Hi Gang! Yesterday I uploaded my first post about Fort Mott, which can be found here:
Fort Mott - Part One. Now it's on to Part Two.
Across from where the main batteries are located, you will find a path. At first it's hard to tell whether it's some kind of road for cars or other vehicles of the people who are doing work at Fort Mott, an extension of a driveway leading to the parking lot, or an actual path. Turns out it is a path, which leads to Finn's Point National Cemetery, about half a mile from Fort Mott.
(You can visit the cemetery website
here.)
The path.
As we approached the cemetery, there was a real sense of calm and peacefulness in the air. We were the only people on the path or at the cemetery and everything was quiet.
The sign tells us that the cemetery contains the graves of 2,436 Confederate soldiers who died as prisoners of war at Fort Delaware. That gave me pause and I had to stand still for a moment.
2,436 soldiers. That number, to me, is astounding.
Some information about Finn's Point, from Wikipedia:
Originally purchased by
the federal government to build a battery to protect the port
of Philadelphia, the land became a cemetery by 1863
for Confederate prisoners of war who died while in captivity
at Fort Delaware. 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 75 acres (30 ha) 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 general unmarked graves.
The Confederate Monument, under which the bodies of 2,436 Confederate soldiers are buried.
The Union Monument, dedicated to 135 Union soldiers who died while on duty at Fort Delaware.
Finn's Point is an active cemetery, in that cremated remains of military personnel and their spouses can still be interred here. Here are some interesting headstones that we saw:
There are some older headstones as well:
So sad...
There is also a tree that was planted to commemorate the Bicentennial.
Finn's Point National Cemetery is definitely worth visiting, whether you are a history/Civil War buff or not. Though it is absolutely heartbreaking to think of all the soldiers who senselessly died during the "War Between the States" - on both sides - I feel this is also a part of our history that is important to become educated about and learn from. It's one thing to read about the Civil War in a book, quite another to see a piece of it in real life.
I hope that all of the soldiers who died in this war have found peace. Though they were fighting on different sides, they were all Americans, all brothers. It's sad that they had to die for such a pointless cause...
Until Next Time
Miss Myo
xoxoxoxo
