Cape May County and the Civil War

True Blue for Union

In the middle of the nineteenth century, Cape May County was an isolated and lightly populated peninsula at the southernmost tip of New Jersey. Nevertheless, its citizens answered the call for the Union effort during the Civil War. The 7th U.S. Infantry regiment recruited substantially from the region, and the entire community came out to usher the gallant troops to war, departing from Cape Island. On the homefront, supporting rallies were staged, food drives enacted and medical supplies shipped to the front. Railroad tycoons eyeing the underdeveloped beaches of Cape May began developing the county’s resorts beyond Cape Island even before troops returned home. Author Ray Rebmann presents the valiant efforts and changing times of Cape May County in the Civil War era.

Ray Rebmann, now retired from the New Jersey Department of Labor after thirty years, works as a curator for the Old School House Museum in Dennisville, New Jersey. A reporter and columnist for twenty years for the Cape May County Herald newspaper, he has also authored several books, including Prohibition in Cape May County (The History Press), Dennis Township (Arcadia Publishing), How Can You Give Up that Adorable Puppy? (Unlimited Publishing) and Jersey Devil, Cursed Unfortunate (MuseItUp). With his children grown and moved on, he lives in a log cabin in the woods of South Seaville with his wife, dog, cat and horse.