Wreaths Across America at Mount Moriah Cemetery

Photograph from Wreaths Across America Website

Historic Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia (incorporated in 1855), has been through some very rough times.  Over the past several decades, the grounds were neglected, used as a dumping ground, and almost forgotten. Since 2011, the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, Inc. have been working hard with the help of an army of volunteers to preserve and restore the grounds, educate the public, and assist numerous families in locating the graves of their loved ones.

Naval Asylum Plot, Mount Moriah Cemetery

This 2015 holiday season we want to honor those who helped build this great nation by placing a wreath on every grave in the Soldiers Plot, Naval Asylum Plot, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion (MOLLUS) Plot.

Wreath program description:

“December 13, 2008 was unanimously voted by the US Congress as “Wreaths Across America Day.” - http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/about/

From the Wreaths Across America website:

“In 2014, Wreaths Across America and our national network of volunteers laid over 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond. We were able to include ceremonies at the Pearl Harbor Memorial, as well as Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the sites if the September 11 tragedies. We accomplished this with help from 2047 fundraising groups, corporate contributions, and donations of trucking, shipping, and thousands of helping hands.  Our goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery was accomplished in 2014 with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.“

Civil War Soldiers' Plot, Mount Moriah Cemetery

On a local note, The Soldiers Plot at Mount Moriah is located on the Philadelphia side of the cemetery and is the final resting place for more than 400 Civil War Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.  The Naval Asylum Plot is located on the Yeadon side of the cemetery and is the final resting place of more than 2,200 Navy and Marine veterans, some of whom go back to the earliest periods of our nation's history.  The cemetery has 23 Medal of Honor recipients with 15 being interred in the Naval Asylum Plot (one of whom is a double recipient). 

"The Silent Sentry"

The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, Inc. will also be honoring those who are interred within the Military Order of the Loyal Legion (MOLLUS) Plot (Yeadon side near Naval Asylum). Within this plot there are 96 soldiers who fought for freedom and who either died violently in America's bloodiest war or, as in other veterans’ cemeteries, survived to live out their lives in peace before being buried in this Civil War Veteran's plot of ground. (Photo at left shows statue that originally stood guard over MOLLUS Plot.)

More information on these sections and the cemetery as a whole can be found on the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery's website which is located at www.fommci.org.

Young researchers in the Naval Asylum Plot, Mount Moriah Cemetery

Please help us honor the true American heroes at Philadelphia/Yeadon’s Mount Moriah Cemetery by helping us place a wreath on each of these 2,800 graves. We are working with Wreaths Across America to accomplish this goal. This is the same organization that delivers wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery every year. It is estimated that there are over 5,000 veterans throughout the cemetery.  It is our goal to honor all of them with a wreath in the future. This year we will start by honoring those in the Naval Asylum Plot, Soldiers Plot, and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion (MOLLUS) plot.

Help us honor those who gave so much and support the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery at the same time.

Sponsor a Wreath, Donate Here:

PA0141P- Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Inc. Donation Form 

Image from Wreaths Across America Website

The mission of Wreaths Across America:

“Our mission, Remember, Honor, Teach, is carried out in part by coordinating wreath laying ceremonies a specified Saturday in December at Arlington [National Cemetery], as well as veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond. We also organize a week of events including international veteran’s tributes, ceremonies at State Houses and a week-long “Veteran’s Parade” between Maine and Virginia where we stop along the way to spread our message about the importance of remembering our fallen heroes, honoring those who serve, and teaching our children about the sacrifices made by veterans and their families to preserve our freedoms.” - See more at: http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/about/#sthash.j7WqVfs6.dpuf

"WAA is committed to teaching younger generations about the value of their freedoms, and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms. We offer learning tools, interactive media projects, and opportunities for youth groups to participate in our events. We also work to create opportunities to connect “the Greatest Generation” with the “Generation of Hope”. The inspirational stories of our World War II Veterans must be passed on to the leaders of the future." - See more at: http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/about/history/#sthash.nKn89IMv.dpuf

 

Reenactors in Naval Asylum Plot, Mount Moriah Cemetery

The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Mount Moriah Cemetery by honoring the memory of those interred here through community engagement, education, historic research, and restoration.

Sponsor a Wreath, Donate Here:

PA0141P- Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Inc. Donation Form 

Disclaimer: Most of what you have read above is either from the Wreaths Across America website or the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, Inc. page on the Wreaths Across America website. Except for those indicated, the photographs were made by Ed Snyder. Thanks as always to the indefatigable Ken Smith of the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery, Inc. for his mighty efforts.