Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message “George Washing­ton slept here.” No other state – besides Virginia, of course – claims a closer connection to the life and times of George Washington than Pennsylvania. Travels during his extraordinary military and political careers took him to dozens of settlements and sites across the Commonwealth. Many of these places survive and offer vivid reminders of the presence...
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Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message September 11, 1777. On this date, two hundred and twenty­-five years ago, George Washington and his army suffered a devastating defeat at the Battle of Brandywine. A flanking action ordered by Sir William Howe, commander of British forces, nearly led to a complete rout. Surprised and mis­informed about his opponent’s plans, Washington man­aged an orderly but embarrassing retreat. The...
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Currents

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Currents Brush with Conflict On September 11, 1777, on and near the banks of the Brandywine River where the Brandywine River Museum now stands, the American army led by General George Washington attempted to halt a larger force of British troops intent on capturing Philadelphia (see “British Images of War at Brandywine and the Tredyffrin Encampment” by Thomas J. McGuire in the fall 2002...
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British Images of War at Brandywine and the Tredyffrin Encampment

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on British Images of War at Brandywine and the Tredyffrin Encampment Two hundred and twenty-five years ago, on fateful September 11, 1777, one of the largest and most important engagements of the American Revolution took place in southeastern Pennsylvania. It was the Battle of Brandywine, a crushing defeat for the American side. Although British and Hessian engineers delineated several maps of the battle immediately afterwards, until recently no contemporary...
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Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor A Doc in the House Every Pennsylvania resident and visitor is indebted to “Doc” Goddard for his foresight and determination [see “Maurice K. Goddard, The Commonwealth’s Conservation Czar” by Ernest Morrison, Fall 2002]. No matter where you travel in this beautiful state, what you don’t see – polluted streams and rivers, desecrated scenic areas, and...
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Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor Date of Death? Good article on Hannah Penn and, of course, on William Markham, whose name graces the street on which I live [“Hannah Penn, Pennsylvania’s First Woman Governor” by William C. Kashatus, Fall 2003]. In the first column of page 17 you list two different death dates for William Penn: July 18, 1718, and July 30, 1718. Which is correct? James H. Wagner Bethlehem, Pa....
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First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry Flag

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry Flag First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry known widely as the First City Troop, was originally organized as the Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia at a meeting conducted at Carpen­ters’ Hall on November 17, 1774. A purely volunteer cavalry troop, it is the oldest mounted military unit in the country’s history. The founders – mostly individuals of conspicuous prominence engaged...
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Levan Ledger at Brandywine Battlefield

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Levan Ledger at Brandywine Battlefield From the late eighteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries, Jacob Levan and his son Benjamin kept a ledger for a store or gristmill they operated in Maxatawney Township, Berks County. In addition to listing, in German script, the names of customers, types of goods they purchased, and the prices paid, the account book,contains, in English, the muster rolls of “Capt. Jacob Mauser’s...
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Edwin Austin Abbey, A Capital Artist

Posted by on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on Edwin Austin Abbey, A Capital Artist For those familiar with his majestic works of art – particularly his grand public murals – it seems improbable that Edwin Austin Abbey (1852–1911) had little formal training. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for just one semester, where fellow students observed he rarely finished a drawing as assigned, preferring instead to produce sketches of his own design. Abbey was the...
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News

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on News Rare Discovery After their September 11, 1777, victory in the Battle of Brandywine, British General Sir William Howe and his troops captured and occupied Philadelphia. It was not long, however, before General Howe realized he faced a challenging supply problem. He was surrounded by General George Washington’s Continental Army and, more importantly, the Royal British Navy could not bring...
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