Philadelphia marks anniversary of its first Civil War casualty
As Philadelphia commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, today marks a dark moment in Philadelphia’s role.
On April 19, in 1861, Philadelphia suffered its first military casualty of the Civil War. George Leisenring, a 26-year-old German immigrant, was mortally wounded in Baltimore and died a few days later at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.
He was the first buried in Union Wesleyan and Harmony Burial Ground located in Kensington. The whereabouts of his body are now unknown, as he was re-interred at Fernwood Cemetery in Delaware County.
A memorial service will be held Saturday at Palmer Cemetery in Fishtown, where Leisenring resided.
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