Historic Thornbury Farm will be the setting for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Brandywine Battlefield Task Force.
The task force’s mission is to foster public and private partnerships to preserve the Brandywine Battlefield National Historic Landmark area; to educate the community about its cultural resources and to develop interpretation of the Revolutionary War battle and its historical and physical setting.
The September 11, 1777, battle was the largest land battle of the fight for American independence and was the main defense of the young nation’s capital city of Philadelphia.
The anniversary will take place on the battlefield at Thornbury Farm, 1256 Thornbury Road, West Chester, from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Reenactors in garb will attend. Themed food and music by a pirate band are included in the $55 admission price. Tavern games and fresh bread from the farm’s oven will be offered, along with a cash bar. Reservations are required. To reserve a seat, go here.
“Through the huge efforts of the Task Force, historic properties have been preserved for future generations,” host Randell Spackman, a member of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, said. “We’ll be honoring the efforts of the commission. Senator John Kane and Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline, and a representative of The American Battlefield Trust from Washington D.C. will attend.”
Joining the event are artists Stephen Burke and Adrian Martinez and author Bruce E. Mowday. Burke is a visual artist. Martinez created a number of historical paintings, including those of the Battle of Brandywine. One of Martinez’s paintings was the cover art for Mowday’s book Lafayette at Brandywine: The Making of an American Hero. The first book written on the battle, Mowday’s September 11, 1777: Washington’s Defeat at Brandywine Dooms Philadelphia, has been credited as being the emphasis for the preservation of Brandywine’s battlefield. His latest book is Emotional Brandywine, with Chadds Ford artist Karl J. Kuerner.
“We’re recreating a night from 1777,” Spackman commented.
Commission members include the municipalities within the Landmark, Delaware and Chester Counties, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Chadds Ford Historical Society, the Friends of Brandywine Historic Site, the Brandywine Conservancy, the Natural Lands Trust, the National Park Service and Valley Forge National Historic Site.
The Brandywine Battlefield National Historic Landmark was dedicated on January 20, 1961. Today, it is part of the municipalities of Birmingham, Kennett, Pennsbury, Thornbury, Westtown, Chester County, and Chadds Ford Township, Delaware County. The Brandywine Battlefield Task Force was formed in 1993 as a volunteer group of municipal, state, and federal representatives along with non-profit institutions.
