The picturesque Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery covers hilly terrain set along both the east and west sides of Cabrillo Memorial Drive just north of the Cabrillo National Monument on the Point Loma peninsula. Surrounded by land occupied by the Naval Base Point Loma, the cemetery sits atop the hillcrest of the peninsula with sweeping views of the City of San Diego across San Diego Bay to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is one of seven national cemeteries established between 1934 and 1939: Baltimore, Fort Snelling, Fort Rosecrans, Golden Gate, Fort Bliss, Long Island, and Fort Sam Houston.

The historic integrity of Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is high. Its historic design, monuments, buildings and structures are intact. Changes and alterations have been done sympathetically.

As of April 2015, the cemetery maintains 113,076 interments, with 51,906 full-casket interments, 20,665 in-ground cremains, and 40,505 columbaria remains.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery closed to casketed remains in 1966, but continued to accept cremains until 2014. In January 2010, an annex to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery opened nearby in the Miramar neighborhood.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 2016.

President Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg in 1863. In 1909, to celebrate of the centennial of his birth, the U.S. Army placed Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, cast in iron, in all national cemeteries.

In national cemeteries established after 1909, Gettysburg Address Plaques were similarly installed.

Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is also California Historical Landmark 55.