John C. Westervelt was a Captain in the New Jersey Infantry, 22nd Regiment, Company D and his son, Jasper J. Westervelt, was a Sergeant in the same company. Both took part in the Battle of Chancellorsville on September 2, 1862. While there are no records of their injuries during this battle, both men were resigned to hospitals in the following weeks: John to Seminary Hospital at Georgetown and Jasper to the General Hospital at Acquia Creek, Virginia. In one of his letters to Jasper, John Westervelt mentions the Invalid Corps. The United States War Department organized the Invalid Corps in April 1863. The Corps consisted of disabled and injured officers or men of the army, and was separated into two divisions. The first division included men who could still carryout duty and assume weapons, while the second division was reserved for the severely disabled to serve in the hospitals. It would later be renamed the Veteran Reserve Corps in March 1864, and was abolished during the summer of 1866.
From the description of John C. Westervelt and Jasper Westervelt, Civil War soldiers letters, 1862-1863. (New Jersey Historical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 57193682
