Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 9.7 acres (3.9 ha), and as of 2021[update] had more than 11,000 interments.

The cemetery was established by the United States Congressional legislation in 1866 but the original plot of land was not formally purchased from local resident William Slater until 1867.

Those re-interments were primarily of Federal Union soldiers who perished from the effects of wounds while prisoners of war in Richmond area military hospitals.

Some of the dead intended for the Seven Pines National Cemetery and Cold Harbor National Cemetery were transferred to Richmond when those smaller burial grounds quickly reached their capacities from post-war burials and reburials of the dead from the battle of Seven Pines (also known as Fair Oaks) and the battle of Cold Harbor.

The site is rectangular in shape and enclosed by a granite and sandstone wall, extending approximately 2,588 feet (789 m), constructed c. 1890.

A 16-foot (4.9 m) octagonal iron gazebo, Chinese Chippendale in style, was constructed c. 1890 in the north-east segment of the cemetery at the intersection of Sections 13-A, 14-A, 21-A, and 22-A.

When either of these two scenarios occurs, the gravesite is made available to another eligible veteran on a first-come, first-served basis.