Paoli Battlefield Historical Park

The night of September 9, 1777 was cloudy and rainy on South Valley Hill, about a mile west of the local Paoli Tavern. Several Continental Army regiments under the command of General Anthony Wayne had set up camp for the night when they received word that 6,000 British troops were fast advancing on their position. With bayonets drawn, the British soldiers quickly overcame the retreating American troops, killing dozens of Wayne’s men and brutally wounding or capturing hundreds more. The Americans deemed it a massacre and “Remember Paoli” became a rallying cry of the Revolutionary War. Preserved from development, the Paoli battlefield has largely remained farm and woodlands or protected as a Parade Ground enabling visitors to imagine for themselves the bloody battle that took place on these hallowed grounds and home to the second oldest war memorial in the United States.