On Saturday morning, October 19,1996, a military memorial service, with a 21 gun salute, was held at the Harmon Cemetery at "Pottertown", for the five men who were hanged by the Confederate authorities in 1861, for burning the Lick Creek railroad bridge, of the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad. That is believed to be the first memorial service ever held for the five executed "bridge-burners". Only two of the men are buried at "Pottertown". The other three are buried in cemeteries within a few miles of the Harmon Cemetery. The "Pottertown" location was selected for the service, as it was the assembly point for the ill-fated expedition, in 1861, and is a central location in relation to the other graves.

About 150 persons gathered on the cold October morning, to take part in the service. Approximately half that number were descendants of the men being honored. A sizeable group of soldiers from the Eighth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment (Union) reenactment group, held the impressive military service. It was a moving ceremony, especially for the descendants of the "bridge-burners."

Bronze grave markers from the Office of Memorial Programs, of the Department of Veterans Affairs, were recently placed on the graves of the five honored soldiers. In 1862 all of the men were posthumously made members of Company F Second Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, by a Special Act of the Congress of the United States. That was the company and regiment of their leader, Captain David Fry.

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