Beverly

Beverly. Crossroads of Conflict. , Situated at a crossroads on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, Beverly was a strategic location and proved to be a focal point during the Civil War. There were no large plantations here and political opinions were split, yet the majority of Beverly's citizens favored the South., From the beginning of the Civil War, Beverly was a staging area for local militia and troops sent from eastern Virginia to serve the Confederacy., Following Federal success at Rich Mountain, Gen. George McClellan led his troops into Beverly and secured this vital crossroads for the Union. Confederates raided Beverly several times during the war, but the Union retained control. McClellan sent many of his famous victory telegrams from here., A nmuber of local families with Confederate connections fled south, as Beverly was occupied by Federal troops during most of the war. Troops dug trenches around Mt. Iser, overlooking the town. After the war, a cemetery for Confederate dead was created within these entrenchments., A number of the buildings tied to Civil War events here still stand., "The next day (following the Battle of Rich Mountain) about 11 a.m., the Federals advanced (into Beverly), followed by numerous regiments in handsome uniform with banners flying, keeping exact step to the music of the fine Regimental Bands, playing the beautiful March from the opera, 'Norma.' Many of them were well-drilled, crack regiments - many Germans, having had their military training abroad - some regulars... the several regiments went into camp in the vicinity of town." , -Thomas Jackson Arnold