The History of the Hale Byrnes House

"History Was Made Here: Hale-Byrnes House"

Please click on this link to read an article published on the State of Delaware website by Delaware Historical and Cultural Affairs. The article will give you a brief introduction to the history of the Hale-Byrnes House and why it is important.

Early History

The land on which the house now stands was owned by several people, the last being Warwick Hale, a millwright who left his property on "the south-west bank of the White Clay Creek" in his will to his son, Samuel Hale, a potter. David Finney purchased the land from Samuel shorty thereafter. It is believed (but not certain) that the original two-story, five-bay brick house was built by Samuel Hale in 1750, although an exterior brick on the second story back wall is inscribed "A. Finney.". As a potter it is possible that Samuel made the bricks for the house, but we do not know this for sure.

In 1754, Hale sold the property to Daniel Byrnes, a Quaker preacher and miller from Brandywine Village, and his wife Dinah Hicklin Byrnes. The Byrnes's family added the two-story service wing with its large walk-in fireplace in 1773.. With its large fireplace the kitchen was considered one of the most modern of its time.

The Revolutionary War

The house gained historical significance from what is known as the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign, a British military effort designed to gain control of Philadelphia, then the Revolutionary-era capital. After British General William Howe failed to draw the Continental Army into a battle in Northern New Jersey, he embarked his army on transports and landed them at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay near modern day Elkton, where they began advancing north toward Philadelphia.

The British advance was monitored by a light infantry corps of the Continental Army and militia forces that had based themselves at Cooch's Bridge, near Newark, Delaware. On September 3, 1777 German troops leading the British advance were met by musket fire from the U.S. light infantry in the woods on either side of the road leading toward Cooch's Bridge. Calling up reinforcements, they flushed the Americans out and drove them across the bridge. The Battle of Cooch's Bridge was the only significant military action during the war fought in Delaware.

The Council of War

While establishing his headquarters in Marshallton near the Hale-Byrnes House, Washington convened a Council of War on September 6, 1777 at the house, where he and his officers originally planned for the defense of Wilmington and deliberated strategy before the larger Battle of Brandywine, which took place five days later on September 11.Tradition holds that Washington and his officers gathered and made their plans under a large American sycamore tree on the property, which is now a renowned "George Washington Witness Tree", as pictured above in the painting called “Prelude to Brandywine” by Bryant White, a painter of Revolutionary War-era scenes and a reenactor. (To read more about the history of the tree, click here.) Many of the significant military figures of the Continental Army as well as several other important Revolutionary War-era historical figures attended this Council of War. (To read more about the historical figures who attend the Council of War, click here.)

The Hale-Byrnes House Today

The house remained a private dwelling for many years, but was eventually was abandoned. In the 1960s, it was slated for demolition to make way for a road-widening project, but public outcry led to its preservation. The Delaware Society for the Preservation of Antiquities (DSPA) restored the house and it was later donated to the State of Delaware in 1971.

Today, the Hale-Byrnes House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a key site on the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail. It serves as an educational center, open to the public 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM on the first Wednesday of each month from April to December, and hosts special events and living history demonstrations. 

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

The National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form was used to register the house as an historic place. The form includes some history of the Hale-Byrnes House and how the house was built! To see the form, click here.

Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail

The Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route is a 680-mile series of roads used in 1781 by the Continental Army under the command of George Washington and the Expédition Particulière under the command of Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau during their 14-week march from Newport, Rhode Island, to Yorktown, Virginia.

French forces left Rhode Island in June 1781 and joined Washington's force on the Hudson River the following month. The combined American and French armies headed south in August, marching through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, a route that allowed them to evade British troops. They reached Williamsburg, Virginia, in late September, several weeks after the French royal fleet had won the Battle of the Chesapeake, preventing the British from reinforcing or evacuating General Charles Cornwallis's army. On September 22, they combined with troops commanded by the Marquis de Lafayette. A three-week siege of Yorktown led to Cornwallis's surrender on October 19, 1781. The route is a designated National Historic Trail with interpretive literature, signs, and exhibits that describe the key role of French diplomatic, military, and economic aid to the United States during the American Revolutionary War.