Norristown, Pennsylvania: Graves Repaired

Update on General Hancock's grave: Due to the efforts of the W.S. Hancock Restoration Fund, the General's mausoleum is now in much better condition. In addition, the area around the site has been cleaned up. Every Memorial Day the W.S. Hancock Society holds a brief memorial service at the gravesite. It is well worth a visit to Norristown to honor this great soldier. [C.Brown, 08/22/1998]

I visited the grave of Winfield Scott Hancock at the Montgomery Cemetery in Norristown. Winfield Hancock was a Civil War General and one of the heroes of Gettysburg. After the war he ran for president and lost (I believe to Benjamin Harrison) the closest presidential election in US history. Whereas Harrison went on to presidential fame (or lack thereof) Hancock lies in a decrepit, tumbledown grave that is starting to cave in. I remember a large gaping hole over the grave that you could probably reach into and touch the casket. Also buried in this cemetery are two governors of Pennsylvania and several other Civil War generals as well as a naval officer who accompanied Perry on his trip to Japan and, I believe, died during the journey. This cemetery is a treasure trove of graves from the last century and is largely forgotten and in incredibly poor repair. [Paul Czajka, 04/22/1998]