Civil War Cemetery at the Jersey Shore

There were no battles of any significance fought in South Jersey during the American Civil War, yet there are nearly 3,000 Confederate soldiers buried in a national cemetery at Finns Point NJ, across from Fort Delaware. Sometimes, just knowing a strange fact about our state is enough. Other times, there is an interesting story smoldering just below the surface. Just how is it that 2,925 Southern boys found their final resting place along the Jersey shore?

Although many of the dead had succumbed to grievous wounds received in combat at the two major battles fought north of the Mason-Dixon line, Gettysburg and Antietam, most died while in captivity as prisoners of war. The shame of the matter is that almost all of the non-battle wounded who died in captivity could have been saved.

Unlike in Southern prison camps like the infamous Andersonville in Georgia, where even the guards lived on starvation rations, the southerners were victims of the incompetence, ignorance, and the failure of the Union officials to rectify tragic conditions. Food was stolen before it even arrived at the fort. Medical supplies were scarce. The commanding officer couldn’t, or wouldn’t get involved.

Conditions were so bad that there are even 135 Union guards buried at Finns Point. This fact makes the cemetery one of only three military cemeteries where both Yankee and Rebel are buried in the same cemetery. Most military cemeteries, like Gettysburg actually contain two separate burial grounds.

Finns Point National Cemetery continued in active use as a burial site for members of the Coastal Artillery garrison from nearby Fort Mott through the end of World War I. Veterans can still be interred at Finns Point, but only as cremations.

The cemetery is open to the public, and is operated and maintained under the direction of the Department of Veterans Affairs. For more information and specific data on all burials at Finns Point, write to the Director, Beverly National Cemetery, Department of Veterans Affairs, Beverly, New Jersey 08010 or call (609) 877-5460.

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Author: Jim McGrath