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The Albany Rural Cemetery was incorporated in 1841 with it's creation meant to open a vast natural setting for the final resting place of the many nearby residents of Albany, Watervliet, Cohoes, and beyond. The Albany Rural is known for it's many sculptures and mausoleums and more.

What many do not realize is that the Albany Rural Cemetery sits entirely within the Town of Colonie. It consists of nearly 500 acres of beautiful rolling hills, ravines, and streams with waterfalls. The Albany Rural Cemetery was created to provide the residents of Albany City with open and spacious grounds to relieve the already crowded burial grounds within the City. In fact many of the burials located within the City of Albany were transferred to the Albany Rural Cemetery after it opened.

No less than three books have been published about the Albany Rural Cemetery. The first known publication is by Henry W. Churchill in 1857. The second by Edward Fitzgerald in 1871 and the third by Henry P. Phelps of Brookside Avenue in Menands in 1893. The Albany Rural Cemetery continues to provide information about people buried within the grounds by means of quarterly newsletters published by the "Friends of Albany Rural Cemetery" These news letters were first
published in 1996 and continue today.

Although I do not have the ability to provide you with the latest newsletter, it is about Major General William Alexander "Lord Sterling" who is buried in the Albany Rural.

Please visit the following sites for more information about:

To mark the 140th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, the Albany Rural Cemetery, Cemetery Avenue, Menands (Albany), NY will host a Civil War Heritage Day on Saturday, October 1, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Incorporated April 2, 1841, the Albany Rural Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the most beautiful and historic cemeteries in upstate New York. The 467 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds include the burial plots of many distinguished national and local dignitaries, including 14 generals and 6 Medal of Honor winners.

A Commemorative Service will be the main focus of the day’s events. The service will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the site of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial and Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Plot, to honor the 700+ Civil War dead interred in the cemetery. The monument contains the names of 648 men from Albany who died during the Civil War. Their names are inscribed on four bronze tablets which were made from a melted down Civil War cannon. The adjacent Plot was donated by the Trustees on June 7, 1862 to honor and bury the Civil War dead. 149 veterans are buried in this plot. Some 600 more are buried in family plots throughout the cemetery.

This special service will include an invocation by the Chaplin of the 125th NY Volunteer Infantry, a memorial service performed by the Sons of Union Veterans, a reading of the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln (who will be accompanied by Mary Todd Lincoln), a presentation on the history of the cemetery, Civil War period music, a wreath laying, a military volley salute, the playing of “Taps”, and remarks by local dignitaries. At the conclusion of the service, visitors will be invited to place a flower on the grave of their selected soldier. Flowers will be provided.

Other special events to be held during the day include:
- Regimental Camp set up by living historians from the 125th NY Volunteer Infantry
Regiment, the 61st NY Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the 5th NY Volunteer Infantry
(Duryea’s Zouaves), and the 2nd Battery Vermont Light Artillery. See demonstrations
of marching, drilling, and camp life (all day).
- Civil War Tours will be conducted, both walking and horse drawn (there will be a
charge for the latter) (10:00-1:00).
- Civil War Period Music will be performed by the 77th New York Regimental
Balladeers, a nationally-recognized Civil War music group (10:00-2:00).
- Civil War Exhibits will be set up by the Hudson-Mohawk Industrial Gateway, New
York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, Albany Rural Cemetery,
and the Capital District Civil War Round Table, who will host a special
commemorative U.S. Postal Service cancellation and have postal cachets and related
items available for sale (all day).

Admission: the event is FREE to the public, but a $5 per car donation is requested to
offset expenses.
Refreshments: will be available for purchase.

Directions: for driving directions, click here: http://www.mapsonus.com/ .Please enter the cemetery from the Broadway entrance (across from the Menands Diner) and park where indicated near the gate by the Cemetery Office. The cemetery is located just north of Albany in Menands on Route 32.