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Langhorne (Middletown)

S. Bellevue & Flowers Ave., Langhorne, PA 19047

Latitude: 40.177221
Longitude: -74.919762

Langhorne Borough

Number of burials: 166
First burial: 1776
Last burial: 1777

114 E. Maple Avenue
Langhorne, PA 19047
Phone: 215-757-3768

Unknown

Location unknown

Washington's soldiers occupied four buildings in Langhorne after the famous Crossing. The Middletown Monthly Meeting and School and the Isaac Hicks House and Tannery. Approximately 166 soldiers from the First Battle of Trenton (12/25/1776), the Second Battle of Trenton (1/2/1777) and the Battle of Princeton (1/3/17777) were buried here, most of whom died not of wounds in battle but from disease and starvation. In 1776 Jane, the 11 year old daughter of Joseph Richardson, witnessed the coming of the troops and burial of the soldiers to this unmarked location. She described her experiences vividly years later and they were subsequently written in the Journal of Joshua Richardson II in 1869. From the window of the house, Jane watched sleds standing outside the Hicks house, just across the street. Coffins were being drawn down to this burial site. Soldiers were placed in shallow mass graves, 3 or 4 per grave. This continued until May 15, 1777 when the troops departed. In 1992, an Archaeological Survey was made of the site. Up to this time, only local custom and the unpublished Journal kept the legend of the Revolutionary War Burial Site alive. When the owners of the property applied for subdivision of this tract, a request was made to verify the information in the Journal. The evidence compiled confirmed the 18th century burial site by the discovery of rose-head coffin nails aligned vertically, wood fragments attached, among other data. The soldiers who offered their loyalty and lives to their country represent 7 of the Original 13 Colonies. According to available records, it appears these 4 building in Langhorne were the only military hospital in the northern Philadelphia area. This site occupies an area 65'x100' and is on the National Register of Historic Places within a large historic district since 1989. A Pennsylvania State Marker stands as the entrance.