Sconnelltown - PLAQUE
East Bradford Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Cornwallis' Division of the British Army halted here September 11, 1777, on its march to the battlefield of Brandywine.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
At Sconnelltown, the division under Lord Cornwallis paused on September 11, 1777, midway through the long looping march that carried the British around the American flank at Brandywine. The halt was one link in a day of hard, dusty marching that let Howe's wing arrive undetected behind Washington's line. The marker traces the route of that famous flanking column through the Chester County countryside.
Why it matters
It preserves a step in the British flank march that decided Brandywine, showing how the movement of an army across ordinary farmland could turn the course of a campaign.
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Related people
- · Charles Cornwallis
Related events
- · Battle of Brandywine
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Battle of Brandywine
East Bradford Township, PA · est. 1952
On September 11, 1777, the largest battle of the Revolution unfolded across the fields and fords of Brandywine Creek. British troops under Lord Cornwallis, having crossed the creek's upper branches, wheeled southeast near here in the early afternoon to strike the rear of the American right wing commanded by General John Sullivan. Confused and contradictory scouting reports had left Sullivan unable to form a proper line in time.
Osborne's Hill - PLAQUE
Birmingham Township, PA · est. 1915
From the height of Osborne's Hill, British commander General Sir William Howe watched and directed his army during the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777. The ridge gave him a commanding view as his flanking column swung wide around Washington's right and struck where the Americans least expected. It was, in effect, the British headquarters for the day's decisive maneuver.
Chester County
West Chester, PA · est. 1982
Chester County was another of the three original counties William Penn laid out in 1682, its name drawn from Cheshire in England. West Chester has served as its seat since 1788 and was incorporated in 1799. During 1777 and 1778 the county became a theater of the Revolution, its fields and roads swept up in the campaigns around Philadelphia — the Battle of Brandywine, the Paoli affair, and the army's ordeal at nearby Valley Forge.
General Lafayette
West Chester, PA · est. 1951
In 1825 the aging Marquis de Lafayette, hero of the American Revolution, toured the United States as "the Nation's Guest," greeted everywhere by adoring crowds. On July 26 he stopped at the Brandywine battlefield, where he had been wounded fighting for American independence in 1777, before coming on to West Chester. There, near this spot, he reviewed troops parading in his honor amid the outpouring of gratitude that marked his farewell tour.