185 - New Jersey Postal History Society

CIVIL WAR PATRIOTICS & THE BEVERLY, NJ HOSPITAL ~ Hughes, Walton, & Micchelli
CIVIL WAR PATRIOTICS: The Story of the Beverly NJ General Hospital
By William E. Hughes, Jean Walton, & Richard Micchelli
In the small town of Beverly, New Jersey (approximately 15 miles north of Philadelphia,
on the Delaware River), with a population of less than 3,000, lies a plot of land along the railroad
bed, not far from the Delaware River, which is now occupied by a trucking company. No
plaques mark the spot, no monuments, nothing is present to tell the history of this place. During
the Civil War years, however, it was a source of a great deal of postal history. Particularly
during the year between July 1864 and August 1865, the correspondence which poured from this
site could, and in some cases does, fill volumes. While physically nothing remains, postal
history helps preserve the history of this place for posterity.
Some may wonder why there are so many covers from the quiet little town of Beverly in
the Micchelli collection of Civil War patriotic covers. One reason for this was location – the
Camden & Amboy Railroad ran through Beverly, making an easy connection between Trenton to
the north and Camden and Philadelphia to the south. In addition, steamboats plied the waters of
the Delaware to this point. A three-story brick building on this site, previously used for
manufacturing of various types, was now empty. All these things, along with a large flat empty
space between the river and the railroad, made it an ideal spot for the mustering of Civil War
soldiers. Between 1861 and 1863, 5 separate regiments of soldiers were organized and mustered
into the Union Army at Beverly – the NJ 10 th , 23 rd , 24 th , 25 th and 34 th Regiments.
Fig. 1: A chance to enlist! A broadside
encourages men to join up before drafting will
be enforced. No Union draft legislation was
passed until March 3, 1863.
Illustration courtesy William Hughes and the
Riverfront Historical Society, Burlington County
Posters such as the one shown at left
were used to interest young men in
enlisting. This appears to be a recruiting
poster for the 24 th Regiment (a 9-month
regiment, formed in September of 1862)
as the names at the bottom were officers
in the NJ 24 th , Company I. John O.
Crowell was killed at Fredericksburg,
Va., Dec. 13, 1862. Shinn and Crowell
mustered out in June of 1863.
Pvt. John Keyser was an army artist for
the 24 th , and drew a series of sketches of
camp scenes of his regiment - one of
these shows the original encampment at
Camp Cadwallader, in Beverly. (See
Figure 2 on the following page). In 1864,
this same location became the home of
the U.S. General Hospital at Beverly.
NJPH 32
Vol. 40/No. 1
Feb 2012 Whole No. 185