Tour Of The Hallowed Grounds Overview of Some Significant Renovation Projects Slated for Fiscal Year 2025 Ensuring That Gravesites & Grounds Maintained Within National Cemetery Administration Standards Listed in National Register of Historic Places and Located Upon Approximately 1.4 acres of Sacred Grounds Contiguous to the Facilities of an Active Military Base and Facilities Known as the St. Francis Barracks, The State Headquarters of the Florida National Guard. Friday 14 March 2025 On Tuesday morning 25 February 2025 under the leadership of Chairman Pat Welch, Vice- Chairwoman Maria Hirsch, Former Chairman Bill Dudley, and St. Augustine Historian Alison Simpson, a large Team of our Support Committee was given an in-depth and very comprehensive tour of this iconic, “non-staffed”, historic national cemetery. Alison is the Command Historian for the Florida National Guard and is responsible for conducting both research of, and leading tours of, the cemetery. Bill is a current Member of our Support Committee and serves as the current Chairman of the Veterans Council of St. Johns County. Bill and his team of local veterans living in the St. Augustine area constantly focus upon supporting both the operations of and conducting many of the high-profile ceremonies held at these hallowed grounds, including, but not limited to both of the following annual events: Memorial Day in May, and Wreaths-Across-America in December. This cemetery has approximately 2,800 interments and is operated for the VA National Cemetery Administration by the Jacksonville Cemetery Staff. Except in certain instances, it is currently closed to new interments. The first interment took place in 1828: the first burials were soldiers stationed at St. Francis Barracks and veterans of the Indian Wars. The    only    interments    that    are    being accepted    now    are    subsequent    burials    for    veterans    or    eligible    family    members    in    an    existing gravesite.   Periodically,   burial   space   may   become   available   due   to   a   canceled   reservation   or   when   a disinterment   has   been   completed.   When   either   of   these   scenarios   occurs,   the   gravesite   is   made available   to   another   eligible   veteran   on   a   first-come,   first-served   basis.   It   should   be   noted   that   in March 2025 there will be a burial which conforms with the “exception regulations”.   As   a   follow-up   to   the   February   Tour,   on   March   14 th   ,   2025 ,   Chris Morris, the Director of both the Jacksonville and the St. Augustine National Cemeteries gave Pat Welch and Marie Hirsch of the Support Committee Leadership Team a briefing of some significant renovation and upgrade programs which are currently slated for and underway at the St. Augustine Cemetery regarding: Roads; Dade’s Pyramids; the Historic Wall; Main Flagpole; Public Restrooms; the Rostrum Area; and the Lodge. As shown in the picture above, t he    cemetery    is    home    to    the    Dade’s    Monument.    The    Dade’s Monument    is    composed    of    three    pyramids    constructed    of    native    coquina    stone    and    originally covered   with   white   stucco.   The   pyramids   were   dedicated   at   a   ceremony   on   August   15,   1842,   that marked   the   end   of   the   Florida   Indian   Wars.   The   structures   cover   vaults   that   contain   the   remains   of soldiers   who   died   during   the   Florida   Indian   Wars   (1835–1842).   According   to   the   inscription   on   the monument,   the   wars   began   on   December   25,   1835.   Three   days   later,   Maj.   Francis   L.   Dade   and   his regiment   were   enroute   from   Fort   Brooke   (Tampa)   to   Fort   King   (Ocala)   when   they   were   ambushed and   killed.   Of   the   108   men   and   officers   under   his   command,   only   two   or   three   survived.   Maj.   Dade and his men are among those entombed at the pyramids.   Also,   the   cemetery   includes a historic lodge that is leased by the Florida Army National Guard and will concurrently undergo a “historic rehabilitation project” in conjunction with the renovations to this facility already mentioned above.

March 2025 Support Committee Update On The Historic St. Augustine National Cemetery The Iconic Dade Pyramids