On Monday, May 29, 2023, Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument (NM), in partnership with Mill Springs National Cemetery, will be holding annual Memorial Day Services. All Veterans, active-duty service members, their families, and the public are invited to attend. Events start at 9:00 am with the Mill Springs Battlefield NM remembrance ceremony at Zollicoffer Park to reflect on the Civil War battle with guest speaker Stuart W. Sanders, author of “The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky”. Following this, a Memorial Day ceremony at the Mill Springs National Cemetery will take place at 11:00 am to honor all military service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. US Coast Guard Master Chief Petty Officer John Appicelli will be the guest speaker at the National Cemetery. 

 The Mill Springs National Cemetery is one of the original 14 cemeteries authorized by Congress in 1862.  After the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19, 1862, US General George Thomas ordered fallen US soldiers to be buried one mile from the battlefield. This site became the national cemetery. Additional land for the cemetery was donated by William and Nancy Logan.  When the cemetery opened in 1867, there were 708 internments, half of them were unknown. The Mill Springs National Cemetery has been in operation for over 160 years. Today, there are over 4,000 buried in the cemetery.   

 One of the newest parks in the National Park System, Mill Springs Battlefield NM is free and open to the public Wednesday-Sunday, 10 am-4 pm. The Battle of Mill Springs was the first major United States victory in the Western Theater of the Civil War, breaking the Confederate defensive lines across Kentucky, capturing the attention of national press, and providing a much-needed morale boost for the United States.   

Original source can be found here.