Saturday afternoon, a proper memorial to Leisenring was unveiled at the entrance to historic Palmer Cemetery in Fishtown, just across from American Legion Elm Tree Post 88.
Musket rifles were fired, flowers were laid, and Leisenring's story - what's known of it - was told. The memorial was funded by the General Meade Society of Philadelphia, led by Andy Waskie of Temple University, and the Patriotic Order Sons of America.
"He was buried a couple of blocks away, then moved to a mass grave in Delaware County," said Daniel Dailey, 36, whose shipbuilding family dates to 1795 in Fishtown and who has relatives buried in Palmer Cemetery. "That being said, he's from the neighborhood."
A marker is also planned for Fernwood Cemetery, at the site of the mass grave where Leisenring's remains were taken.
Palmer itself - bordered by Memphis, Palmer, Montgomery, and Belgrave Streets - is the only cemetery left in Fishtown, out of a dozen, and a burial ground for soldiers from every U.S. war, including John Hewson, who fought in the Revolutionary War. He died Oct. 11, 1821, at age 77. His marble grave marker has a crack in it from neighborhood kids trying to pick it up, Dailey said.
Established in 1765, Palmer is a neighborhood cemetery - nondenominational and where burial is still free of charge to people who lived in Fishtown at the time of their death. Dailey said it is the only such cemetery in Philadelphia and possibly beyond. The Penn Treaty Special Services District, funded by SugarHouse Casino, has pledged $50,000 to help fix up the cemetery.
