By Michael Thomas Leibrandt

Long before one of the nation’s earliest Memorial Day observances took place in Philadelphia in 1868 — then known as Decoration Day — the city’s connection to American freedom had already been written in sacrifice.

Philadelphia’s role in the nation’s history extends far beyond the signing of a remarkable document inside Independence Hall. The cost of liberty is etched across the region’s cemeteries and battlefields, from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington Square to Laurel Hill Cemetery, from Germantown to burial grounds scattered throughout the Delaware Valley.

In June 1863, as the Civil War raged, Philadelphia found itself gripped by fear. Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee had crossed into Pennsylvania, pushing northward after invading Maryland. Reports of the Army of Northern Virginia advancing through the countryside sent panic through the city as Union forces under General George Meade shadowed Lee’s movements.

Pennsylvania  Gov. Andrew Curtin rushed to Philadelphia  with defenses hastily being constructed at the supervision of Major-General Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh Dana.

Unlike the world wars, Korea, or Vietnam, the American Revolution was fought in the very places Philadelphians lived and worked. 

Historic sites across the area still bear witness to that struggle. Historic mansions like Cliveden and Stenton were swept into the Battle of Germantown. Along the Delaware River, the defenders of Fort Mifflin endured one of the heaviest bombardments of the American Revolution. Nearby communities saw fighting at Chadds Ford and Whitemarsh, while Philadelphia itself fell under British occupation in 1777.

Today, Memorial Day visitors walking through the city’s historic cemeteries encounter the final resting place of brave patriots who didn’t just oppose the taxation of the British Monarchy in the colonies; they gave their lives for that cause. 

Laurel Hill Cemetery, where Philadelphia’s early Decoration Day observance was held, contains the graves of some of the Revolution’s most notable figures. Brigadier General Hugh Mercer, who was killed at the Battle of Princeton, rests there alongside Commodore Richard Dale, who served under John Paul Jones, and Jehu Eyre, a Pennsylvania militiaman remembered for crossing the Delaware with George Washington.

At Christ Church Burial Ground, visitors often come to pay respects to Benjamin Franklin, but the cemetery also holds the graves of Revolutionary War patriots including General Jacob Morgan and Major William Morgan. Historians believe thousands of Revolutionary War soldiers may also be buried there in unmarked graves.

In Germantown, Hood Cemetery dates back to 1693 and contains dozens of Revolutionary War burials, including what was once the grave site of British General James Agnew, who died following the Battle of Germantown.

Ultimately, Lee’s army never reached Philadelphia. Union forces defeated the Confederates at Gettysburg in July 1863, turning the tide of the Civil War. Among the dead on the battle’s first day was General John Reynolds, one of the Union Army’s most respected commanders. His equestrian statue — the first of its kind erected in Philadelphia — still stands outside City Hall today.

And General George Meade, the Philadelphian who commanded the Union victory at Gettysburg?

Keywords

Memorial Day,

Philadelphia history,

American Revolution,

Civil War,

Laurel Hill Cemetery,

Gettysburg,

George Meade,

Battle of Germantown,

Fort Mifflin,

Revolutionary War