identified.  Many of the graves contain more than one body.  For this reason, two or more luminaria are placed at each stone.

The annual luminaria program includes a historical walking tour guided by National Park Service staff and volunteers.  Taps is played every 30 minutes.

Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria 2014.

The Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminaria is coordinated by the Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields, the Commonwealth Girl Scouts, and the Mattaponi and Aquia District Boy Scouts of America.

Contributions for the 2015 program may be made to the Friends of the Fredericksburg Area Battlefields, Luminaria Fund, P.O. Box 3112, Fredericksburg, Va. 22402.  For more information, contact John Cummings at 540-582-7469 or [email protected]
Memorial Day 2014 Events in Fredericksburg
Veterans Council Memorial Day Ceremony
Masonic Lodge Memorial Day March
Fredericksburg National Cemetery Luminary
Thunder for the Cause Memorial Day Weekend
12 Memorial Day Events in Fredericksburg
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