Philadelphia National Cemetery

Coordinates: 40°03′31″N 75°09′18″W / 40.05861°N 75.15500°W / 40.05861; -75.15500
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Philadelphia National Cemetery
File:Philadelphia National Cemetery Gates.jpg
New gates constructed in 1940.[1]
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Details
Established1862; 163 years ago (1862)
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
CoordinatesLua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
TypeNational Cemetery
Owned byUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs
SizeScript error: No such module "ConvertIB".Script error: No such module "ConvertIB".13.3 acres (54,000 m2)
No. of graves13,202
WebsitePhiladelphia National Cemetery
Find a GravePhiladelphia National Cemetery
Philadelphia National Cemetery
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LocationJct. of Haines St. and Limekiln Rd., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
CoordinatesTemplate:Country abbreviation 40°03′31″N 75°09′18″W / 40.05861°N 75.15500°W / 40.05861; -75.15500
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MPSCivil War Era National Cemeteries MPS
NRHP reference No.[[[:Template:NRHP Focus]] 97000775][1]
Added to NRHPJuly 24, 1997

Template:American Civil War cemeteries

Philadelphia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in the West Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1862 as nine leased lots in seven private cemeteries in the Philadelphia region. The current location was established in 1881, and the remains of soldiers were reinterred from the various leased lots. It is administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, and managed from offices at Washington Crossing National Cemetery.[2] It is 13 acres in size and contains 13,202 burials.

The cemetery contains monuments commemorating the reinterment of soldiers from the Battle of Germantown and the Mexican–American War. A Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument was dedicated in 1912 to honor the reinterment of 184 Confederate prisoners of war who died in Philadelphia area hospitals and camps during the American Civil War.

The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

History

It was established in 1862 as one of the original 14 National Cemeteries for the burial of American Civil War soldiers.[2] The cemetery initially consisted of nine leased lots in seven privately owned cemeteries.[3] In 1881, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs recommended the consolidation of all veteran interments in Philadelphia into one cemetery.[4] The U.S. Federal Government purchased 13.32 acres (5.39 ha) from Henry J. and Susan B. Freeman in 1885.[2] A federal superintendent was appointed in 1869 for the "number of burials in seven incorporated cemeteries near the city of Philadelphia."[5] Remains were reinterred from seven cemeteries in the Philadelphia area: Lafayette, Lebanon, United American Mechanics Association, Odd Fellows, The Woodlands, Glenwood, Mount Moriah, Bristol, Chester and Whitehall.[6]

The cemetery contains the burial of 350 United States Colored Troops who fought in the Civil War and trained at Camp William Penn in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.[7] It also contains the burial of 66 Buffalo Soldiers from the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments.[8]

In 1912, the Philadelphia chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy sponsored the installation of a nine-foot tall granite stone memorial to recognize the 184 Confederate soldiers and sailors buried at the cemetery.[9] It was dedicated on October 12, 1912 on the 42nd anniversary of the death of Robert E. Lee. The dedication was attended by approximately 1,000 people.[10]

The Mexican-American War monument was erected by the Scott Legion to recognize the 169 men from that conflict buried in Glenwood Cemetery. The soldiers were originally interred at Glenwood Cemetery and were reinterred to Philadelphia National Cemetery in 1927.[11] The Mexican-American War monument was also relocated to the Philadelphia National Cemetery.[2]

There are two structures on the property - a utility shed built in 1936 and a rostrum built in 1939.[11]

In 1997, the cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[4]

As of September 30, 2008, Philadelphia National Cemetery had 13,202 interments. This number is not expected to change significantly as the cemetery has been closed for new interments since September 1962,[6] except for those in reserved plots and in plots opened by disinterments.[6]

Notable interments

Images

  • HISTORIC IMAGE- AERIAL VIEW OF CEMETERY AND ITS ENVIRONS. PHOTOGRAPH 9 SEPTEMBER 1961. NCA HISTORY COLLECTION. - Philadelphia National Cemetery, Haines Street and Limekiln Pike, HALS PA-2-16.tif

    Aerial View of cemetery

  • Philadelphia National Cemetery - View from top of Hill.jpg

    View from top of hill

  • Philly National Cemetery.jpg

    The original rostrum built in 1887 was replaced in 1939[12]

  • Battle of Germantown Monument.jpg

    Battle of Germantown Monument

  • Mexican American War Memorial in Philadelphia National Cemetery.jpg

    Mexican-American War Memorial

  • Confederate Soldier and Sailors Memorial at Philadelphia National Cemetery.jpg

    Memorial to the 184 Confederate soldiers and sailors interred at the cemetery

  • Confederate Monument Dedication Ceremony in Philadelphia National Cemetery.png

    Photo of the Confederate Monument Dedication Ceremony

  • Historical Plaque about Philadelphia National Cemetery and Galusha Pennypack.jpg

    Storyboard about the Philadelphia National Cemetery and Galusha Pennypacker

  • Historical Plaque about Confederate Burials in Philadelphia National Cemetery.jpg

    Storyboard about the Confederate burials in Philadelphia National Cemetery

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Philadelphia National Cemetery". U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/cems/nchp/philadelphia.asp. 
  3. ↑ National Policy on Cemeteries Provided for Burial of Veterans and Servicemen. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1966. p. 4229. https://books.google.com/books?id=urcvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA4229. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Szalwinski, Matthew. "Remembering Veterans with a Visit to Philadelphia National Cemetery". Hidden City. https://hiddencityphila.org/2013/11/remembering-veterans-with-a-visit-to-philadelphia-national-cemetery/. 
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2088: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Holt, Dean W. (2009). American Military Cemeteries, 2d ed.. McFarland. pp. 397. ISBN 978-0786440238. https://books.google.com/books?id=UtGA-cP3-HsC&pg=PA233.  See p. 233.
  7. ↑ Holmes, Kristin E.. "A military cemetery whose African American history is hidden in plain sight". Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/philadelphia/A-cemetery-and-its-history-hidden-in-plain-sight.html. 
  8. ↑ Feitzinger, Alyssa; Bevan, Matthew Sweeten (19 September 2017). "West Oak Lane: Five Must-See Landmarks in the Philadelphia National Cemetery". https://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2017/09/19/west-oak-lane-five-must-see-landmarks-in-the-philadelphia-national-cemetery/. 
  9. ↑ Cunningham, S.A. (January 1911). Confederate Veteran. Nashville, TN. pp. 572–574. https://books.google.com/books?id=m8E_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA572. 
  10. ↑ Gammage, Jeff. "Confederate monuments are falling across the nation, but in Philly a memorial to Southern troops still stands". Philadelphia Inquirer. https://www.inquirer.com/news/confederate-monument-philadelphia-national-cemetery-confederacy-union-graves-20200924.html. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Philadelphia National Cemetery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania". National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/national_cemeteries/pennsylvania/philadelphia_national_cemetery.html. 
  12. ↑ "The Grand Army: Pennsylvania" (Chronicaling America archive). The National Tribune. October 6, 1887. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82016187/1887-10-06/ed-1/seq-6/;words=Cemetery+NATIONAL+cemetery+Philadelphia+Nation+National+rostrum. Retrieved 2011-06-24. "Ellis Post No. 6, has secured permission … to erect a rostrum in the Philadelphia National Cemetery at Germantown, to facilitate the services of the Post in the cemetery." 

External links

File:Portal-puzzle.png Philadelphia portal

Template:National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

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