reunification of the states, to honor the Federal soldiers who died in local battles or from disease. The cemetery was placed on Marye's Heights, a Confederate stronghold during the Battle of Fredericksburg. There are a total of 15,243 Civil War interments, of those, only 2,473 were identified. Graves of soldiers, known and unknown, are distinguished by their markers. Identified soldiers are buried in individual graves, marked by a rounded headstone inscribed with the soldier's name and state. Unknown soldiers were buried in mass graves, the headstones marking these plots contain two numbers. The first, upper, number identifies the plot while the second, lower, number identifies the number of soldiers buried in that plot. Approximately 100 20th-century soldiers are buried in the cemetery; in some cases, their spouses were buried next to them. The cemetery allowed new burials until 1945. Willis Cemetery, a separate cemetery on Marye's Heights, was established to serve local needs and predates the Civil War. This cemetery is distinguished from the Civil War burials by its brick wall. The Willis home, which burned down before the outbreak of war, was separated by a gap in the ridge from the Marye's family home, Brompton. Previously known as Willis Hill, the name Marye's Heights was applied to the whole of the ridge as the battle was covered by the national press in 1863. Located near the 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument, and throughout the cemetery, are plaques containing verses from Theodore O'Hara's 1847 poem "The Bivouac of the Dead". O'Hara wrote the poem to commemorate American dead at the Battle of Buena Vista, fought during the Mexican–American War. The first two octaves, and the first half of the eleventh octave are displayed in the cemetery: The following monuments and memorials are located in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery: 127th Pennsylvania Volunteer Monument Fifth Corps Monument (dedicated 1901) Humphreys' Division Monument Moesch Monument Parker's Battery Memorial Photo gallery References Other references The National Parks: Index 2001–2003. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior. External links National Park Service: Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan Roster of Known Union Soldiers buried at Fredericksburg B-surname PDF file Roster of Known Union Soldiers buried at Fredericksburg O-surname PDF file Geographic Names Information System Map Data – Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitors Center – – Battlefields Memorial National Military Park –