Brandywine Battlefield

Brandywine Battlefield
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Pennsylvania state historical marker
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Location	Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nearest city	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39°52′31″N 75°34′31″W / 39.87528°N 75.57528°W / 39.87528; -75.57528
Area	6,100 acres (2,500 ha)
NRHP reference No.	66000660[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLD	January 20, 1961[3]
Designated PHMC	March 18, 1952[2]

The Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site is a National Historical Landmark. The historic park is owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on 52 acres (210,000 m²), near Chadds Ford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States.

It is part of the site of the Battle of Brandywine, which was fought on September 11, 1777 during the American Revolution, and was a decisive victory for the British and cleared a path directly to the rebel capital of Philadelphia.

Brandywine Battlefield Park became a Pennsylvania State Park in 1949 and a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Although the battle area covered more than ten square miles, or 35,000 acres, the modern park only covers the fifty acres that served primarily as the Continental encampment during the two days prior to the battle.

To the north, another part of the battlefield is maintained by Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania as "Battlefield of the Brandywine Park," or "Sandy Hollow Heritage Park." Much of the afternoon's fighting took place between Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse and the William Brinton 1704 House near Dilworthtown.^[4][5]

On August 14, 2009, the state closed the battlefield and three other PHMC museums indefinitely due to a lack of funding as part of an ongoing budget crisis.^[6] The historic site opened again after 11 days, operating under an interim agreement between the PHMC and Chadds Ford Township with the Brandywine Battlefield Associates, or "Friends of Brandywine Battlefield" who now operate the site with staff and volunteers.^[7]