Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of two national cemeteries in New Mexico (the other being Fort Bayard).

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe donated the land to the federal government in 1870.

[3] On June 23, 1987, the remains of 31 Confederate soldiers of the Texas Mounted Volunteers who were killed or died as a result of wounds during the Battle of Glorieta Pass were discovered in a mass grave on the battlefield.

[4] In 2007 the remains of sixty-four federal soldiers and civilians discovered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at the site of Fort Craig were relocated to here.

[5] In 2017 the Veterans Administration was unsuccessful in purchasing six acres of land adjacent to the cemetery and current estimates are that the site will be at capacity before 2030.