Finn's Point National Cemetery

Finn's Point National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located 6 miles northwest of the city of Salem in Salem County, New Jersey. It encompasses 4.6 acres, and as of the end of 2005, had 2,879 interments. It is administered by the Beverly National Cemetery.

History

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.

Officially made a National Cemetery on October 3, 1875 by request of Virginia Governor James L. Kemper, who criticized the poor maintenance of the Confederate gravesite.

Today Finn's Point National Cemetery is surrounded by Killchohook National Wildlife Refuge next to Fort Mott State Park, in Pennsville, NJ. Finn's Point National Cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

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

Notable monuments

*The Confederate Monument, an 85 foot tall granite obelisk, erected in 1910 by the federal government in memory of the 2,436 Confederate prisoners of war who died at Fort Delaware. Their names are inscribed on the monument.
*The Union Monument, dedicated in 1879 to 135 Union soldiers who died while on duty at Fort Delaware.

See also

*United States Department of Veterans Affairs
*United States National Cemetery

External links

* [http://www.cem.va.gov/ National Cemetery Administration]
* [http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/finnspoint.asp Finn's Point National Cemetery]