Historic Waynesborough

Historic Waynesborough The ancestral home of Revolutionary War hero "Mad" Anthony Wayne, located in Paoli, Pennsylvania. Tours are also available by appointment, year-round.

On sixteen acres in historic Chester County, Historic Waynesborough includes General Anthony Wayne's manor home and a 19th-century carriage house, now refurbished as the Education and Visitors Center. Open for tours and events, the site is owned by Easttown Township and administered by the Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks. Historic Waynesborough welcomes visitors weekly, Thursday to Sunday from 1 - 3 pm. Please call to reserve your tour at (610) 647-1779.

Today is General Anthony Wayne's 280th birthday. We celebrate that this hero of two wars, the American Revolution and th...
01/01/2025

Today is General Anthony Wayne's 280th birthday. We celebrate that this hero of two wars, the American Revolution and the Northwest Territory war, was born this day in 1745. Happy Birthday, Anthony Wayne.

Happy New Year, though we cannot ignore having terror strike in New Orleans when 2025 was just a few hours old. Definite...
01/01/2025

Happy New Year, though we cannot ignore having terror strike in New Orleans when 2025 was just a few hours old. Definitely makes it difficult to celebrate.

On New Year’s Day, 1781: good news and bad news for Anthony Wayne. Anthony Wayne celebrates (possibly) his 36th birthday...
01/01/2025

On New Year’s Day, 1781: good news and bad news for Anthony Wayne. Anthony Wayne celebrates (possibly) his 36th birthday and his Pennsylvania Line decides to mutiny.

On January 1, 1781, 1,500 soldiers from the Pennsylvania Line — all 11 regiments under General Anthony Wayne’s command —insist their three-year enlistments are expired, kill three officers in a drunken rage and abandon the Continental Army’s winter camp at Morristown, New Jersey.

British General Henry Clinton sent emissaries from New York to meet the mutineers and offer them full pardon and the pay owed them by the Continental Army in exchange for joining the Redcoats. Instead, the men turned south towards Princeton, which they captured on January 3, intending to march on Philadelphia and Congress. From Princeton, the mutineers dispatched envoys to meet with General Wayne, who was following behind them. They aired their grievances and handed over Clinton’s men for eventual ex*****on.

With this show of devotion to the Patriot cause, the mutineers strengthened their position in negotiations with Congress. General Wayne and Congressional President Joseph Reed met with the mutineers to hear their grievances on January 7. They came to an agreement three days later. Half the men accepted discharges, while the other half took furloughs coupled with bonuses for reenlistment. Those who reenlisted formed the Pennsylvania Battalion, which went on to participate in the southern campaign.These excellent terms prompted 200 New Jersey men stationed at Pompton to follow suit with their own mutiny. This time, the response was quite different.

General George Washington used New England soldiers to disarm their New Jersey compatriots and executed two of the leading mutineers.These actions kept the Patriot army from disintegrating, but it still faced severe challenges. Early 1781 saw more Americans fighting for the British than fighting for Washington. Credit: History.com

To our followers who celebrate Kwanzaa, have many happy days of celebration.
12/26/2024

To our followers who celebrate Kwanzaa, have many happy days of celebration.

Happy Chrismukkah. Yes, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah are both on December 25th this year. Whatever and howeve...
12/23/2024

Happy Chrismukkah. Yes, Christmas and the first day of Hanukkah are both on December 25th this year. Whatever and however you celebrate, we wish you the best of everything from Historic Waynesborough.

Two days ago in 1796, December 15th, Major General Anthony Wayne died at Presque Isle, PA. He was commander of the Unit...
12/17/2024

Two days ago in 1796, December 15th, Major General Anthony Wayne died at Presque Isle, PA. He was commander of the United States army, known as the Legion of the United States. He died at just 51 years of age.

He suffered from gout brought on by years of abusing his body with rigorous military service and high living in peacetime. Over time, his body deteriorated under the strain. America’s Revolutionary War hero, Wayne was called out of retirement by President George Washington in 1792 to lead this new army to defend the Northwest Territory during westward expansion. When the General was taken ill in November of 1796 with another bout of gout he was in Fort Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania).

In December now extremely ill, he was carefully moved into the blockhouse there. A doctor was sent from Detroit and upon seeing General Wayne declared him “too far gone for medical assistance.” At 10 minutes past two o’clock on the morning of December 15, 1796 General Anthony Wayne was relieved of his agony. He was buried in a plain oak coffin at the foot of the flagstaff of the blockhouse, where he remained for 13 years until his remains were disinterred and he was re-buried at Old St. David’s churchyard, resting place of many other family members.

A monument erected by the Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, marks his grave in St. Davids, Radnor Township, PA, just a few miles from his beloved “Waynesborough.”

Why do we mention this two days later? We can surmise it took two days with messengers on horseback or by carriage to get the sad news to his children Isaac and Margretta and the entire Wayne family.

Historic Waynesborough salutes every veteran every day, not just today.
11/11/2024

Historic Waynesborough salutes every veteran every day, not just today.

Today in 1781 the British surrendered to our patriots at Yorktown, Virginia. Leading up to the surrender was the lengthy...
10/19/2024

Today in 1781 the British surrendered to our patriots at Yorktown, Virginia. Leading up to the surrender was the lengthy Siege at Yorktown. General Anthony Wayne and his Pennsylvanians had been in Virginia since early July, under the command of the Marquis de Lafayette. Their combined efforts at Green Springs Farm was a near disaster, but in the months to come, Wayne secured positions to help confine Cornwallis at Yorktown awaiting the combined forces of George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau with 5,000 troops.

By October 9th, Cornwallis and his army were pinned down near Yorktown. The French fleet of 24 ships, under Admiral Francois De Grasse, arrived with a sufficient number to drive off the British ships attempting to evacuate Cornwallis. On October 9, the shelling began with one hundred field guns firing away 24 hours per day.Wayne’s Pennsylvanians dug trenches, advancing toward Cornwallis’ line of defense, but did little else during the siege.

Wayne had been wounded at Williamsburg by a sentry who did not recognize him as an American officer, which put Wayne out of commission for a while. The siege continued under the leadership of a combined Franco-American army, commanded by Washington and Rochambeau, until October 19th, the day that Cornwallis surrendered.

Although Anthony Wayne’s wound was still painful, he was able to sit astride a horse to take part in the formal surrender. He is depicted in the John Trumbull painting with the American officers on the right side of the painting. Wayne is the officer on a white horse with a cockade on his tri-corn hat festooned with, possibly, ostrich feathers dyed red. This painting depicts the forces of British Major General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805) (who was not himself present at the surrender), surrendering to French and American forces after the Siege of Yorktown (September 28 – October 19, 1781) during the American Revolutionary War.

The United States government commissioned Trumbull (himself a veteran of the Revolution) to paint patriotic paintings, including this piece, for them in 1817, paying for the piece in 1820. In 1780, with his funds depleted, Trumbull turned to art as a profession. He traveled to London, where upon introduction from Benjamin Franklin, Trumbull studied under Pennsylvanian Benjamin West. At West's suggestion, Trumbull painted small pictures of the War of Independence and miniature portraits. He painted about 250 in his lifetime.

Remember what our patriots fought for - a free and democratic republic for the people. Remember their triumph by voting on November 5th.

The Battle of Germantown. October 4th, 247 years ago today, Washington’s Continental forces were a poorly trained, poorl...
10/04/2024

The Battle of Germantown. October 4th, 247 years ago today, Washington’s Continental forces were a poorly trained, poorly fed and poorly clothed army. In spite of that, Washington thought them ready to fight and planned to send four columns into battle with bits of white paper tucked into their hats to help them identify each other in the darkness of early morning. Washington’s elaborate plan went awry, however, when two columns got lost in heavy morning fog.
By 10 am on the 5th of October, the battle was over.

Although the Americans were forced into a retreat, both sides suffered heavy losses—152 dead, 521 wounded and 400 captured for the Patriots and 71 dead, 450 wounded and 14 missing for the British—and the battle demonstrated Washington’s strategic abilities. Washington’s army retreated north to what is now Whitemarsh for more fighting until marching into the winter encampment in Valley Forge on December 19th.

To our followers who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Happy New Year.
10/02/2024

To our followers who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, Happy New Year.

After the rained-out Battle of the Clouds, General George Washington left Anthony Wayne with these orders on September 1...
09/20/2024

After the rained-out Battle of the Clouds, General George Washington left Anthony Wayne with these orders on September 17, 1777:

"As I have receiv'd information that the enemy have turned down the road from the White Horse which leads to Swedes Ford on Schuylkill I have desired you that you will halt your troops wherever this meets you. I must call your utmost exertion in fitting yourselves in the best manner you can for following harassing...(the enemy’s rear), General Maxwell will have a similar order and will assist you with the corps under his command."

Washington then sent another message, which never reached Anthony Wayne, saying that Maxwell's orders were canceled and a request by Washington for Wayne to apprise him of his position and plans. In the interim Wayne wrote back to Washington a message asking for clarification of his orders. Washington wrote back again somewhat testily, "having wrote you twice already, to move forward upon the enemy I have but little to add. General Maxwell and Potter are ordered to do the same. I could wish you and those general to act in conjunction, to make your advance more formidable, but would not have too much time delayed on this account."

The British were successfully stealing most of the messages between Wayne and Washington. Because of this they would know Wayne's position and intentions in advance.

What resulted from this missing message, and Anthony Wayne staying put, was the loss of 53 patriots during a sneak nighttime bayonet attack by Lord Grey’s troops. It came to be known as the “Paoli Massacre.” It is today the Paoli Battlefield in Malvern, Pennsylvania; just a few miles from Anthony Wayne’s ancestral Easttown Township home in Paoli.

We take time every September 20th to remember the 53 patriot lives lost on this day 247 years ago.

Following the Battle of Brandywine, or when bad weather can make for a good outcome. The Battle of the Clouds never happ...
09/16/2024

Following the Battle of Brandywine, or when bad weather can make for a good outcome. The Battle of the Clouds never happened because both sides had ammunition that wouldn't fire.

September 11 marks a day of loss in our country. One known only from history books, when George Washington, Anthony Wayn...
09/11/2024

September 11 marks a day of loss in our country. One known only from history books, when George Washington, Anthony Wayne and several other Revolutionary generals lost the crucial Battle of Brandywine in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania in 1777. They were outmaneuvered by British General Howe and had to retreat, eventually to Valley Forge several miles away, where they spent the devastating winter of 1777/1778.

Another September 11 day of loss most of us do remember all too vividly. On "9/11" in 2001 our nation was attacked in New York City and at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The final plane, destination unknown, ended its flight when heroic Americans brought down their own plane in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Never forget the patriots who fought for our freedom, the thousands who perished on 9/11/2001, and the military men and women who serve to protect us and our freedom today and everyday.

The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794. After Anthony Wayne tried in vain to negotiate with the Native American t...
08/20/2024

The Battle of Fallen Timbers, August 20, 1794. After Anthony Wayne tried in vain to negotiate with the Native American tribes in hopes of avoiding a battle, here he was on the morning of August 20 commanding his troops toward a fight. Wayne sent Major Price and his troops forward several miles. Upon running into an Indian army hiding in the woods and grasslands between the Legion and Fort Miami, Wayne heard musket fire and knew the battle had begun.

Anthony Wayne correctly estimated the size of the Indian army at about 1,000 and some 60 Canadian militiamen. They had wisely chosen their location to attack – an area that had seen a tornado blow through leaving a path of tangled brush, uprooted trees, making it difficult for the American troops to act. Wayne and his men unleashed a volley so devastating that the Indians rose up from their hiding places and retreated at least two miles.

This decisive victory under the command of General Anthony Wayne came to be known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers and did, in part, have much to do with the opening of the Northwest Territory for settlement, this portion becoming Maumee, Ohio not far from Toledo. This is why we call Anthony Wayne “a hero of two wars,” the Revolution and the Northwest Indian War.

It is history. Maybe not history we like to remember, but it was under General George Washington's orders that Anthony Wayne was in charge.

Today, more than a month after the Americans declared independence from the monarchy, news of the rebellion reached Engl...
08/10/2024

Today, more than a month after the Americans declared independence from the monarchy, news of the rebellion reached England. Letters from General Howe dated August 7 and 8, 1776 from Staten to Lord George Germain were received by Lieutenant-Colonel Blunt, who arrived in the Mercury Packet.

These are extracts from the two letters.

Imagine what the signers of the Declaration of Independence were thinking all this while. Like waiting for the other "shoe buckle to drop."

Today, August 3rd, is the 229th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, The Treaty was signed between th...
08/03/2024

Today, August 3rd, is the 229th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, The Treaty was signed between the United States, represented by Major General Anthony Wayne, and chiefs of the Indian tribes located in the Northwest Territory, including the Wyandot, Delaware, Shawnee, Ottawa, Miami, and other tribes. It ended the Northwest Indian War and opened the Northwest Territory for settlement.

By Anthony Wayne’s side was the Reverend David Jones from the Baptist Church in the Great Valley, in Tredyffrin Township between Valley Forge and Anthony Wayne’s home in Easttown Township. The church was founded in 1711 by Welsh Baptists who came here for religious freedom.

In 1776 Rev. Jones was granted a leave of absence from his church to join the Continental Army and serve as Chaplain to General Anthony Wayne. Nineteen years later he was, again, by then Major General Anthony Wayne’s side.

On a recent tour of the church and cemetery, visitors were told his history in front of Rev. David Jones’ grave. Reverend Jones was an outspoken patriot, his words so vehement; the British put a price on his head. Here he is mentioned in an excerpt from a letter from Anthony Wayne to Benjamin Franklin: “Ticonderoga 29th July 1776Dear Sir: We are so far removed from the sea of Govern’t of the free and independent states of America – and such an Insurmountable Barrier, Albany, between us that not one letter or the least intelligence of anything that’s doing with you can reach us. Through the medium of my Chaplain, David Jones, I hope this will reach you as he has promised to blow out any man’s brains who will attempt to take it from him…”

This anniversary of the Treaty of Greenville we salute another patriot who was there, Reverend David Jones.

Address

2049 Waynesborough Road
Paoli, PA
19301

Opening Hours

Thursday 1pm - 3pm
Friday 1pm - 3pm
Saturday 1pm - 3pm
Sunday 1pm - 3pm

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+16106471779

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