THE PAOLI MASSACRE, WAS IT A MASSACRE ?

On the night of September 20-21, 1777, in what is now the Borough of Malvern, Chester County, Pennsylvania, American soldiers under the command of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne were attacked and put to the bayonet by British soldiers under the command of Major General Charles Grey.

As you may be aware, it was at this site that 53 of our first soldiers paid the highest price possible for the privilege of being called an American.

For reasons that have been lost in history, these brave soldiers were not buried on the field of honor, but dragged across the property line and buried in what is now called The Paoli Memorial Grounds, although the site has always been revered locally, it has never received the national recognition it deserves because it has always been separated from the main part of the original battlefield.

_______________________________________

It is now possible that this can change!

The borough of Malvern has been approached by the Malvern Preparatory School about the possibility of purchasing the property and creating a single historic park consisting of the 40-acre battlefield and the contiguous 22-acre Memorial Ground.

Should this come to pass, for the first time in history, the battlefield where these men fought and died and the Sacred Ground where they are buried will become one.

The director of the Bureau for Historic Places recently has made a determination of eligibility for this site to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This is expected to happen within a year.

The price quoted by the Malvern Preparatory School for the property is two and a half million dollars. The question is, "where does a small town of 2,944 people get that kind of money?" The answer is that many patriotic persons raise the funds necessary to purchase the battlefield and place it in the Public Trust for permanent preservation and maintenance.

The name of the corporation is "Paoli Battlefield Preservation Trust."

Remember the young men who fought and died at this location were our first volunteers and our first veterans. What they did and where they did it need to be preserved and maintained as Hallowed Ground by and for the citizens for which they made their sacrifice.

If you can help to make this happen, please contact Pat McGuigan, Borough Manager at (610) 644-2602, or send a contribution to:

Paoli Battlefield Preservation Trust

c/o Borough of Malvern

Box 437

Malvern, PA 19355

Thank you for taking the time to read this and special thanks to the Paoli Battlefield Preservation Trust for letting us know of their needs.

Randy Bublitz