The 7 Stars Inn in Aston Twp. about 1920. The Inn was torn down in 1950. During the American Revolution right after the Battle of Brandywine the Inn was the scene of several incidents. The Inn stood at "5 Points" in Village Green behind where Zac's Hamburgers is today.
Note: Much of what happened in Delaware Co. after the Battle of Brandywine has been lost to history. It wasn't until the 1860's and 1880's that the first histories of Delaware co. were written. Much of the history of the American Revolution in Delco after Brandywine had been handed down thru families. See the article below.
July
25, 1899
Seven Stars Inn
IN REVOLUTIONARY DAYS
More than a century has elapsed
since the battle of Brandywine but the incidents of that eventful period at
Village Green are yet the glory of “The Seven Stars”. It was a sultry morning that Thursday,
September 11, 1777, and a thick fog clung to the earth, shutting out the
autumnal landscape. The children of the
neighborhood had gathered at the school, for while to the matured dread and
dismay came with the news of the approach of the British Army and the certainty
that the crash of arms between it and the Continental forces, which then lay at
Chadd’s Ford, only ten miles away, could not be long averted, it is nowise
lessened the ardor of the urchins’ play in the school yard.
Yet
even the youngest pupil noticed that the aged theater, James Rigby, appeared
depressed, and with difficulty could follow the mumbling scholars in their
recitations. So merged was this
impression that Thomas Dutton, the centenarian, then a lad of 8 years, remarked
the circumstances. Shortly after 10
o’clock when the fog lifted, disclosing a cloudless sky, the distant booming of
a cannon startled the master and pupils.
Colonel Proctor, of the Pennsylvania Artillery, at Chadd’s Ford, had
opened fire on Knyphausen’s advance.
The
reverberations had hardly died away when another booming sound followed, which
was followed in quick succession by others.
James Rigby for a short time strove to continue the usual exercises, but
the excitement of the hour was so intense that finally he said: “Go home children, I can’t keep school
today.”
All
that afternoon stragglers from the field of battle hastened along the highway
to Chester, but when the American army was driven backward by the English
advance, many of the Continental troops lost all company organization and fled,
each intent only on personal safety.
When Knyphausen forced the passage of the Brandywine compelling Wayne to
retire from Chadd’s Ford, the Pennsylvania militia, under General Armstrong,
although it had taken no active part in the contest, broke in a body and joined
the demoralized throng that well nigh choked the Concord road with a struggling
mass of panic-stricken men, hastening wildly in the direction of Chester.
The
artillery jolted and surged onward as rapidly is the weary horses, under the
goading lash, could be forced to move, while the baggage wagons crowded to the
front, compelling the foot-sore men to make room for them to pass. The oaths of the teamsters and the soldiers
clearly indicated that the army in Flanders was not alone given to
profanity. Fortunately the early evening
was still and clear, and the moon looked down kindly on the defeated troops,
who, jaded with their long march, had recovered in a measure from their panic
e’re they reached the Seven Stars. When
General Greene’s division, which had acted as a rear guard of the army, marched
by the ancient tavern shortly after midnight it was in order such as became the
brave soldiers who that day had proved themselves to be on the heights of
Brandywine.
CORNWALLIS
WAS THERE – Two days later at 4 o’clock on the afternoon of Saturday, September
13, Lord Cornwallis and his staff reached Village Green, where they drew rein
before the side porch of “The Stars”, James Fennell, the landlord, despite his
political bias, hid his chagrin with a host’s smile and watched with interest
the unusual spectacle. Cornwallis
naturally was the center of attraction.
His tall stately form, his rich musket coat loaded with gold lace and
decorations, his white sheepskin britches, tog boots and his superior
horsemanship all combined to render him a figure never to be forgotten by those
who envy the able soldier on that occasion.
The
urchins gazed with open-eyed amazement as the group of grandly equipped
officers and listened with awe to the tingling of their swords and spurs and
the chomping of the bits by the horses as the men dismounted at the tavern door
that raw autumn day. His lordship stood
on the porch and watched the soldiers of the Second Battalion of British
Infantry, Second Battalion of Grenadiers, which accompanied him and the first
and second Brigades under General Grant, as they entered the fields, south of
the Concord Road, their left resting at Mount Hope and their right extending a
short distance east of the road leading to Marcus Hook.
The
few Hessians, not the advance, were objects of the utmost curiosity to the
rural lookers on, for they, for the first time, saw those men who “were their
beards on their upper lips.” In the dusk
of the evening the campfire stretched in a semi-circle more than half a
mile. That night Cornwallis slept at
“The Seven Stars,” and early next morning accompanied the advance to Thaw’s
Mill – now Upland, where he seized a large amount of flour, which he forwarded,
under guard to the headquarters of the army.
On
Sunday evening, September 16, three soldiers who had been of a party of
foragers, straying away from the main body and crossing Chester Creek above
Dutton’s mill, entered the dwelling of Jonathan Martin, where they plundered
the family of many articles of value, among these, some personal trinkets
belonging to his daughter, Mary Martin.
The latter was a lass of 18, who fearlessly upbraided the men for their
dishonest and cowardly acts. One of the
soldiers became enraged at the girl, angrily struck at her with his bayonet,
inflicting a slight wound on the hand, with which she had attempted to ward off
the blow.
The
men the same evening went to the residence of Mr. Cox, nearly a mile distant,
where they committed similar acts of pillage, among the articles stolen being a
silver watch. Miss Cox was about the
same age as Miss Martin and early next morning the two girls in company
repaired to the British headquarters where they had an interview with General Howe,
just as the latter was about to visit Cornwallis’ extreme outpost at Upland.
It
chanced that the troops encamped at Village Green were mustered for inspection
and Howe stated to the young women that if they could recognize the men who had
been guilty of the theft they should be punished as prescribed in his general
order. The commander-in-chief- with the
girls at his side, walked in front of the lines its entire length and the women
pointed out three men whom they declared were the culprits. That there should be no mistake the officers
were instructed to march the troops by a given point, and again the girls
selected the same men, and a third trial resulted in their recognition out of
the three or four thousand soldiers then assembled. Howe ordered the men searched, and some of
the stolen articles were found secreted on their persons.
They
were immediately tried by court martial and as the evidence was direct and
uncontradicted, they were found guilty and sentenced to death, but only two of
the three were hanged, the third was required to act as executioner for his
companions. The one who should do
service as Jack Ketch was determined by lot.
That evening after General Howe and his escort of dragoons returned from
Upland, the sentence of the court was complied with. An apple tree near the roadside was used for
the gallows in full sight of the officers who stood on the porch of the tavern
watching the ghastly sight. Tuesday
morning the British army broke camp and marched away. General Grant, who four days thereafter,
perpetuated the massacre at Paoli, gave no attention to the dread case and
their lifeless bodies were left dangling from the limb, fearful silhouettes outlined
against the leaden sky.
On
the porch of the Seven Stars, in 1817, David Glascoe Farragut, then a young
midshipman on leave, whiled many an hour during the intervals of study, for he
was then a student under Joseph Weef, a Frenchman, who established a school in
Philadelphia founded on the system in vogue at the noted Pestallozzi in
Switzerland, which he subsequently removed to Village Green. The future admiral homely in face and
diminutive in stature, at that day carried himself very erect and wore an ample
neckerchief to stiffen his head, because as he frequently declared, he could
ill afford to lose a fraction of an inch in his height. An elderly lady of striking physique, even in
her declining years, who died nearly twenty years ago, told the writer than on
one occasion at a sleighing party at the Seven Stars she danced with Farragut,
and they were the target of the would-be wits.
But when the boy midshipman in after years became one of the giants of
the world the fact that she had been his partner in that dance was the proudest
memory of her life.
Ridley Park Walking Tour
In conjunction with the Ridley Park Victorian Fair on September 11, I will be giving a partial tour of Sellers and Swarthmore Aves. in the boro. The cost is ten dollars and the tour will be about an hour and a half. I will only be taking about 12 people on the tour. I will be doing it again in late September and October. If you want to go, email me, Keith
keith 106@rcn.com
DCHPN Monthly E-Newsletter |
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Check out all these events happening this month. Historic Sites are reopening! Read the announcements below for important information. |
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Sacred Spaces and Storied Places- Walking Tour Aug 28, 10:00 AM
West Laurel Hill Cemetery Conservatory, 225 Belmont Ave, Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
This walking tour provides a wonderful overview of West Laurel Hill’s long and colorful history, including its architectural artistry, stunning trees and horticulture, and the stories of residents that encompass diverse and fascinating Philadelphia history. $6-12
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*History at Work Aug 28, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Newlin Grist Mill, 219 Cheyney Rd, Glen Mills, PA 19342
Get a closer look at trades of the eighteenth century in Newlin’s “History at Work” series. Members of Newlin Grist Mill’s staff, volunteers, and outside artisans will demonstrate their crafts and talk with visitors about how different trades and skills were integral to life in colonial Pennsylvania
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Back to School Science Day Aug 28, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Colonial PA Plantation, 3900 N Sandy Flash Dr, Newtown Square, PA 19073
Join us on the farm to conduct your own scientific experiments--dye a piece of fabric using plants from our garden; churn butter and discover how baking is like chemistry; create and use simple machines to perform chores, learn how to harness a horse, make cider and more! $6/10
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*Griot Tale Saturdays! @ Franklin Square Aug 28, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Franklin Square, 200 N 6th St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
On Saturday, August 28th, you’re invited to Join Keepers of the Culture (KOTC) for this exciting, educational program! Keepers of the Culture, Inc. of Philadelphia is an educational, cultural art organization which seeks to perpetuate the African and African-American oral tradition.
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