executive summary august 2016
TRANSCRIPT
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.
P O R
B P
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.
R T ‐A
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.
N S
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