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Emigrants arrival

Belgians in America

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C.W. Soldiers

Belgian Civil War soldiers

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the old soldier's homes: Southern

The Southern Branch in Hampton, Virginia, opened in 1870 as the fourth branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.  The Board of Managers established a branch in the South for two reasons: to provide a branch close to home for the U.S. Colored Troops and to add a branch in a temperate climate for all veterans. The Southern Branch may be the first Federal facility specifically planned and established as an integrated facility. Very few African American veterans took advantage of the facility; however, the Southern Branch became very popular among many other veterans.
The land on which the Southern Branch sits was from the 1850’s the Chesapeake Female College for the daughters of the Virginia elite.  The Federal Government turned the campus into the Chesapeake Military Hospital because of its proximity to the fort and battles occurring in the area. At some point during the War, General Butler purchased the land on which the Chesapeake Female College/Chesapeake Military Hospital sat. 
After the Civil War, General Butler became the president and treasurer of the Board of Managers for the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.  In 1870, he suggested a new branch be opened in the South to accommodate the U.S. Colored Troops and proposed that the location be near Fort Monroe. The Board of Managers’ search committee selected Butler’s land for the new branch. Butler’s ownership of the land did not come to light until after the purchase. Congress investigated Butler and the transaction but found no wrongdoing.
The Southern Branch officially opened in December 1870, using the old college facilities to house the veterans.  The Southern Branch underwent an extensive building campaign during the 1880’s.  Other buildings that date from the same time include the National Chaplain Headquarters, Quarters, the Canteen, and offices. 
Unlike other National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers branches, the Southern Branch did not initially have a cemetery, because Hampton National Cemetery was close by.  Burials of Civil War soldiers began at Hampton National Cemetery in 1862, but the cemetery was not officially a National Cemetery until 1866. The cemetery contains the remains of 638 unknown Union soldiers previously buried on Civil War battlefields and buried anew at Hampton and 272 unknown Confederate soldiers that are laid to rest in a separate section. In 1898, a Yellow Fever epidemic broke out at the Southern Branch, and the entire facility was put under quarantine. The Southern Branch established a new cemetery on the grounds of the facility to bury those who died during the quarantine. Twenty-two men are buried in this cemetery, now known as Hampton National Cemetery, VAMC.  (from various sources)