Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Whenever the battered army of General Washington withdrew from their latest shellacking, some town loyal to the cause would be designated as a site for care of the wounded. The three-story "Single Brethren" house in Bethlehem, now part of Moravian College, was used as a Continental Army hospital. Hundreds of soldiers succumbed to war wounds or "putrid fever," likely helped along by the crowded wards, which at points housed 700 patients. The unluckiest were buried nearby.

In 1932, a single set of remains were placed in the "Tomb of Unknown Soldier," a grave and monument now between an old neighborhood and a busy highway. The marker reads: "Within this crypt rests the bones of an unknown soldier in the war for Independence. He was one of more than five hundred men who died in the hospital here at Bethlehem, and was buried on this hillside."

Three more nameless Revolutionary War soldiers were unearthed and placed here in 1996 (Local homeowners sometimes unexpectedly dig up remains). The stone marker and plaque is often surrounded by small American flags.