GENERAL INFORMATION
To schedule a burial: Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.
Burial Space
Seven Pines National Cemetery is closed to new interments. The only interments that are being accepted are subsequent interments for veterans or eligible family members in an existing gravesite. Periodically however, burial space may become available due to a canceled reservation or when a disinterment has been completed. When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis. Since there is no way to know in advance when a gravesite may become available, please contact the cemetery at the time of need to inquire whether space is available.
Military Funeral Honors
Local Numbers for Military Honors:
U.S. Air Force - (757) 764-7181
U.S. Army - (703) 696-3237
U.S. Coast Guard - (757) 398-6390
U.S. Marine Corps - (717) 770-4524
U.S. Navy - (757) 322-2817
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HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Seven Pines National Cemetery is located in Henrico County, Va., approximately eight miles southeast of Richmond. The Battle of Fair Oaks (also known as the Battle of Seven Pines) took place in this region and the cemetery’s 1.9-acres are located on a portion of a battlefield.
After the close of the Civil War, Lieut. Col. James H. Moore, assistant quartermaster, was authorized to select a site for a permanent national cemetery for the interment of the battlefield dead. The original 1.3-acre site was appropriated in 1866, and later purchased, from Richard Hilliard. Two small plots of land were added to the site in 1874 and 1875. The cemetery name is derived from the seven pine trees planted along the inside of the cemetery wall in 1869.
A program of concentrating the battlefield remains began in May 1866. More than four years had elapsed since the first casualties of the war had been hastily buried, however, and the remains were often difficult to identify. As a result, 1,216 interments were unknown here, compared to 141 known dead.
Seven Pines National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.
Monuments and Memorial
There are no monuments located at Seven Pines National Cemetery.
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NOTABLE PERSONS
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FLORAL/GROUNDS POLICY
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public.
Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of the year. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing.
Artificial flowers and potted plants will be permitted on graves during periods when their presence will not interfere with grounds maintenance. As a general rule, artificial flowers and potted plants will be allowed on graves for a period extending 10 days before through 10 days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Christmas wreaths, grave blankets and other seasonal adornments may be placed on graves from Dec. 1 through Jan. 20. They may not be secured to headstones or markers.
Permanent plantings, statues, vigil lights, breakable objects and similar items are not permitted on the graves. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not permit adornments that are considered offensive, inconsistent with the dignity of the cemetery or considered hazardous to cemetery personnel. For example, items incorporating beads or wires may become entangled in mowers or other equipment and cause injury.
Permanent items removed from graves will be placed in an inconspicuous holding area for one month prior to disposal. Decorative items removed from graves remain the property of the donor but are under the custodianship of the cemetery. If not retrieved by the donor, they are then governed by the rules for disposal of federal property.
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