The Mohican Board! [Bumppo's Redux!] - Anthony Wayne and the Paoli "Massacre"

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Anthony Wayne and the Paoli "Massacre"

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James N.
Colonial Militia

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007

Status: offline

Posted - October 24 2012 : 4:25:38 PM

Following the Battle of Brandywine, Washington's army retreated first to Chester, Penn., then through Philadelphia and back northwest to cover fords on the Schuykill River over which Howe would have to pass to enter the city. A confusing series of maneuvers followed, as Washington's inferior force shadowed the British, aiming to draw them from their objective; a torrential downpour brought to an end the so-called Battle of the Clouds which might have been the climax to the campaign one way or the other. Poorly-constructed American cartridge boxes lacking the inner leather flap caused virtually the entire army's powder supply to become soaked and therefore worthless, forcing Washington to retreat to the west nearer the source of his supplies. However he left behind as a "corps of observation" the small 1,500-man brigade of Brig. Gen. Anthony Wayne that had recently held the center of the American line at Brandywine.

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The 1600's Dutch-style Caleb Pusey House in Chester.

Wayne's Brigade of Pennsylvanians was chosen because its commander ( not yet the "Mad Anthony" of later fame ) was a native of the area who operated a tannery among other business ventures; he chose as a campsite a wooded area not far from his imposing homestead Waynesborough and the village of Paoli and settled in to keep an eye on British movements.

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Front ( above ) and rear ( below ) views of Anthony Wayne's imposing Waynsborough, built like so many Colonial homes in stages over a long period of time, in this case 1724 - 1860. Many Revolutionary leaders visited or stayed here over the years. Following the "massacre", British troops came here looking for Wayne, but he had escaped with other survivors and his wife somehow managed to drive them away when they tried ransacking the place.

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As so often during what was essentially a civil war, informers alerted Howe to Wayne's presence and he sent Maj. Gen. Charles Grey and his 5,000-man division to kill or capture the Rebel force in a night attack during which only bayonets were to be used. In order to maintain silence and surprise, Grey went so far as to instruct that the flints were to be removed from his men's Brown Bess muskets, earning him the nickname "No-flint Grey"! The stealthy British approach went undetected until too late, though Wayne vainly tried to alert his men once he learned what was happening. Many were slaughtered in their tents or tracked down and killed in what became known as the Paoli Massacre. Some 53 died that night and another 100 were wounded, of whom 71 were made prisoners; the remainder including Wayne fled.

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Inscription on the battle monument reads:

"SACRED to the Memory of THE PATRIOTS who on this spot fell to BRITISH BARBARITY during the struggle for AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE on the night of the 26th September, 1777. - Here repose the remains of fifty-three AMERICAN SOLDIERS who were the victims of cold blooded cruelty in the well known MASSACRE AT PAOLI while under the command of GENL. ANTHONY WAYNE..."

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Mass grave in which local farmers interred the victims of the attack; the short obelisk encased in plexiglass is the original "battle monument".

Although Americans self-righteously denounced the brutal deaths of their men as a "massacre", Grey in fact committed no atrocities and acted "according to all the usages of warfare", in the language of the time. Wayne was indisputably humiliated to be surprised on his own home turf, vowing revenge. A dapper dandy of a man, very sensitive to British ridicule about this incident and also his pre-war occupation as a tanner, he became a military martinet insisting on a high standard of training and as near-regulation appearance as possible for his men. Stressing bayonet practice for the Light Infantry he later commanded, he had the satisfaction of leading them in a similar successful assault on the British position at Stony Point on the Hudson River, July 16, 1779.

Following this misfortune and another series of muddled maneuvers, Howe at last gave Washington the slip, and by a night march managed to cross the Schuykill near Valley Forge. Fortunately, Congress had already fled the city earlier in the campaign when it appeared likely it would fall. Now squarely between Washington and the capital, Howe's forces entered Philadelphia Sept. 26, 1777, to the delight of the remaining Tory inhabitants.

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James N.
Colonial Militia

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007

Status: offline

Posted - October 24 2012 : 5:15:19 PM

When I visited Paoli and Waynesborough I was disappointed to learn the General's uniform and other personal belonings had been put on temporary loan for a museum exhibit at nearby West Chester since it happened to be the 220th anniversary of the Philadelphia Campaign. Called War... 1777 - 1778, it was a temporary installation based largely on the noted private collection of military historian and writer J. Craig Nannos, specializing in arms, uniforms, and other militaria of the Colonial through early Federal period. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see these pieces "in person" and include pictures of some of them here to give an idea of the scope of the collection.

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Hessian Jaeger rifle and spontoon head displayed along with British belt and cartridge box plates.

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Colonial period civillian clothes included leather breeches at left, smallclothes, and shoes as worn by many American soldiers.

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British Brown Bess musket and bayonet, back, and Light Infantry and Grenadier headgear.

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General officer's silver boullion shoulder straps from Wayne's uniform.

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Anthony Wayne's uniform coat probably belongs to the period of the 1790's when he commanded the United States forces that defeated Miami chief Little Turtle at the Battle of Fallen Timbers; Wayne died soon after that, his most famous victory and the one that broke Indian resistance in the Northwest Territory.

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lane batot
Colonial Settler

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 15 2011

Status: offline

Posted - October 29 2012 : 4:47:07 PM

Dang James! You need to do a COFFEE-TABLE BOOK with all these photos and entries! You know, for posteritie's sake, and all!

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winglo
Deerslayer

USA

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July 13 2007

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Donating Member

Posted - October 31 2012 : 8:12:28 PM

When did you visit, James? I live in Wayne, PA -- named after General Anthony Wayne. It is 4 miles east of Paoli and Waynesborough. If I'd known you were in town (whenever it was) I would have made time to come to meet you.

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James N.
Colonial Militia

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007

Status: offline

Posted - October 31 2012 : 8:53:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by winglo

When did you visit, James? I live in Wayne, PA -- named after General Anthony Wayne. It is 4 miles east of Paoli and Waynesborough. If I'd known you were in town (whenever it was) I would have made time to come to meet you.

Sorry, Winglo, but that was now fifteen years ago ( ! ) during one of my "flying vacations" back east. I had to pick-and-choose my visits due to trying to cover as much of the Philadelphia Campaign as possible in only a week's time; I didn't even make it to Wayne's grave! Since I posted this a sew days ago, I since discovered another couple of related photos, the locations of which I was unsure; please correct me if I've mis-identified them:

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The Square Tavern near West Chester was owned by the father of noted painter of the French-and-Indian and Revolutionary eras, Benjamin West, who first gained international fame for his large "historical painting" The Death of Wolfe at Quebec.

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I believe this building, now called the General Warren Inn in Malvern ( ? ) is somewhere near the site of the aborted "Battle of the Clouds" mentioned above.

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James N.
Colonial Militia

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007

Status: offline

Posted - September 26 2018 : 10:46:09 AM

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Greetings, Mohicanland! I've been away for quite a while, but thought I'd revisit the site - this time of year when the air turns cool and damp here in Texas turns my mind back to the old Northeast. Since posting last I've revisited some of the places like here at Paoli and will try to update some old threads with new photos like the one above of the mass grave.

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James N.
Colonial Militia

USA

Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007

Status: offline

Posted - September 26 2018 : 11:00:14 AM

Paoli Battlefield Park
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I'm happiest to report this small area has more than doubled in size and now encompasses the entire ground covered by Wayne's encampment and therefore most of the battlefield.

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