I posted recently about the large monument in Downtown Vineland, New Jersey. On the same trip I visited the nearby Oak Hill Cemetery in the same town. From the road you can see the Civil War graves with a statue in the middle of the site. The cemetery is at 182 South Delsea Drive where it intersects with Montrose Street. The gates are typically open from 9AM to 4PM. There is no admission and I did not see any staff on site. There are still burials going on at the cemetery.
As you can tell from its name, there is a hill here, but it is fairly small and did not interfere with my access the monument.
Vineland, New Jersey was founded in the midst of the Civil War in 1861. Charles Landis, a Utopian, started it as a planned community. He selected a large amount of wilderness where fruit could be grown because raising fruit trees required less expensive equipment than growing wheat or corn. Landis said that he wanted to open the town up to both the middle class and the poor. Landis also banned the sale of alcohol, making Vineland one of the first “dry towns” in New Jersey.
Each plot that was sold in the town had to have a house erected within one year to prevent investors from taking on property and leaving it vacant. Landis also set forth in the deeds that the properties be bordered by trees to allow for a thriving bird population. Landis believed that birds were the best protection against insects that would ravage fruit trees.
The agreement for the purchase of the land was signed by Landis on July 1, 1861, less than three months after the firing on Sumter.
There are several dozen Civil War veterans buried here. Most were in New Jersey regiments, like Uriah Brown of the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry. The regiment was organized in June of 1863. In the Fall, the unit made it way to the front in Virginia where it was assigned to Stoneman’s Brigade. A month later it was transferred to Tennessee. 241 men died during its service, primarily from disease.
The regiment distinguished itself with a victory over Forest’s cavalry at Bolivar, Tennessee.
The 2nd N.J. Cavalry was commanded was Col. Joseph Kargé, who organized the regiment in 1863. He was a Polish revolutionary who was involved in the 1848 rebellion against Prussia which was put down. He was sentenced to death and fled to New York. In New York he offered classes on literature and foreign language instruction.
Jacob Schockley was a soldier in the 25th Regiment of the United States Colored Infantry. This unit was created in May of 1863. The men were trained at Fort William Penn outside of Philadelphia and the served primarily in Louisiana and Florida.
While you may be unfamiliar with the regiment, most of you have seen the famous photo of the men of the 25th which was later turned into a recruiting poster.
The statue is of a life-sized infantryman.
It was a very cold, but also very clear day. As you can see, there are quite a few Civil War graves at the site. There was a Soldiers’ Home nearby which is where old soldiers lived out the last years of life, which may have contributed to the burials.
On the base are the dedicatory words:
In memory of
our heroic dead
G.A.R.
erected – 1912
The “G.A.R.” was the Grand Army of the Republic, the largest Civil War veterans organization. The monument was put up during the 50th Anniversary of the Civil War. By that time, most surviving veterans were in their 70s or 80s, making an appropriate period for monuments to be erected.
The cemetery is well cared for. I visited it in the Winter months of 2026. As you can see, most of the tombstones are fully intact and flag have been placed on the graves.
Note: All color photos of buildings in this post were taken by Patrick Young except as noted.
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Sources:
The Founder’s Own Story of the Founding of Vineland, New Jersey by Charles Landis published by The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society (1903)
Historical Collection of New Jersey Past and Present by John Barber (1868)
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