Near midnight on September 20, 1777, in the Revolutionary War, the British Army attacked American troops near this spot in the engagement known as the Paoli Massacre. About 150 American soldiers were killed or wounded in the action, in which the British used only bayonets, and 53 Americans were buried here in a common grave. In the British campaign to capture Philadelphia, Lt. General Sir William Howe sailed from New York in July 1777 and landed at the mouth of the Elk River on the Chesapeake Bay on August 25, 1777. General George Washington tried to stop the British at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, but was defeated. After the September 15 skirmish locally called the Battle of the Clouds was washed out by a heavy rainstorm, the British camped for several days in Tredyffrin, a few miles north of here. Brig. General Anthony Wayne, whose home was nearby, was ordered to place his Pennsylvania Line behind the enemy to harass Howe’s troops when they tried to cross the ford of the Schuylkill River, and Wayne concealed his men here, 2 miles southwest of the Paoli Tavern and 1 mile south of the Admiral Warren on the Philadelphia to Lancaster road. On the night of September 20, Howe sent Maj. General Charles Grey to eliminate Wayne’s forces so he could cross the river without danger of rearguard action. The attack on Wayne’s encampment routed and dispersed his command. After lies and rumors spread, Wayne demanded and received a court-martial to determine his guilt, and a general order dated Nov. 1, 1777 unanimously acquitted him of all charges and declared that he had acted as a brave and vigilant officer. The so-called Paoli Massacre became a low point in the war for independence, but “Remember Paoli” served as a rallying slogan during the rest of the war.
