Beverly and Civil War "Firsts"

Beverly and Civil War "Firsts". Crossroads of Conflict. The Civil War brought repeated conflict to Beverly, and many Civil War "firsts" occurred here. U.S. Gen. George McClellan launched the war's first campaign from this strategic crossroads. His forces, assisted by local guide David Hart, defeated Confederates at Rich Mountain on July 11, 1861. McClellan then occupied the town, which remained under Union control for most of the war though major Confederate raids swept through here in 1863 and 1865., Beverly also witnessed the first amputation by a Confederate surgeon, the first mass surrender of prisoners, and the first use of a telegraph in wartime., Start your journey at the Beverly Heritage Center, and then wander our historic town to see building containing graffiti written throughout the conflict, a Union hospital, McClellan's headquarters, and the telegraph office he used to proclaim the victory that started his rise to fame as the North's first battlefield hero., Make sure to visit nearby Rich Mountain Battlefield., (captions) , Union troops guard Confederate prisoners of war at the northern end of Beverly. U.S. troops tore down the building at left, an unfinished schoolhouse, to make chimneys for their camp huts. Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (August 17, 1861), The Beverly Heritage Center contain Gen. McClellan's headquarters and the original Randolph County Courthouse. A Union hospital was established in the David Goff House. The Logan House was the site of the first amputation by a Confederate surgeon. Soldier graces from every American war can be found in the Beverly Cemetery., Laura Jackson Arnold (1826-1911). Laura Jackson Arnold lived in Beverly during the Civil War. Her brother was Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Although her husband and brother supported the Confederacy, Laura was a Union sympathizer. During the Civil War, she nursed troops of both sides.