Revolutionary War Locations in Delaware

The State of Delaware, and Wilmington in particular, figured prominently in the Revolutionary War and several sites - like the Hale-Byrnes House - are still around today. On this page we introduce you all of the sites that Washington, his generals and his Army as well the British Army were located in 1777.

Cooch's Bridge and Cooch's Bridge Historic Site

The most famous location in Delaware is Cooch's Bridge near Newark, DE, where the only battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. Visit our Resources for Educator's Page for more information.

Quaker Hill

The area is primarily bounded by Tatnall, Jefferson, 2nd, and 7th Streets, and includes landmarks such as the Wilmington Friends Meeting House and St. Peter's Cathedral. Following the British landing at Head of Elk, MD, Washington's army, including the 20 year old Lafayette, occupied the high ground of Wilmington to scout enemy movements. Washington is believed to have stayed at 303 West Street, while Lafayette resided nearby at 301 West Street. The house at Quaker Hill that Washington stayed in no longer exists as it was demolished in the 1960's. Visit the "Journal of the American Revolution" page George Washington’s 1777 Wilmington, Delaware, Headquarters: Insights to an Unmarked Site for more information about the Quaker Hill home thst served as George Washington's headquarters.

John Dickinson's Grave Site

John Dickinson, the "Penman of the Revolution," is buried in the Friends Burial Ground (Quaker Cemetery) at 4th and West Streets in Wilmington, Delaware. He died in 1808 and was laid to rest in a simple, historically designated grave, rather than on his plantation, which is now a public museum located in Dover, DE. For visiting, the Quaker burial ground is often accessible, while his nearby former home in Wilmington (at Eighth and Market Streets) is no longer standing. The Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation conducts a Dickinson Memorial and wreath laying ceremony every year near the anniversary of his death, February 14, 1808.

Ships Tavern

Located at 3rd and North Market Streets, this brick building is the last of the thirty or so Wilmington taverns of the eighteenth century. A certain John Marshall ran the Sign of the Ship in Revolutionary days, and American officers had headquarters there. After the war, it was O'Flynn's, and Washington's diaries show that he occupied the “best room” on the second floor whenever (as in 1787) he “lodged at Wil. at O'Flins.” The Ships Tavern hosted George Washington many times during the Revolutionary War as well as during his Presidency. The tavern was located along the King's Highway, a 1,300-mile road laid out from 1650 to 1735 in the American Colonies connecting Charleston to Boston and was a natural stopping point for Washington while traveling from Virginia to Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Aaron Burr, and others stayed here, too, and the proprietor feted the Marquis de Lafayette at Old Town Hall in 1824.officers of the Continental Army, including Washington, Lafayette and Aaron Burr, were quartered here in 1777.

In 1932 the Historic Markers Commission placed the marker on the left on the Building.

The obituary on the right for Captain Patrick O'Flinn is taken from The Niles Weekly Register in Baltimore in July, 1818. It is interesting to note that a Col. Lear commented "...that in all his journies with the President he had never seen him so much at home in a public house as in Captain O'Flinn's, or ever with a man with whom he discoursed more familiarly than with him. There were few men with whom Washington was familiar."

Site of the Grand Opera House

The Grand Opera House was built in 1871 on the site of the former Wilmington Academy, a large school structure. During the Revolutionary War the Wilmington Academy served as a hospital for soldiers of both Armies. The British Army used the site as a hospital for their soldiers for 6 weeks in 1777 after the Battle of the Brandywine.

Continental Army Encampment Site

Continental Army Encampment Site is a historic site located at Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware. The Continental Army troops camped on the east side of Brandywine Creek, which is now a part of Brandywine Park. An early mill race is still visible, on the site, a reminder of the extensive early milling industry on the Brandywine. The Continental Army camped at the site for a few days before the Battle of Brandywine in August 1777. On December 21, 1777, 1,500 Delaware and Maryland troops under the command of General William Smallwood returned to the campsite. These troops were stationed to prevent occupation of Wilmington by the British and to protect the flour mills on the Brandywine.

Wikipedia

Old Swedes Church

Located at 606 N Church St in Wilmington, Old Swedes Church was built in 1698. Old Swedes Church is one of the very few surviving remnants of the New Sweden Colony in the Delaware Valley, and one of the oldest structures in Delaware. It has witnessed many major events in U.S. history, including the American Revolution. It is the burial site of over 40 Revolutionary War Patriots, including Major Peter Jaquette of the Delaware Continentals.