{"id":104301,"date":"2022-01-13T07:39:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T12:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/?p=104301"},"modified":"2026-03-24T15:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T19:30:13","slug":"004-naval-asylum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/004-naval-asylum\/","title":{"rendered":"Object 4:\u00a0U.S. Naval Asylum"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.kb-image104301_d646bd-f6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:500px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image104301_d646bd-f6.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 figure{max-width:500px;}.kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 .image-is-svg, .kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image104301_d646bd-f6 is-resized\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1179\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/va-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png?w=1179\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/va-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png?w=1179\" alt=\"\nUS Naval Asylum (Library Company of Philadelphia)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-113348\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%271179%27%20height%3D%271024%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%201179%201024%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%271179%27%20height%3D%271024%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png?resize=300,261 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png?resize=600,521 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png?resize=768,667 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_Naval_Asylum.png 1179w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 1179px) 100vw, 1179px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The U. S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia was the first Federal facility to provide institutional care for disabled and elderly Veterans. (Library Company of Philadelphia)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/places\/united-states-naval-asylum.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Naval Asylum<\/a>\u00a0in Philadelphia was the first Federal facility to provide institutional care for disabled and elderly Veterans. In 1811, Congress directed the Navy Department to\u00a0establish\u00a0such a home for the benefit of \u201cdisabled and decrepit Navy officers, seamen, and marines.\u201d Funding was to come from the pot of money collected under an earlier law authorizing the deduction of 20 cents from the monthly pay of all sailors and Marines for the construction of naval hospitals. More than a decade would pass before workers broke ground on the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">William Strickland, the noted Philadelphia engineer and supervising architect for the\u00a0Federal\u00a0Government, designed the structure in the popular Greek Revival style, which symbolized democracy to Americans. Construction started in 1827 but\u00a0proceeded\u00a0slowly due to funding problems. In 1834,\u00a0some 23 years after the original act passed Congress,\u00a0the Naval Asylum finally opened its doors to beneficiaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A senior naval officer summed up the purpose of the asylum in almost poetic terms when he wrote in an 1858 report: \u201cIt is fitting that a beneficent government should thus reward faithful services with the necessary comforts of life and provide for the wants of the last hours of these\u00a0Veteran servants of our country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The capacious building could accommodate up to 400 people in its 180 rooms, although some of this space was used as a naval hospital for the treatment of men on the active force. The rooms for beneficiaries filled at a slow pace, starting with five arrivals in\u00a01834 and\u00a0increasing to over 100 by 1845. Overall, some 541 men\u00a0resided\u00a0at the Naval Asylum in the years between its opening and the end of the Civil War in 1865.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regulations governing admission changed several times during this period, but applicants\u00a0were generally required\u00a0to have served between 15 and 20 years. However, exceptions were sometimes granted. The 1834 regulations, for instance,\u00a0waived the service requirement for men who were disabled and had distinguished themselves by their heroism in battle or \u201cother highly meritorious conduct in the public naval service.\u201d Once admitted, residents could also be dismissed for drunkenness and other misdeeds. They could leave of their own accord, too.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image104301_b707f6-c8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{max-width:450px;width:100%;}.wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image104301_b707f6-c8.kb-image-is-ratio-size, .wp-block-kadence-column > .kt-inside-inner-col > .kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 .kb-image-is-ratio-size{align-self:unset;}.kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 figure{max-width:450px;}.kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 .image-is-svg, .kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 .image-is-svg img{width:100%;}.kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image104301_b707f6-c8 is-resized\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg\" class=\"kb-advanced-image-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"942\" height=\"655\" src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/va-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg?w=942\" data-orig-src=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/va-history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg?w=942\" alt=\"Detail of the central portico and its Ionic columns. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, photograph 1964. (Library of Congress)\" class=\"lazyload kb-img wp-image-113349\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%27%20width%3D%27942%27%20height%3D%27655%27%20viewBox%3D%270%200%20942%20655%27%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%27942%27%20height%3D%27655%27%20fill-opacity%3D%220%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg?resize=300,209 300w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg?resize=600,417 600w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg?resize=768,534 768w, https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/03\/004o_1964_Naval_Asylum-e1680181955413.jpg 942w\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-orig-sizes=\"(max-width: 942px) 100vw, 942px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Detail of the central portico and its Ionic columns. The building was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975, photograph 1964. (Library of Congress)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apparently satisfied with the services provided by the Naval Asylum, Congress in 1851 approved the opening of a second residency for Veterans in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Soldiers\u2019 Home, as it came to be called, was reserved for men who had served in the Mexican War or in the Regular Army. After the Civil War, the\u00a0Government adopted this model of domiciliary care on a more ambitious scale through the establishment of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/exhibits\/national-homes-postcards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National Home consisted of a network of residential communities in\u00a0different parts\u00a0of the country that offered room, board, and medical care to Union Veterans in need of\u00a0assistance. The Naval Asylum in Philadelphia, meanwhile, after changing its name to the Naval Home in 1889, continued to\u00a0operate\u00a0well into the twentieth century until it closed in 1976 and\u00a0relocated\u00a0to Gulfport, Mississippi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>History of VA in 100 Objects: The U.S. Naval Asylum in Philadelphia was the first federal facility to provide institutional care for disabled and elderly Veterans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":117216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[112,27,23],"class_list":["post-104301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-objects","tag-building-history","tag-civil-war","tag-national-home-for-disabled-volunteer-soldiers"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/department.va.gov\/history\/004-naval-asylum\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Object 4:\u00a0U.S. Naval 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