A Tour of Brandywine:
The Brandywine Battlefield
and the Brandywine River Museum
On September 11, 1777, the largest land battle of the Revolutionary War was fought on the banks of the Brandywine River in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. British forces won the day and a month later occupied Philadelphia, while General Washington’s troops, who had maintained their discipline and fought with great valor, were forced to retreat and later suffered a horrible winter at Valley Forge.
The battle was fought over ten square mile area that is now a National Historic Landmark. Key portions of this land have been permanently preserved through the conservation easements and fee simple ownership by the Brandywine Conservancy and its partners. The last targeted property was acquired in May 2007 and was the culmination of a 15-year preservation effort.
Join the Conservancy’s Associate Director, David Shields, and a local historian for a driving tour of the battlefield. The day will begin at the Brandywine River Museum, which is part of the Brandywine Conservancy, for a guided tour of its galleries. Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting. Box lunches will be served in the Museum’s lecture room where you will learn about the battle and the events leading up to it. You will be oriented to the local landscape and hear about the Conservancy and its conservation programs with emphasis on the preservation of the Brandywine Battlefield.
After lunch, you will enjoy a driving tour of the battlefield, generally following the line of march of the British on the day of the battle, stopping periodically to view key sites and hear details about battle events. The tour will end at the Birmingham Friends Meeting House in the heart of the battlefield. You will gather in the historic meetinghouse to hear a Friend of the Meeting discuss the impact of the battle on the Quaker community and the Meetinghouse itself. Here you will also be able to see the land where the heaviest fighting occurred and hear further details about the battle. If time permits, you may walk through the adjacent Meetinghouse Cemetery.
A short scenic trip down Brandywine Creek Road will return you to the Brandywine River Museum for a final rest stop before returning to the Conference Center.
NOTES: Lunch is included in the cost of the field trip. The tour bus will leave from the main lobby of the Desmond Hotel at 10:00 am; please arrive by 9:45 am.
Join the Conservancy’s Associate Director, David Shields, and a local historian for a driving tour of the battlefield. The day will begin at the Brandywine River Museum, which is part of the Brandywine Conservancy, for a guided tour of its galleries. Exhibiting American art in a 19th-century grist mill, the Brandywine River Museum is internationally known for its unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths and its fine collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting. Box lunches will be served in the Museum’s lecture room where you will learn about the battle and the events leading up to it. You will be oriented to the local landscape and hear about the Conservancy and its conservation programs with emphasis on the preservation of the Brandywine Battlefield. 
After lunch, you will enjoy a driving tour of the battlefield, generally following the line of march of the British on the day of the battle, stopping periodically to view key sites and hear details about battle events. The tour will end at the Birmingham Friends Meeting House in the heart of the battlefield. You will gather in the historic meetinghouse to hear a Friend of the Meeting discuss the impact of the battle on the Quaker community and the Meetinghouse itself. Here you will also be able to see the land where the heaviest fighting occurred and hear further details about the battle. If time permits, you may walk through the adjacent Meetinghouse Cemetery.