[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 50 (Wednesday, April 29, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E701-E702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE PAOLI BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 1998

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                            HON. CURT WELDON

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 29, 1998

  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the Seventh District of 
Pennsylvania which I represent is exceptionally rich in historical 
sites which serve to remind us of our colonial and early-American 
heritage. As we commit resources to allow our school children to re-
visit history via virtual reality, I feel it's important that we 
preserve the true reality of significant historical sites such as the 
Paoli Battlefield in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
  This land was the site of the ``Paoli Massacre'' in which British 
troops led by Major General Grey attacked the American Army of 
Pennsylvania Regiments on the wooded hillside and two fields between 
what is now Sugartown Road and Warren Avenue. The ensuing battle 
resulted in at least 52 American deaths and 7 British fatalities. The 
British night-time bayonet charge was aided by the fact that Americans 
were silhouetted against the light of their campfires. Some American 
troops panicked and fled and general disorder spread throughout the 
American line. British dragoons, arriving on the field, shattered the 
American column and pursued retreating Americans as far as Sugartown 
Road. Only the more disciplined American soldiers escaped the original 
onslaught unscathed, but a following British assault, conducted by the 
Royal Highland Regiment, completed the rout.
  The Paoli Massacre was part of the military conflict between British 
and Americans forces during the Revolutionary War's Philadelphia 
Campaign, a chapter of the war that witnessed the occupation of 
Philadelphia and the famed American encampment at Valley Forge in the 
winter of 1777-78. The first two American attempts to stop the British 
invasion that Fall were the Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, 
and the unsuccessful Battle of the Clouds, September 16, 1777. The 
Paoli Massacre was part of the third effort to contain British General 
Sir William Howe's advance on Philadelphia.
  The Paoli Battlefield Site and Parade Grounds, containing 62 acres, 
is situated in the Borough of Malvern, Chester County and consists of 
two adjoining parcels. In 1777, these parcels represented the northern 
portions of two farms and were the location of the heaviest action of 
the battle. The eastern parcel, identified as the Battlefield Site, is 
approximately 40 acres and consists of a forested ravine and slope 
rising to a plateau containing a plowed field and surrounding woods. 
The western parcel is the 22 acre Parade Grounds, established in 1822, 
where the local militia drilled and the community used as a 
commemorative property focusing on honoring all veterans. Monuments 
honoring World War I and II veterans can be found there, as well as the 
mass graves of the slain soldiers of the American Revolution, where a 
fieldstone wall surrounds a mound and obelisk monument. The tremendous 
historical value of this land is without question and should be 
preserved for future generations to appreciate.
  The Battlefield Site is presently owned by the Malvern Preparatory 
School. The School's Board of Trustees recently voted to sell the

[[Page E702]]

Battlefield for $2.5 million but have resisted placing the land on the 
open real estate market to provide the local community the opportunity 
to raise the funds necessary to purchase the land. To date, the Paoli 
Battlefield Preservation Fund has raised in excess of $1 million. The 
purpose of the Paoli Battelfield Preservation Act of 1998 is to 
authorize the addition of the Paoli Battlefield site to the Valley 
Forge National Historical Park and to authorize the appropriation 
necessary to complement local funds raised to ensure the purchase of 
the site for preservation purposes.
  Having recently been listed on the National Register of Historic 
Places, the National Park Service recognized the Paoli Battlefield 
citing its importance ``in the area of American military history as a 
Revolutionary War battle and for honoring the commemorative efforts of 
the local community to preserve this important site.'' Patrick 
McGuigan, retired Command Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army and President 
of the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund, has put succinctly 
describes the importance of this bill: ``This community of 2,944 people 
possesses a part of American history in our own backyard, a memorial to 
the highest price Americans have paid--laying down their lives for our 
freedoms. We are trying to purchase the site for all Americans, and the 
Chester County Historical Society wants to hook this up with their 
education program involving local battlefields. Individually, saving 
this site is a good thing, but collectively, in conjunction with 
American history, it's a great thing.''
  The Battle was a true massacre, henceforth inspiring American 
Revolutionary troops to cry ``Remember Paoli!'' This legislation merely 
seeks to facilitate local efforts to preserve this invaluable land--the 
site of a massacre that henceforth inspired American Revolutionary 
troops, and now us today, to cry, ``Remember Paoli!''

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