Sat.  February 17, 2024
11:00 am
Washington Square
Philadelphia, PA 19106

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Washington Square was one of Philadelphia’s five original squares as laid out in 1682 by William Penn’s surveyor, Thomas Holme. It was then called Southeast Square, as Quakers did not believe in naming places after people. Within 25 years of Penn’s arrival, however, the square was being used as a potter’s field and a burial yard for strangers in the city. it served in this capacity from 1704 to 1794. 

The Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard is coming to this site on Washington’s Birthday to honor our Revolutionary War veterans who, during the Occupation of Philadelphia (1777) were buried in this park. Even though not much fighting occurred in Philadelphia during the War, plenty of dying did. Those wounded in nearby battles, or those sick with disease would be brought to Philadelphia. Pennsylvania Hospital and the Bettering House for the Poor filled quickly. Churches became ad-hoc hospitals. And during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777, the Walnut Street Jail and the Philadelphia State House were prisons for prisoners of war, many of whom died during their incarceration. 

In 1793, the square once again served as a mass graveyard as Yellow Fever literally decimated Philadelphia in 1793, killing over 5,000 of Philadelphia’s 50,000 residents. After the square stopped functioning as a cemetery in 1825, a beautifying campaign was undertaken. The Square was renamed in honor of George Washington, commander of many of the troops buried within it and in 1954, the Washington Square Planning Committee erected a memorial that honored both George Washington and the numerous soldiers buried there from the Revolutionary War.

Come join us as we pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that our nation could be created.

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