According to Mr. Harvey:

"The 61st PA was instrumental in the defense of Washington, DC during the Battle of Fort Stevens (July 11-12, 1864.) Were it not for the 61st and the other elements of the 6th Corps, Washington, DC might have fallen.

After the battle had concluded, the bodies of the 6 fallen members of the 61st were gathered with the other fallen defenders of Washington and buried at Battleground National Cemetery. Dedicated by Abraham Lincoln, Battleground National Cemetery is one of the nation's smallest national cemeteries. I wanted to let you know that last year I concluded a 9 year study of those interred at the cemetery and found that five of the headstones were mislabeled with incorrect names. Two of these headstones belong to members of the 61st PA Infantry. On Saturday, July 11 2009 at 3:00 PM, Rock Creek Park will be formally announcing the true names of these five men during our annual Fort Stevens Day event. Additionally, a wreath laying ceremony will take place and Taps will be played for these five forgotten heroes. This year makers the 145th anniversary of the battle".

We would like to thank Mr. Harvey for all of his hard work on this project and for the tremendous honor to be a part of the ceremony to remember those men of the original 61st. As Captain Monzi said, "This is why we do this".

For those members that were unable to attend, pictures of the event can be found here.