The Museum contains a great richness of artifacts and explanations to bring life to the Battle of Brandywine, the times in which it was fought, and the people of the region.
We present here two items for you. Please visit in person to see the full array of our presentations.
Some structures which witnessed the Battle of Brandywine and the following campaigns still survive today. Many of them are now historic restorations open to the public and serve as reminders of the type of architecture found in southeastern Pennsylvania at the time of the Revolution. A trip around the countryside will reveal to the traveler some hints of life during the 18th Century.
The Barns-Brinton House, the Brinton 1704 House, Brinton's Mill, Birmingham Meeting, Old Kennett Meeting, Dilworthtown Inn, the John Chads House, and Strode's Mill all stood in the path of the soldiers fighting in the Battle of Brandywine. Old Kennett and Birmingham Meetings both served as hospitals for the wounded.
After the battle, Washington sent many of the wounded to Ephrata Cloister, where they could be treated in a peaceful atmosphere. Cliveden and Valley Forge figured in the campaign which followed Brandywine. Cliveden saw action in the Battle of Germantown and it was to Valley Forge that Washington withdrew his troops in the Winter of 1777. Both sites are open to the public.
Americans used the occasion of Lafayette's return to America — and that of his death in 1834 — to create an enormous variety of memorabilia bearing the Lafayette image.
