Pvt. Herod Beverly

Private Herod Beverly was born c. 1829 in Franklin County, Virginia. County records list his grandparents, Lucy and Herod Beverly, in a document titled “All Other Free People” in 1810. Lucy’s information states that she was “a free slave of John Early.” Herod’s mother Nancy may have been married to one of the Beverly sons. In the 1850 Census record the family is found living in Washington, Ohio. Herod was a free man, age 20, employed as a laborer, living with his mother, Nancy, 55, and his younger brother Samuel, 11. All three were reported to have been born in Virginia. Northern migration was not uncommon for free Black families in Virginia, where they were increasingly unwelcome.

 

Though married to Anna (Amanda) Keys and living free in Jefferson Township of Jackson County, OH, in 1860, Herod followed his younger brother Samuel into the USCT. He enlisted on August 4th, 1863, in Summit County, OH, in the 5th USCT Infantry Company D for a period of three years. Herod’s military records described him as dark with black eyes and hair. He was recorded as 32 years old, 6’2”, and his occupation was listed as teamster. His brother Samuel was already serving with the 5th Infantry Co. B.

 

The 5th USCT Infantry was organized at Camp Delaware, Ohio, and saw considerable action in Virginia and North Carolina. Notably, the 5th USCT Infantry contributed to Grant’s Union victory over Lee’s Confederate forces at the bloody battle at New Market Road, September 1864. Herod’s brother Samuel was missing after that battle. The regiment mustered out a year later, September 1865. Herod was not well and still due $100 of his bounty. During its three-year run, Co. D lost four officers and 77 enlisted men to combat wounds as well as two officers and 166 enlisted men to disease. Herod suffered from cardiac hypertrophy and was awarded a pension of $8 per month in March 1867.

 

After the war, Herod and his mother Nancy travelled south searching for his brother Samuel, made inquiries and discovered a possible prisoner of war record. One report from the Adjutant General’s office dated January 1876 described that Herod’s brother Samuel was missing in action and presumed killed, while yet another suggested there was a possibility that he was hospitalized as a prisoner of war and sent to Salisbury Confederate Camp, with no later record discovered.

 

In the Census for 1870, Herod Beverly and Amanda lived on a farm in Jackson County, Ohio. His mother Nancy lived with them, and they had no children. The Census for 1880 identified Beverly as a landowner with a productive farm in Jackson County. Herod married a second time in 1888 to Margaret Ford, and they lived in Chillicothe, Ohio, 1907, when he died at the age of 78 from “acute cardiac dilation,” or congestive heart failure at the National Military Home. His widow received a pension of $36 per month.

 

The National Military Home was established in September of 1867 and was the first racially integrated Veterans Administration facility. Originally known as the Central Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, this was one of the first 3 original branches

established just after the Civil War. Due to the long name, it was more commonly known as the Dayton Soldiers Home. The other two homes for veterans were: Eastern Branch in Augusta, Maine and Northwestern Branch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The location in Ohio was chosen because it met several criteria established by law-makers in Washington D.C.: it was located near a metropolitan area (Dayton), had railroad access, a spring-fed water supply, and finally, it was on high ground which helped to ventilate the original buildings with fresh air. Dayton Soldiers Home received National Historic Landmark status in October of 2012.

 

Herod was buried in Dayton National Cemetery in section P row 17, site 27.

 

Contributors: Robin Lyttle, Macie Alford, Sarah Plummer, and Cathie Cummins