Office Hours: This cemetery is administered by Washington Crossing National Cemetery. Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Visitation Hours: Open daily 8:00 a.m. to sunset.

FAX: 215-504-5611

Philadelphia National Cemetery is located in Philadelphia County, Pa., two miles north of Germantown in the city of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia National Cemetery was one of 14 national cemeteries established in 1862, and it was one of several established near large troop-recruitment and training areas. In its first year, the cemetery was composed of burial lots in seven different locations that were either donated to or purchased by the federal government. These were intended to be used specifically for soldiers who died in one of the many hospitals in the Philadelphia area. In 1885, the United States purchased a little over 13 acres from Henry J. and Susan B. Freeman to concentrate the scattered remains of soldiers into one geographic location. The remains were disinterred and consolidated at this location, occupied by Philadelphia National Cemetery today.

Philadelphia National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Monuments and Memorials

The Mexican War Monument is a marble obelisk that was erected by the Scott Legion in honor of 38 men who served and died in that conflict. The men were originally buried at Glenwood Cemetery and were re-interred at Philadelphia National Cemetery in 1927. The date of dedication is unknown.

The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument was erected by the United States in 1911. The monument is a rusticated granite monument that commemorates 184 Confederate soldiers and sailors whose remains were re-interred at the cemetery from other locations after the Civil War.

The Revolutionary War Memorial is a granite and bronze memorial that commemorates those who died in the Revolutionary War.

Medal of Honor Recipients

The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an enemy force that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States. Recipients receive the Medal of Honor from the president on behalf of Congress. It was first awarded during the Civil War and eligibility criteria for the Medal of Honor have changed over time.

Recipients buried or memorialized here:

Seaman Alphonse Girandy. Alphonse Girandy was born in the French West Indies and he immigrated to the United States. In 1896 he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and received naturalized citizenship. Seaman Girandy served on the U.S.S. Brooklyn during his first tour, and in 1899 he re-enlisted. Between 1900 and 1904 Girandy was on the U.S.S. Petrel when, in 1901, the ship caught fire. His actions, "fearlessly exposing own life to danger for the saving of others," were recognized in March 1902 when Girandy received the Medal of Honor. As a civilian, he lived in Philadelphia, where he died on April 3, 1941. He is buried in Section N, Site 66.

Major General Galusha Pennypacker (Civil War). Pennypacker received the Medal of Honor while serving in the U.S. Army, 97th Pennsylvania Infantry, for actions at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, January 15, 1865. Pennypacker died in 1916 and is buried in Section OFF, Site 175.

Other Burials

Sixty-six Buffalo Soldiers.