Laurel Hill Cemetery

The stories that the men and women of the Civil War took to their graves place Laurel Hill Cemetery firmly in the stirring history of that era. In May 2014, Laurel Hill will once again examine their lives and revisit their tales of sacrifice and heroism.
Laurel Hill was barely 25 years old as the shadow of war crept along the horizon. Originally founded in 1836 by Quaker librarian, John Jay Smith; the resting place also functioned as a sculpture garden, arboretum, and park. Though the outbreak of war was certainly on their minds, the site’s managers tried to maintain normalcy. Then the burials and notices for casualties began to pour in: 1st Lieutenant John M. Dutton, perished on April 26 from disease; Edward McDowell of the 104th Pennsylvania Infantry, killed in action at the Battle of Fair Oaks; Colonel Charles Ellet Jr., died from wounds received at the Battle of Memphis; and many more just like them. Maintaining normalcy became a fantasy, the war had come home.
This year’s exhibit focuses on 1864 through the end of the war. The fourth year of the Battle between the States was one of the bloodiest. Both Union and Confederate soldiers fell by the thousands, each fighting for a cause they believed was just. A once confident George Gordon Meade became a shadow figure to the new commander of the Union Army, General Ulysses S. Grant. Margaretta Meade, Mary McHenry Cox, and other women like them, found their voices in a time of turmoil. They sat on committees for the Great Central Fair, cared for the wounded in hospitals, and acted as the heads of their family while their husbands were away. Politics continued and news became king as Morton McMichael used his active role in publishing one of Philadelphia’s leading newspapers to promote the Republican Party and support the Lincoln administration. These men and women are just a few examples of the countless number of people who were active during the Civil War years and their experiences will be shared as Laurel Hill continues to remember our nation’s bloodiest and most pivotal war in their new exhibit.
1864: The Final Throes of War opens on May 18th with a tour and a memorial flag placement for Veterans. The annual Memorial Day Parade, Service and Reception will take place on May 25th where the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery will hold a public ceremony rededicating the “Silent Sentry,” a historic bronze statue of a Civil War soldier at parade rest. The statue was first dedicated in 1883 at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Southwest Philadelphia. More information is available at www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org or by calling 215-228-8200.