Manchester Township near York in York County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2019
1. Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot Marker
Inscription.
Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot. . , York at War (center panel) , On April 23, 1861, less than two weeks after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Gov. Andrew G. Curtin established Camp Scott at York, Pennsylvania. By early May, six regiments were lodged in the Odd Fellows Hall and buildings at the fairgrounds. The army recruited or trained all or portions of seventeen Pennsylvania regiments in York., In June 1862, a U.S. General Hospital was established in the city. Barracks constructed on the public common were adapted to accommodate more than 1,000 beds. The hospital had treated 14,000 patients by the time it closed in summer 1865. Many of the 193 soldiers who died in York were buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery., During the Gettysburg Campaign, in summer 1863, Confederate forces briefly captured York. Citizens met with Confederate Gen. John Gordon the day before he arrived. They agreed to surrender if Gordon would spare the city. The Confederates occupied York for two days, took money and supplies, but did no damage., , Civil War Dead (left panel) , An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War (1861-1865). As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the creation of a national cemetery system., On September 11, 1861, the War Department directed officers to keep "accurate and permanent records of deceased soldiers." Federal authority to create military burial grounds came in an Omnibus Act of July 17, 1862. Cemetery sites were chosen where troops were concentrated: camps, hospitals, battlefields, railroad hubs. By 1872, 74 national cemeteries and several soldiers' lots contained 305,492 remains. About 45 percent were unknown., The U.S. government established soldiers' lots at private cemeteries in northern states. National cemeteries, in contrast, were built throughout the South where most Civil War action occurred. While the army reported dozens of lots containing Union dead in the 1870s, the National Cemetery Administration maintains only fifteen. The number of graves ranges from less than ten to nearly 400 in these lots., , Soldiers’ Lot (right panel) , Prospect Hill Cemetery, a rural-style burial ground, was established in 1849. By 1870, some 163 Union soldiers were interred in a northwest-corner lot. All but two were known. Most graves were marked with wood headboards. A few had marble headstones purchased by family or friends. In 1873, the War Department authorized reinterment of these remains in a prominent lot near the cemetery entrance. Names of the dead were inscribed on two concentric granite curbs within the new soldiers' circle, rather than on standard government-issued headstones., The Ladies Aid Society and citizens of York raised $3,000 to build a memorial here. A. J. Brashears and Son of York installed it in 1874. The granite base supports a 15-foot-tall bronze soldier. Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore designed this and many other Civil War monuments found in northern states. The York soldiers' lot, with four cannon, is enclosed by a granite post-and-chain fence.
York at War (center panel) On April 23, 1861, less than two weeks after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, Gov. Andrew G. Curtin established Camp Scott at York, Pennsylvania. By early May, six regiments were lodged in the Odd Fellows Hall and buildings at the fairgrounds. The army recruited or trained all or portions of seventeen Pennsylvania regiments in York.
In June 1862, a U.S. General Hospital was established in the city. Barracks constructed on the public common were adapted to accommodate more than 1,000 beds. The hospital had treated 14,000 patients by the time it closed in summer 1865. Many of the 193 soldiers who died in York were buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery.
During the Gettysburg Campaign, in summer 1863, Confederate forces briefly captured York. Citizens met with Confederate Gen. John Gordon the day before he arrived. They agreed to surrender if Gordon would spare the city. The Confederates occupied York for two days, took money and supplies, but did no damage.
Civil War Dead (left panel) An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War (1861-1865). As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. This propelled the creation of a national
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cemetery system.
On September 11, 1861, the War Department directed officers to keep "accurate and permanent records of deceased soldiers." Federal authority to create military burial grounds came in an Omnibus Act of July 17, 1862. Cemetery sites were chosen where troops were concentrated: camps, hospitals, battlefields, railroad hubs. By 1872, 74 national cemeteries and several soldiers' lots contained 305,492 remains. About 45 percent were unknown.
The U.S. government established soldiers' lots at private cemeteries in northern states. National cemeteries, in contrast, were built throughout the South where most Civil War action occurred. While the army reported dozens of lots containing Union dead in the 1870s, the National Cemetery Administration maintains only fifteen. The number of graves ranges from less than ten to nearly 400 in these lots.
Soldiers’ Lot (right panel) Prospect Hill Cemetery, a rural-style burial ground, was established in 1849. By 1870, some 163 Union soldiers were interred in a northwest-corner lot. All but two were known. Most graves were marked with wood headboards. A few had marble headstones purchased by family or friends. In 1873, the War Department authorized reinterment of these remains in a prominent lot near the cemetery entrance. Names of the dead were inscribed on two concentric granite curbs
Miller, Photographic History of the Civil War (1910)
2. Marker detail: Mourners at Alexandria National Cemetery, Virginia, c. 1865
After 1873, standard marble headstones replaced the wood headboards seen here.
within the new soldiers' circle, rather than on standard government-issued headstones.
The Ladies Aid Society and citizens of York raised $3,000 to build a memorial here. A. J. Brashears & Son of York installed it in 1874. The granite base supports a 15-foot-tall bronze soldier. Irish-born sculptor Martin Milmore designed this and many other Civil War monuments found in northern states. The York soldiers' lot, with four cannon, is enclosed by a granite post-and-chain fence.
Erected by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration.
Location. 39° 58.395′ N, 76° 43.961′ W. Marker is near York, Pennsylvania, in York County. It is in Manchester Township. Memorial can be reached from North George Street (Business Interstate 83) south of East 3rd Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located at the Soldier's Lot within Prospect Hill Cemetery, about 500 feet NNW of the George Street cemetery entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 700 North George Street, York PA 17404, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers.
Library of Congress
3. Marker detail: View of York in 1852
Inset, left: Odd Fellows Hall used as a barracks in 1861. Inset, right: Courthouse the Confederates used as a headquarters in 1863.
More about this marker. Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot is located in section A, lot 689, of Prospect Hill Cemetery (near the main entrance).
Also see . . . Prospect Hill Cemetery Soldiers' Lot. The exact date of the establishment of the soldiers' lot is unknown, but records indicate that the first burials occurred as early as 1862, and were most likely soldiers who died at the local hospital. Originally located on the west slope of Prospect Hill, the soldiers' lot was later moved to a more favorable location on the eastern slope. (Submitted on June 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
National Archives and Records Administration & Library of Congress
4. Marker detail: December 1866 letter (top) Scale model of Union soldier (right)
Top: December 1866 letter conveying the trustees' proposal to move the remains of U.S. soldiers to "one of the most attractive spots" in Prospect Hill Cemetery. Right: Scale model of Union soldier at sculptor's studio, c. 1867.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2019
5. Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot Marker (wide view • Civil War Memorial in background)
Photographed By Don Morfe, December 2, 2006
6. John Henry Denig-grave in Prospect Hill Cemetery
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient John Henry Denig is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, York, PA in Section K, Lot 17. The grave GPS is 39.9728 -76.7346. His Medal of Honor information and citation is: DENIG, J. HENRY
• Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps
• Accredited to: Pennsylvania
• G.O. No.: 45, 31 December 1864
Citation: On board the U.S.S. Brooklyn during action against rebel forts and gunboats and with the ram Tennessee, in Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864. Despite severe damage to his ship and the loss of several men on board as enemy fire raked her decks, Sgt. Denig fought his gun with skill and courage throughout the furious 2-hour battle which resulted in the surrender of the rebel ram Tennessee and in the damaging and destruction of batteries at Fort Morgan.
Photographed By Don Morfe, December 2, 2006
7. Charles H. Ilgenfritz-buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery
Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient Charles H. Ilgenfritz is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, York PA in Section E, Lot 115. The grave GPS is 39.9734 -76.7343. His Medal of Honor information and citation is: ILGENFRITZ, CHARLES H.
• Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company E, 207th Pennsylvania Infantry
• Place and date: At Fort Sedgwick, Va., 2 April 1865
• Entered service at: Pennsylvania
• Date of issue: Unknown
Citation: The color bearer falling, pierced by 7 balls, he immediately sprang forward and grasped the colors, planting them upon the enemy's forts amid a murderous fire of grape, canister, and musketry from the enemy.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2019
8. Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot Plaque (located near marker)
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, June 11, 2019
9. Prospect Hill Soldiers' Lot (marker visible on right)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 280 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on June 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 6, 7. submitted on June 13, 2019, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 8, 9. submitted on June 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.