Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
History Quarterly Digital Archives

Source: October 1941 Volume 4 Number 4, Pages 79–85

"Remember Paoli!"

Franklin L. Burns

• References

Page 79

Today, Great Britain is surrounded by rabid foes who would destroy her culture and freedom. She appears to have only one powerful friend - English-speaking America.

Times have changed. Today, we can scarcely realize the intense bitterness of the past, engendered by the brutality of the British soldiery during the Revolution. "Remember Paoli!" was the war-cry of Wayne's troops at Germantown as they pushed the British Light Infantry with the bayonet, and, until recently, there were many living in the vicinity of the Paoli tavern who could recall having seen the same slogan delineated by means of old copper pennies nailed to the boards of the bar-room floor.

The morning after the surprise and defeat above Paoli, the farmers of the neighborhood visited the scene of the massacre, and, to assuage the thirst of the wounded, used their hats to dip water from the pools made by the heavy rain of the night before.

Some distance westward of the actual conflict but on the same farm, the friends of the unfortunate American slain, excavated a deep trench about 15 by 60 feet, the longer dimension north and south, and here interred the bodies of the fifty-three dead, together with their hats, clothing, and military accoutrements, lying east and west in a double row.

For forty years, the tumulus was marked only by a heap of stones culled from the fields and woods. However, on July 4, 1817, at a meeting of the Republican Artillerists of Chester County, attention was called to the neglected state by Dr. Wm. Darlington in the following words: "The soil which has been consecrated by the remains of these patriots is exposed to the invasion of every rude and careless step, with no inclosure to protect it, without even the humble memorial of a stone to designate the spot where sleep our brave defenders. Yet a few years, and conjecture alone could point to the turf which wraps the men who laid down their lives that we might live free and independent."

A committee was appointed, consisting of Isaac D. Barnard, Joshua Evans, and Joseph Pierce, who reported on August 30, at a meeting held at the Boot tavern, that they had contracted for the inclosure of the graves with a stone wall 65 by 20 feet, with a gate in the middle of the west side. They had also ordered a handsome marble monument. The entire work was to be completed in time for the performance of the military ceremonies arranged for the twentieth of September.

On "the last-named date, the military organizations assembled at the Paoli Inn, and, by 11 A. M., the procession was formed by Col. Cromwell Pearce, late of the Regular Army, and the march begun in the following order: Union Troop of Chester and Delaware Counties, Capt. Harris; Col. Cromwell Pearce, Officer of the Day; Revolutionary Officers; Isaac Wayne, Esq.; and Rev. Dr. David Jones; Officers of the U. S. Army and Navy; Republican Artillerists of Chester County with brass field piece, commanded by Maj. Barnard; Junior Artillerists from Philadelphia, Capt. Cooper; Chester County Volunteer Light Infantry, Capt. Wersler; Montgomery Blues, Capt. Huldgate; Delaware Fencibles, Capt. Gr, G. Leiper; Brig. Gen, Wm. Brooke and Staff and Officers of the Third Division Pennsylvania Militia; Field Officers of the Militia from Philadelphia; Troop of Cavalry from Montgomery County, Capt. Holstein; Delaware County Troop, Capt. Smith; Contributors and citizens generally.

Page 80

The column moved in the above order up the Lancaster Turnpike as far as the Warren Tavern, where it wheeled to the left and proceeded by the Sugartown Road to the site of the monument. This was not the route followed by the attack, but all local events of any importance at that time had to emanate from the tavern of the magnetic Joshua Evans. Music was furnished by the bands attached to the Republican Artillerists and Capt. Harris' Troop. Upward of 400 volunteers were present and the concourse of citizens was described by the West Chester reporter as "immense". The monument, about nine feet in height, had been erected in the center of the enclosure and engraved with the following inscription composed by Dr. Darlington.

Page 81

An appropriate address having been delivered by Major Barnard, the Committee in charge then adjusted the pyramid which crowns the monument, after which the Rev. Dr. David Jones, a former chaplain in Wayne's Brigade and then in his eighty-second year, gave a first-hand account of the action, which unfortunately has not been preserved, and the ceremony was concluded by twenty rounds from the artillery piece and volleys of musketry by the infantry.

The Republican Artillerists, according to the roster of September 20, 1823, consisted of Capt. I. D. Barnard; Lieuts, Wm, Darlington and This. B. Evans; Quartermaster Eber Worthington; Sergeant Thos. I. Davis, James Nailer, Wm. Dowlin and Thos. Hutchison; Corporal Harry Gallager, Wm. Ford, Geo. Hoskins, and fifty-four privates. It was attached to the Chester County Battalion, First Brigade of the Third Division, Pennsylvania Militia.

The organization existed as late as 1832, meeting at advertised periods at either the Yellow Springs, Lieut. Ogden's sign of the General Wayne on the Lancaster Turnpike, Paoli parade grounds, house of Daniel Buckwalter at West Chester, or in front of Mr. Oldwin's store, always accompanied by the brass field-piece, "Diana", and the inevitable thirteen rounds of blank cartridges.

The commissioned officers, mounted upon grey horses, assembled on Sept. 21, 1824, at Hamilton village to escort General Lafayette into the City, and, on the following day, the entire command acted as an escort to Lafayette on the Brandywine battlefield.

The Paoli parade grounds, containing 22 acres, 120 perches more or less, was conveyed December 24, 1822, by Col. Cromwell Pearce and wife, of East Whiteland, in consideration of the sum of $458, to Lieut. Col. Wm. Darlington and Maj. Samuel Anderson, Commanding Military Officers of the Chester and Delaware Counties Battalions of Volunteers, in trust, as a place of parade forever for the use and benefit of all Volunteer Corps lawfully organized.

Page 82

Since the before-mentioned parade grounds did not contain the site of the interment and monument, this lot containing 10 perches of ground was conveyed Sept. 20, 1832, by John Griffith and wife, for the nominal sum of $10, to Col. Wm. Harris, Col. Emmor Elton, John S. Yocum, and David McConkey, Majors and Commanding Officers of the 1st Regiment of Chester and Delaware Counties Volunteers.

Although the more staid and peaceful inhabitants continued to frown upon all war-like preparations, the gift of the parade grounds gave impetus to the military spirit of the neighborhood. The local militia flourished as never before.

The countryside flocked in picnic regalia on the successive anniversaries of the massacre to view the sham battles and reviews, to meet their friends, and to be gypped by the City fakers who offered novelties for sale or displayed their gambling devices.

Some amusing pre-Civil War anecdotes of Paoli were current a generation ago. I shall relate the most interesting.

Bill Law, a Negro, residing in the old log cabin on the hill back of the Neeley's, worked as a tender for the local mason and was a bit of a dandy, fond of dressing like white folks. Of course, he attended the Paoli Anniversary, dressed in a high white hat, blue claw-hammer coat decorated with large brass buttons, and white trousers with the bottoms strapped under his boots. As usual, much liquor was in evidence, and Bill became involved with two drunken militiamen who pressed him hard until he ran to a worm-fence, removed a top rail, and, with one powerful blow on the ground, broke off a satisfactory club with which he moved down his opponents. Reinforcements, however, obliged the Negro to flee across the fields so fast that a witness said that

"you could play checkers on his coattails",

yet shortly afterward he was seen cake-walking on another part of the grounds.

A Scotch-Irish farm-hand on another occasion did not fare so well. He was slow of speech and muscle-bound, but he determined to take the day off to show his prowess on the battlefield at Paoli. The local farmer said,

"Robert, you had better stay at home."

Robert returned at the end of a perfect day much battered in body and spirit. There had been a melee in which he exhibited a partiality. He had taken off his hat, coat, waistcoat, and, as he slowly rolled up his shirt sleeves, he announced solemnly,

"I am a regular sardine, the last one in the box,"

when someone slugged him and, as he expressed it, "knocked him cold".

It must not be supposed that military science and leadership had wholly degenerated into showy parade, a volley of blank cartridges, and a rally around the Paoli tavern bar, for this section continued to produce exceptional leadership in the game of war.

Col. Cromwell Pearce has been already mentioned. He was buried in St. Peter's Episcopal Church cemetery where his monument may be seen. Gen. John Harris, 1789 - 1864, of Willistown, was Commandant of the U. S. Marine Corps. His memorial is in the cemetery of the Great Valley Presbyterian Church. Israel Vogdes, of Tredyffrin, was admitted to West Point, July 1, 1830, and commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Regular Artillery, July 1, 1837, and Samuel B. Hayman, of Easttown, was admitted July 1, 1838, and commissioned in the 1st Regular Infantry, July 1, 1842. Both these officers attained the grade of Brigadier General for meritorious conduct on the field of battle during the Civil War.

Page 83

Brevet Major General Zook, who later resided on the farm at Valley Forge known as Morgan's Quarters, is said to have been a native of Tredyffrin. He was fatally wounded in the battle of Gettysburg.

It has been said that a number of Confederate prisoners were temporarily interned on the Paoli grounds after the Gettysburg fight. A rebel prisoner, who helped a local farmer in harvest time, related that he was with Pickett in his famous charge on the Federal center and that, as he neared their objective, he found himself

"standing alone like a fool",

since all his comrades had been shot down. He threw up his hand and yielded to the command,

"Come in out of the rain, Johnnie!"

The Paoli monument, erected in 1817, having become chipped and defaced by the peculiar type of relic hunter of the period, no longer formed a fitting memorial, so steps were taken, July 4, 1875, to procure the erection of a new monument. The meeting, composed of the Centennial Minute lien of Chester County and private citizens, was held upon the grounds. After an oration by Maj. A. C. Fulton, Dr. J. B. Wood, of West Chester, read an appeal for funds. The Committee of the Military honored Dr. Wood by making him chairman, and the necessary funds were speedily collected, the monument constructed and placed in position, the wall removed, a wrought-iron picket fence erected around the mound, and the parade grounds put in order for the dedication on September 20, 1877, the one hundredth anniversary of the Massacre.

The monument is of Quincy granite, 22 1/2 feet in height, impressive in its simplicity of design. On the west face of the shaft is engraved in bold letters, "PAOLI", while the polished base bears the inscriptions copied from the original, with the single substitution on the east side:

The old stone was removed to the southernmost part of the mound and the new erected upon the center of the tumulus, giving the monument an elevation of twenty-five feet.

The day of dedication was mild and fair, the number present was estimated at from 8,000 to 10,000 people who witnessed the following programme:

Delivery of the Monument by the Representative of Messrs. Van Gunden, Young, & Drumm, of Philadelphia, the contractors, to the Committee;
Reception of the same on behalf of the Committee by Capt. Robert Cornwall;
Presentation of the Monument by Dr. Wood on behalf of the Committee to the Chairman, for dedication;
Address of the Chairman, Hon. Washington Townsend, at dedication;

Page 84

Unveiling of the Monument by Dr. Wood;
National Salute of 38 guns by the Griffin Battery;
Prayer by Rev. Joseph S. Evans;
Historical Address by J. Smith Futhey, Esq.;
Oration by the Hon. Wayne MacVeigh;
Benediction by Rev. Mr. Elliott.

At the conclusion of the above programme, the military and civic organizations marched slowly around the enclosure to the Dead March, in order, as follows:

Gen. John R. Dobson and Staff;
Col. Alfred Rupert and Aids;
Washington Troop, Capt. Wilson M. Matlack;
Griffin Battery, Capt. John Denithorn;
12th Regt. National Guard Band, Capt. B. Frank Dunhower;
Wayne Fencibles, West Chester, Co. I, Capt. Robert T. Cornwell;
West Chester Greys, Co. E, with Drum Corps, Lieut. Henry H. Worth;
Cooper Rifles, Media, Co. G, Capt. John Russell;
Wheatly Cadets, Phoenixville, Co, D, Capt. Samuel Gilbert;
Coatesville Guards, Go. C, Capt. Caleb Brown;
Delaney Guards (colored), West Chester, Capt. Levi M. Hood;
West Chester Pioneer Corps, Capt. J. Lacey Darlington;
Coatesville Pioneer Corps;
Chester Springs Soldiers' Orphans' School with Band;
Valley Forge Cornet Band;
Delegations from Tredyffrin, Uwchlan, Pikeland, Schuylkill, Charlestown, and Easttown, the latter with banner "Easttown, the home of General Wayne"

The Washington Troop was organized December 11, 1873, at Union Hall, East Whiteland, with the following personnel: Capt. WM. H. Gunkle; Lieuts. Wilson M. Matlack, L. Hoy Downing, and Jonathan M. Lewis; Sergts. Davis Gill, George L. Edwards, Alfred and Edward Rushworth; Corps. Thos. S. Waldron, Jesse M. Cox, I. Harry Jones, Harry Fleming, Myers Hellings, James Beidler, John R. Lewis, and R. Thomas Garrett; Privates D. S. Edwards, M. Edwards, W. W. Gunkle, George Renard, J. B. Raynor, Jno. M. Stewart, Wm. H. Whyte, John P. Yerkes, C. P. Saylor, Preston D. Lewis, and Thomas F. Beidler, A fine body of men, able to own and maintain the best in horse-flesh.

They erected a two-story barracks on a lot purchased adjoining the Paoli parade grounds. This was in a grove just west of the monument, and included hall, mess room bunk room, with stalls for forty horses below. Dismounted, they participated in the occupation of Pittsburgh during the railroad strike of 1878, but in the reorganization of the Pennsylvania National Guard, there was no place in the establishment of the First Brigade for a second troop, hence the Washington Troop was disbanded in favor of the City Troop. On May 8, 1886, the West Chester Republican reported that the defunct troop of Paoli had divided the balance of $500 in its treasury among its former members. The barracks, had been sold and torn down.

Seventeen cannon had been unearthed at the Warwick furnace where they had been buried a hundred years previously during the British invasion of the vicinity. Two of these heavy pieces of five-inch bore, designated for fortress emplacement, were procured and set up on stone bases in front of the Paoli Monument.

Page 85

Later, the military review gave place to the occasional school picnic, and, when the latter lost its vogue for want of water and special attractions, the Paoli Memorial Association was organized and incorporated August 30, 1897, for the purpose to

"hold, improve and preserve the land and improvements thereon".

The Presidents of this Association to date are here recorded:

Hamilton Henry Gilkyson, Phoenixville, 1897 - 1913.
William Wayne, Jr., Paoli, 1913 - 1923.
John Charles Groff, West Chester, 1923 - 1928.
William Wayne, Jr., Paoli, 1928 - 1932.
John King Evans, M. D., 1932 - 1941.

The latter is the last survivor of the original twenty-five life members. This corporation is managed by a Board of Directors consisting of the commanding officers of each separate military organization belonging to the National Guard in Chester and Delaware Counties, one member each chosen by the Historical Societies and Chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Chester and Delaware Counties, and twelve members not connected with, any military organization.

The ground was made more accessible in 1921 by the construction of a macadamized drive and, the following year, by an appropriation of the State Legislature, the monument was moved some distance from the graves, for "artistic reasons", and, on May 8, 1922, the newly constructed gatehouse was accepted by the Association.

For many years, the graves were decorated by the G. A. R., later by the American Legion, and, on September 20, 1928, the latter was granted the privilege of erecting a bronze tablet with the names of the local boys enlisted during the World War.

For many years, September 20 was "Paoli Day", the greatest unofficial holiday in Chester County. It was an established custom for the local farmers' boys to make haste to dig the potatoes and shock the corn that they might attend the military display at the Parade Grounds.

The pageantry of military display has departed, perhaps forever, only the grim reality of war remains. There have been, and doubtless will continue to be, attempts to divert the Paoli Parade Ground to purposes not consistent with the aim and purpose set forth in the original deed. It remains for the patriotic and historical bodies to see that the site be not encroached upon by selfish interests and that it is kept, not as an example of the former hate, greed, brutality, and misrepresentation of our British cousins, but as a symbol of America's stand for American ideals and as a proclamation that America first is our aim and objective.

References

File of old West Chester newspapers in the Library of the Chester County Historical Society;

Proceedings on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Monument on the One Hundred Anniversary of the Paoli Massacre;

Constitution and By-Laws of the Washington Troop;

Charter of Incorporation and By-Laws of the Paoli Memorial Association Together with List of Membership;

Interviews with former members of the Washington Troop and citizens generally.