Corporal John F. Dentzer gave his last full measure of devotion on December 28, 1864 in the trenches near Petersburg, Virginia. A Confederate artillery shell struck the young soldier’s tent, spraying Dentzer with shrapnel and killing him. His body was returned to his adopted Schuylkill County and laid to rest beside his older brother. George Dentzer died on September 17, 1862 at the Battle of Antietam.
Both men were members of Schuylkill County’s famed 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.
Recently, it was noted that John F. Dentzer’s gravestone at a cemetery in Cressona has fallen or has been knocked over. An effort has begun to raise money to raise and repair Dentzer’s gravestone and add a small marker on the graves of these fallen American soldiers. Funds are being raised through Facebook. From the Facebook Campaign:
John F. Dentzer was a young soldier who lost his life during the American Civil War. His gravestone has fallen/been knocked over. We are raising money to have his stone raised, reset, and a small marker placed in front of his and his brother’s original stone so visitors can see who John and George Dentzer were!
After meeting with the Cressona Borough Council, we have been ‘given permission’ to go ahead with raising money to have John Dentzer’s stone raised, reset, and to also have a small; new stone added with John and George’s information.
We have e-mails out to many companies for quotes and the necessary paperwork, required for the borough, so we have not settled on a company. If you have a company who may want to help, please message me their information!
We are going to try a variety of fundraising methods, but we want to get started on fundraising here.
Please help us raise money to raise and reset John Dentzer’s stone and purchase a small (readable) stone to be placed in front of the brothers’ existing stones. NO veteran, let alone serviceman/woman’s final resting place should look like this!
DONATE HERE
Wynning History 