Fluttering Flags

Photo by Jim Murphy

Old Pine Churchyard, 412 Pine Street, in the Society Hill section of Philadelphia, is filled with colorful flags blowing in the breeze. Over 200 Revolutionary War soldiers are buried here, a huge number for such a small parish.

Known as “the Church of the Patriots,” its pastor George Duffield had a price placed on his head by the British. John Adams referred to Duffield as “my parish priest” and called the Old Pine Church “the War Office.”

In response, when the British occupied Philadelphia from Sept. 1777 to June 1778, they used the church as a hospital and stable. First, they tore up the pews and pulpit for firewood, then left the building with four windowless walls, a cedar shake roof and a strong barnyard smell.

The original brick Georgian-style church was eventually refurbished and reoriented. In 1857, it was remodeled in a Greek-revival style with Corinthian columns. Its official name today is Third, Scots and Mariners’ Church. But most people refer to it as just Old Pine or the Old Pine Street Church.