Finn's Point National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. ...

located in Pennsville Township,

Salem County Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River, and it has the eastern terminus of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaware. ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States. It encompasses , and as of February 2009, had 3,033 interments. Adjacent to Fort Mott, it is governed by the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

and administered by the Washington Crossing National Cemetery.

History

Originally purchased by the federal government to build a battery to protect the port of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the land became a cemetery by 1863 for

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

prisoners of war who died while in captivity at

Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the Union / Unite ...

. One hundred and thirty five Union soldiers who died while serving as guards at the prison camp are also buried here. The death toll among prisoners of war and the guards was high, especially in the latter part of 1863 and throughout 1864. By July 1863, there were 12,595 prisoners on the island at nearby Fort Delaware which was only about in size. Disease was rampant and nearly 2,700 prisoners died from malnutrition or neglect. Confederate prisoners interred at the cemetery totaled 2,436 and all are in a common grave as can still be seen as a huge pit in the north western corner of the site near the monument. It was officially made a National Cemetery on October 3, 1875, by request of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Governor James L. Kemper, who criticized the poor maintenance of the Confederate grave sites. Finn's Point National Cemetery is north west of Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge near

Fort Mott State Park Fort Mott, located in Pennsville, Salem County, New Jersey, United States, was part of the Harbor Defenses of the Delaware, a three-fort defense system designed for the Delaware River during the Reconstruction era and Endicott program moderniz ...

. The cemetery was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978. Serial killer

Andrew Cunanan Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American serial killer who murdered five people over three months from April 27 to July 15, 1997. His victims include Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real est ...

committed one of his murders at the cemetery on May 9, 1997, killing cemetery caretaker William Reese and stealing his truck.

Noteworthy monuments

Finns Point National Cemetery - Union Monument

* The Confederate Monument, an tall granite obelisk, erected in 1910 by the federal government in memory of the 2,436 Confederate prisoners of war who died at

. * The Union Monument, dedicated in 1879 to 135 Union soldiers who died while on duty at Fort Delaware. * In the northwest corner, 13 white marble headstones mark the burial place of German prisoners of World War II who died while in custody at nearby

Fort Dix Fort Dix, the common name for the Army Support Activity (ASA) located at Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst, is a United States Army post. It is located south-southeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Fort Dix is under the jurisdiction of the Air Fo ...

, New Jersey.

Gallery

File:Finn's Point National Cemetery Entrance Sign.jpg, Welcome sign

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Finn's Point National Cemetery

* * * {{NRHP in Salem County, New Jersey Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Historic American Landscapes Survey in New Jersey 1863 establishments in New Jersey Cemeteries in Salem County, New Jersey United States national cemeteries Monuments and memorials in New Jersey 1875 establishments in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Salem County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Pennsville Township, New Jersey Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Cemeteries established in the 1860s