The National Soldiers Home Historic District, in Milwaukee, is the birthplace of federal veteran care in America and is a soldiers’ recuperation and living settlement established just after the Civil War. This 90-plus acre district rests on the grounds of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee between what is now National Avenue and Bluemound Roads, directly west of Miller Park.
The National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, as it was originally named, was established in 1865. The establishment of a system of National Soldiers Homes, including Milwaukee, was one of the last pieces of legislation signed by President Lincoln before his assassination. In his second inaugural address, President Lincoln had asked the nation “to care for him who shall have borne the battle.” These words and the persistence of many citizens including women from
