Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Just outside the center of town is Washington Square where you will find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"I never in my whole life was affected with so much melancholy." -John Adams

"Beneath this stone rests a soldier of Washington's army who died to give you liberty."

"Freedom is a light for which many men have died in darkness"; "The independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint councils and joint efforts of common dangers, suffering and success [Washington Farewell Address, Sept. 17, 1796]"; and "In unmarked graves within this square lie thousands of unknown soldiers of Washington's Army who died of wounds and sickness during the Revolutionary War."

By 1778, Washington Square would be the last barracks for the thousands of soldiers who died in Philadelphia. 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.
An eternal flame flickers in front of a wall bearing a replica of Jean Antoine Houdon's famous bronze sculpture of George Washington. Washington's eyes gaze eternally upon nearby Independence Hall.

There are no words to describe the feeling in this mass burial ground. The size of a city block, this burial ground held over 2,000 soldiers. With the soldiers are buried prisoners of war from when the Brittish controlled Philadelphia. Then in 1793 when Yellow Fever claimed the lives 5,000 of Philadelphia's 50,000 residents, they were brought here. This one city block continued to collect the dead until 1825.