Strategic Landscapes Preservation Plan:

Rearguard Defense &

Strategic Retreat

 

ExecutiveSummaryAugust2016

AmericanBattle ieldProtectionProgramBattle ieldPlanningGrants

TheDelawareCountyPlanningDepartmentsecuredagrantin2013fromtheAmericanBattle ieldProtectionProgram(ABPP)tofurtherinvestigatetheimportanceoftwolocalactionsinthelargerBattleofBrandywineonSeptember11,1777;namelytheStrategicRetreatneartheConcordMeetinghouseandalongThorntonRoadinConcordandThornburytownshipsandtheRearguardDefensenearDilworthtowninChaddsFord.

Otherbattle ieldsthathavereceivedBattle ieldPlanningGrantsfromABPPincludesitesfrom:

TheRevolutionaryWar BattleofGermantown PrincetonBattle ield

TheWarof1812 BattleofLakeErie BattleofBaltimore

TheMexican‐AmericanWar TheSiegeofFortBrown TheBattleofSanPasqual

TheCivilWar Fredericksburg Spotsylvania Manassas

AmericanIndianWars BlackHillsWar UnitedStates‐DakotaWar NezPerceWar Cheyenne‐SiouxIndianWars

WorldWarII PearlHarbor 

TheBrandywineBattle ieldearnedthehighestlevelofnationalhistoricdesignationwhentheNationalHistoricLandmarkParkopenedinChaddsFordTownshipin1961(picturedistheGideonGilpinHouse)

BattleofBrandywinereenactmentattheBrandywineBattle ieldNationalHistoricLandmarkPark

NewResearchMaterialsThenewlydiscoveredRobertsonMapandsubsequentworksbyThomasJ.McGuireandThomasHarrisshednewlightontheBattleoftheBrandywineeventsthattookplacewithinDelawareCounty.

BritishCaptainArchibaldRobertsoncreatedthemaptitledPlanoftheBattleofBrandywineimmediatelyfollowingthebattle.LocatedintheKing’sMapCollectionwithintheRoyalLibraryatWindsorCastle,themapwasnewlydiscoveredbyauthorThomasJ.McGuire.

Themap iguredprominentlyinhis2006book,ThePhiladelphiaCampaign:BrandywineandtheFallofPhiladelphia.

MichaelC.Harris’2014work,Brandywine:AMilitaryHistoryoftheBattlethatLostPhiladelphiabutSavedAmerica,September11,1777,reliedon

McGuire’supdatedunderstandingoftrooplocation.

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Archeology

Inadditiontoreachingouttothepublic,theDelawareCountyPlanningDepartmenthiredtheCulturalResourceManagement irmJMA,aCCRGCompany,toconductanArcheologicalDesignAnalysisforthePreservationPlan.Theanalysiswasentirelyresearch‐basedandnon‐invasive.ThePlan’sarcheologicalsectionincludesageomorphicanalysisofthebattle ieldandanassessmentofpotentialarcheologicalremains.JMAreliedonmilitaryterrainanalysistoidentifytheboundariesoftheRearguardDefenseandStrategicRetreatstudyareas.

Extensivepublicparticipationwasthefoundationofthisplan.Thisincludedassemblingasteeringcommittee;conveningpublicmeetings;communicatingwithmunicipalrepresentativesandlandowners;andgeneraloutreach.ThreeworkinggroupscollaboratedwiththeDepartmentthroughouttheproject.

Stakeholdersinvolvedwiththeplanincluded:

T heBattleofBrandywinewasoneoftheAmericanRevolution’slargest,withnearly30,000AmericanandBritishtroopsinvolvedinthebattleacross35,000acreswithinChesterCountyandDelawareCounty.OneoftheearliestbattlesoftheRevolutionaryWar,theBattleofBrandywinesawGeneralGeorgeWashington’scitizensoldiersengagingGeneralWilliamHoweandhisprofessionalarmyfromsunuptosundownonSeptember11,1777.ThoughtheAmericanslostthisbattle,theiroverallresiliencydemonstratedastrengththatinspiredthecon idenceoftheFrenchandincreasedtheirsupportoftheAmericancause.

DelawareCounty’sStrategicLandscapesPreservationPlan:RearguardDefense&StrategicRetreatinvestigatestwoofthethirteen“strategiclandscapes”identi iedinChesterCountyPlanningCommission’s2013BrandywineBattle ieldPreservationPlan:RevolutioninthePeacefulValley.DesignedtoengagecommunitiesinconversationsabouttheimportanceofwesternDelawareCounty’sroleduringthebattle,theplanprovidesguidanceonpreserving,promoting,andeducatingthepublicaboutthesesigni icantevents.

ChaddsFordHistoricalSocietyConcordTownshipHistoricalSociety

ThornburyHistoricalSocietyBrandywineBattle ieldParkAssociates

TheBrandywineConservancyNewlinGristMill

WilliamBrinton1704HouseChaddsFordBusinessAssociation

ConcordCountryClubConcordvilleInnDestinationDelcoBusinessesclusteredalonghistoricRoute202

T heplanincludesin‐depthportrayalsoftende iningfeatures,nineofwhichareillustratedonthemapbelow.Abattle ield’sde iningfeaturesaredescribedbytheAmericanBattle ieldPreservationProgramas:

“...naturalterrainfeatures,manmadefeatures,andplacenamesfoundinbattledescriptionsoronhistoricmapsthatcanbeusedtolocatesigni icantactionsandeventsthatassociatedwithabattle.Ade iningfeaturemaybeaplacesuchastownorfarm,astructuresuchasamill,houseorchurch,aroad,woodlot,earthwork,orfarm ield:itmaybeanaturalterrainfeature,suchasastream,hill,ford,orravine....Featuresthatnolongerexist...arenotmappedasde iningfeatures.”

DuringtheRearguardDefense,MajorGeneralNathanaelGreeneandtostoptheadvancementoftheBritishtroops,thusallowingtheAme

dhismenformedadefensivelineericanstomoreeasilyretreat.

ThepathoftheStrategicRetreatre lectsthelandscapeinwhichtheAmericanswithdrewalongThorntonRoadandRoute1,enablingthemtorallyinordertofacetheBritishanotherday.

BoundaryClari ication

TheeasternboundaryoftheRearguardDefensehasbeenasubjectofsomedebate.Earliermapsdepictedtheeasternex‐tentoftheencounterasanarcthatextendednortheastofRoute202nearitsintersectionwithOaklandRd.;however,theRobertsonmapshowedthatthenortheasternboundaryfol‐lowed202.Theeasternbound‐aryhasnowbeenrevisedtorunalongRoute202ratherthanarceastofit.

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Aninventoryofbattle ieldassetswasconductedinordertocreatetheinterpretationplans.Theseassetseachhavethepotentialtohelpedu‐cateandengagethepublicaboutthebattle.

GatewaySiteBrandywineBattle ieldPark

PublicHistoricSites1704HouseYellowHouseNewlinGristMillConcordMeetinghouseConcordTownshipMunicipalBuilding

ViewingCorridorsGreeneDefenseViewingCorridorWashington’sRetreat

HeritageCenterWashington’sWithdrawal:Dilworthtown

Clockwisefromtopright:YellowHouse,1704House,ConcordTownshipMunicipalBuilding,NewlinGristMill,ConcordMeetinghouse

HistoricalInterpretation

Interpretationreferstothewaysinwhichinformationisconveyedtovisitorsandthegeneralpublic,ofteninstalledathistoricsitesormuseums.Interpretativematerialscommunicateamessageusingoriginalobjectsandnarrativessothatthepublicunderstandsnotonlywhattookplaceduringasigni icanteventbutalsoitsmeaningwithinabroaderhistoricalcontext.

Whilenotatypicaltopicintheplanning ield,interpretationhasbeenincludedinthisplanbecausethe irststepinprotectingbattle ieldsisforthepublictorecognizetheirimportance.

Picturedbelowisoneofthesamplebrochuresfeaturedinthepreservationplan.Visitorscanusethebrochurestoconductself‐guidedtoursoftheseventhemesoratspeci icbattle ieldsites.

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T heplanexplorestwoavenuesofapproachtocapitalizeontherichhistoryoftheBattleoftheBrandywine.The irstavenuediscussesthepreservationoptionsavailablewithinthewishesofthetownshipsandstakeholderswhocollaboratedontheplan.Thesecondavenuetookalltheideas,facts,andconcernsthatwerediscussedbytheInterpretationWorkingGroupandcreatedanInterpretiveNetworkofdifferentthemesthatwouldbecommunicatedinasimple,self‐containedmanner.

Outlinedwithintheplanareideasusingcurrentplanningstrategiesforbattle ieldprotectionandsomenontraditionalplanningconcepts.Theseconceptsinclude:

PublicEducationBuildingConservationVoluntaryDesignGuidelinesArcheologyEducationCerti iedLocalGovernmentClusterDevelopmentsTransferofDevelopmentRightsExistingToolstoPromoteAgricultureFundingOpportunities

TheInterpretationNetworkidenti iessevenvariedthemesthatappealtodifferentaudiencesandthatcanbecommunicatedusingdifferentmethodstoencourageawideaudiencetoconnectwiththeBattleoftheBrandywine,including:

GeneralUnderstandingoftheBattleofBrandywine: TheBattleasaPivotalEventintheAmericanRevolutionLivingtoFightAnotherDay: StrategicRetreatingasaTacticalManeuverSavingtheAmericanArmyfromDisaster: TheRearguardDefenseTreatingtheInjured: ExploringDelawareCounty’sRoleFromEncampmenttoRetreat: TheTremendousImpactonDelawareCountyCommunitiesRememberingThoseWhoSacri iced: RearguardDefense&StrategicRetreatWarinaPeacefulValley: TheQuakerCommunityandtheBattleofBrandywine

Bothoftheoutlinedcontinuingeffortslistedabovearecompletewithdetailedactionplansthatincludebothshorttermandmid‐to‐longtermrecommendationsinthepreservationplan.Ifyouwouldliketoreadtheplan,pleasevisithttp://www.co.delaware.pa.us/planning/pubs/StrategicLandscapesPreservationPlan.html.

AcknowledgmentsDelawareCountyCouncilMarioJ.Civera,ChairmanColleenP.Morrone,ViceChairmanJohnP.McBlainDavidJ.WhiteMichaelCulp

CountyExecutiveMarianneGrace

DelawareCountyPlanningCommission

WilliamC.Payne,ChairmanThomasJ.Judge,Sr.,ViceChairmanKennethZitarelli,SecretaryKathyA.BogosianLorraineBradshawJosephineM.LairdPatrickL.PattersonChristineValerio

 

DelawareCountyPlanningDepartment

LindaF.Hill,DirectorBeverleeBarnes,HistoricPreservationManagerJillN.Hall,AICP,PrincipalPlannerLauraProctor,AssociatePlannerAnneStauffer,GISCoordinator

JMA,aCCRGCompanyWadeCatts,PrincipalHistorian/ArcheologistElisabethLaVigne,GeomorphologistKevinDonaghy,HistoricalArcheologistKathrynWood,AdministrativeAssistant

NewlinGristMill