Landmark supporters go to war for Paoli Battlefield

Bruce Knapp remembers learning about the Revolutionary War Battle of Paoli in his seventh-grade classroom in the San Francisco area.

Years after he moved to Chester County as an adult, he joined a group that had successfully raised money to save the Paoli Battlefield, a pristine piece of Main Line property, from developers in the 1990s.

Now, the retired federal investigator is leading the charge to get the National Park Service to recognize the site for what the community believes it is: a national historic landmark.

"To me, this is unfinished business that started over 200 years ago," said Knapp, 68, president of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund.

In March, supporters submitted an application to the landmark committee. They should hear in July whether they can proceed with their bid.

If all goes to plan, in January 2017, the secretary of the interior could decide the Paoli Battlefield deserves that highest honor for a historic site.

That would be just in time for the planned opening of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Paoli Battlefield's elite status would make Malvern Borough an attractive stop for any visiting history buff.

The nation has about 2,500 historic landmarks: George Washington's Mount Vernon plantation; the birthplace of John Adams; Edgar Allan Poe's house in Philadelphia.

The Paoli Battlefield stands in the shadows of Brandywine Battlefield Park and Valley Forge National Historical Park.

Supporters of the Paoli Battlefield believe their site should be right up there with them.

The battlefield is already on the National Register of Historic Places. It got there through the persistent efforts of historians, government officials, and local residents.

Knapp began his work with the battlefield by volunteering and leading Boy Scouts in projects to clean and enhance the site. Now, he could talk for hours about its significance.

The National Park Service at one time called the Battle of Paoli just a skirmish, Knapp said.

But historians say the battle was a necessary step in the British campaign to take the fledgling country's capital of Philadelphia.

On the night of Sept. 20, 1777, British soldiers used bayonets to attack American soldiers at their encampment. The British defeated the Americans in a bloody battle called the Paoli Massacre that left dozens of Americans dead and more than 150 wounded.

"Remember Paoli!" was used as a rallying cry at later battles.

The Battle of Paoli has fascinated historian Thomas McGuire since he was a 12-year-old reading books about the Revolutionary War for fun. Now, 58, he teaches social studies at Malvern Preparatory School, which used to own the battlefield.

When he visited the site as a Malvern Prep student, the cornfield looked just like the painting he had seen of the battle.

The memorial that veterans erected in 1817 - one of the oldest Revolutionary War memorials - is still there, with inscriptions describing how 53 American soldiers lost their lives on the field.

"We became a country because of what they did and the stand they took," McGuire said.

Pat McGuigan, Malvern's former borough manager and one of the founders of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund, said the community had supported the battlefield from the beginning, from the children who collected donations to save the land in a "Pennies for Paoli" campaign to the people working now toward landmark status.

McGuigan, 81, said he looked forward to the day when the National Park Service names Paoli Battlefield a national historic landmark.

"We will have a holiday," he said.

610-313-8207 @MichaelleBond