Situated at a crossroads on the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike, Beverly was a strategic location and a focal point during the Civil War. There were no large plantations there and political opinions were split, yet most of Beverly's citizens favored the South. From the beginning of the war, Beverly served as a staging area for local militia and for troops sent from eastern Virginia to serve the Confederacy. After Federal success at Rich Mountain, Gen. George McClellan led his troops into Beverly and secured this vital crossroads for the Union. Confederates raided Beverly several times during the war, but the Union retained control. McClellan sent many of his famous victory telegrams from there. A number of local families with Confederate connections fled south, as Beverly was occupied by Federal troops during most of the war. Troops dug trenches around Mt. Iser overlooking the town, and after the war a cemetery for Confederate dead was created within these entrenchments. A number of the buildings connected to Civil War events there still stand.