W3R Heritage Tour in Delaware 

History | Auto Tour | Interpretive Signs | Other RW tours in DE

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Historical Overview  Delaware was the first state which the officers and troops entered knowing that the British navy had been prevented from rescuing Corwallis from Yorktown, so that victory was almost certain. The British were cut off from supplies and re-inforcements, unlikely to be relieved by a rescue force, and outnumbered by over four to one. Imagine yourself as a farmer in Claymont, Delaware, in September, 1781, as columns of French troops marched down Philadelphia Pike while hundreds of Continental Army troops rowed barges with the U.S. artillery down the Delaware River. Two thousand French troops set up tents where the Adams Mart shopping center now stands in Wilmington. There were twice as many troops as townspeople. Farmers from as far as fifty miles away drove wagons full of supplies to Wilmington tp supply food for the troops and feed for the horses and oxen? The French paid them in silver. Imagine home much money these farmers made selling their produce. On Sept 2 and 6, 1781, the U.S. Continental artillery and some troops arrived at Christiana, Delaware, in row-galleys that were transported by large wheeled carts to Elkton MD for use in transporting the artillery and troops to Yorktown. On Sept 4 Canby Park near Newport DE was used as a campsite by half of the U.S. Continentals On Sept 6 the area near the Adams Square market in Wilmington DE was used as a campsite by and Gen. Rochambeau and the first half of the French Expeditionary Force (FEF). On Sept 7 Canby Park near Newport DE was used as a campsite by the hussars of Lauzun's Legion. On Sept 8 the second half of the FEF camped in the flood plain just south of Newport. Delaware is the only state in which all the allied troops went down a single path, Old Baltimore Pike -- the road from Christiana DE to Elkton MD. While camped along this road the U.S. Continental regiments waited for a month's salary before proceeding. They had demanded this while passing through Philadelphia, and it was supplied in part from silver which the Continental Congress borrowed from Rochambeau's treasury wagons. See the Main History Page for a more detailed history of the 1781 march south through PA and DE After the victory at Yorktown the Continental forces returned north immediately. The French came north nine months later (in 1782), following the same path they took south. On 1782 Aug 29 and 30 the two divisions of the FEFon the way north camped in the flood plain just south of Newport. In December of 1782 Lauzun's Legion returned to Wilmington and stayed until May 1783 to help guard Philadelphia and Baltimore. See the Lauzun's Legion Garrisons Wilmington several special stories on Hussar Training, The Brazen Robbery, Going Home, and the Fate of Lauzun. A Note about "Official" W3R Routes

Auto Tour of W3R in Delaware 

Directions	Goal GPS as WGS84
Start at the Robinson House (described below) at 1 Naamans Road in Claymont.	N39-48.652; W075-26.483
Follow Philadelphia Pike (Rt 13). After 1.5 miles Rt 13 splits off to the left. Stay on Philadelphia Pike and after 5.4 miles (and a name change to Market St.) Concord Ave. enters from the right at the (stone) Cathedral Church of St. John. On the street to your left here is Brandywine Village -- several restored Federal-era homes. MORE ON Brandywine Village	N39-45.132; W075-32.450

AUTO ROUTE THROUGH DELAWARE	Goal GPS as WGS84
Continuing on Market St. for three blocks you cross the bridge over the Brandywine River. The old church building on the far side to the right was once located in central Wilmington. It served as a hospital for British soldiers after the Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. On the far side of the bridge the street going straight ahead is King Street. You will follow this for twelve blocks to 4th St. At the sixth block look to the right to see a statue of Caesar Rodney. He rode from Dover to Phildaelphia through a torrential rainstorm, arriving on July 2, 1776, just in time to cast the vote that allowed Delaware to support the Declaration of Independence and thus make the vote (counted by state) unanimous. He was the president (now called governor) of Delaware in 1778-81. Two blocks later (just after 834 King St) on the right is the Grand Opera House. During the Revolution the Wilmington Academy stood here. From 1782 Dec to 1783 May it housed some 550 soldiers from Lauzun's Legion. Half were hussars (light cavalry). The stables were downhill behind it and to the left. The commemorative park here is also the site of the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the U.S.	N39-44.595; W075-32.862
Continue down King and at 4th St. turn right and go six blocks to Washington St. In the last block look to the right to see the Wilmington Friends (Quaker) Meeting House, where John Dickinson, governor of Delaware in 1781-2 and of Pennsylvania in 1782-5 is buried.	N39-44.532; W075-33.296
Turn left on Washington St. and go two blocks to 2nd St., then turn right and go three blocks to Monroe St. You are now in the area where the First French Brigade camped on the night of September 6, 1781.	N39-44.507; W075-33.541

AUTO ROUTE THROUGH DELAWARE	Goal GPS as WGS84
Turn left on Monroe after two blocks turn diagonally right onto Maryland Ave. (Rt 4). After 1.2 miles you pass Canby Park on the right. Richardson's Mill was located on Little Mill Creek here (note the millstone and commemorative plaque). The miller's home is private property. The main Continental army unit and the hussars of Lauzun's Legion camped here in 1781 Sept.	N39-43.937; W075-34.870
Continue 2.1 miles to pass under Rt 141. After 1.5 miles more you cross over the Red Clay Creek. After 1.6 miles more there is a small road to the left. This is the old Christiana Stanton Road, and you should take a short side trip (0.1 mile) to the Hale-Byrnes House (described below)	N39-42.107; W075-39.044

AUTO ROUTE THROUGH DELAWARE	Goal GPS as WGS84
Returning to Rt 7, we note that today the auto route has more turns than the original route in 1781. To continue on Rt 7 (which joins Route 1) you must take exit 164 off Rt 1, turn left at the tee and also left at the second tee, and then drive 0.5 miles into Christiana. This town has several buildings dating to the Revolution, but no museum or interpretive signs. Down Main St. to the left 0.1 miles is the Christina River (with one less "a" than the name of the town), where tons of goods were taken off boats for land shipment to Elkton MD. This is where half of the U.S. Continentals and all the U.S. artillery landed in Sept 1781.	N39-39.915; W075-39.547
Rt 7 turns east (left) at the center of town. The road that continues straight (south) is called Old Baltimore Pike. After 4.3 miles you will pass over Cooch's Bridge and pass the monument (description below) to the battle that took place here in 1777.	N39-38.450; W075-44.159

AUTO ROUTE THROUGH DELAWARE	Goal GPS as WGS84
Continuing 3.0 miles further you cross into Maryland, where the road is known as Red Hill Road. [There used to be iron mines on Iron Hill, and some iron ore is red.] Continue 3.5 miles to the center of Elkton MD.	N39-36.404; W075-49.976
The route north re-traced essentially the same path in reverse.

Interpretive Signs  Heritage tourists may print out and use the following drafts and exceprts of signs as they travel along the route in Delaware. As you enter Delaware from Pennsylvania the first historic site you pass is The Robinson House. This was the home of Lt. Col. Thomas Robinson of the Pennsylvania Continentals. It has rooms furnished in the colonial style and a display about the W3R. It is located about 0.3 miles south of the Pennsylvania state line. Going north on I-495 take exit 5 and go north (right onto Rt 13) for 0.5 miles. Going south on I-95 take exit 10 and go east (left onto Naamans Road) for 0.5 miles. A proposed kiosk at this site would have three panels: Continuing down Philadelphia Pike and Market St through Wilmington you will pass the Grand Opera House at 8th Street. During the American Revolution the Wilmington Academy stood on this site. A sign placed next to the Grand Opera House in 2005 gives the history: Two blacks further south (550 Market St.) is the Historical Society of Delaware and a collection of colonial buildings called Willingtown Square. The musuem often has exhibits related to the American Revolution. Continuing out of Wilmington on Maryand Ave. (Rt 4) to Stanton, take Rt 7 to Christina. Draft sign: From Christina, take Old Baltimore Pike past the Cooch-Dayett Mill to the monument for the Battle at Cooch's Bridge (described below). Draft sign: Then you continue along this road into Elkton MD. Other Tours of Pre- and Post-Revolutionary Delaware  1 -- The center of New Castle is a historical district with cobbled streets lined with colonial and federal period homes, including The George Read II House, operated by the Historical Society of Delaware. It was built after the Revolution by the son of George Reed (Signer of the Declaration of Independence) and is located near Delaware's first capitol bulding (now a museum) and other buildings dating from the colonial era. 2 -- Old Swedes Church was built in the 1600s. Many Revolutionary War patriots are buried here, including Dr. Jean Eugene Phillipe Capelle, a surgeon who came with Rochambeau's troops and -- like about sixty others of Lauzun's Legion -- remained in Delaware instead of returning to France. From I-95 going either north or south, go east 1.0 miles on Martin Luther King Blvd. From the lower end of Market St. go east (left) 0.5 miles on Martin Luther King Blvd. Then go left (north) 0.25 miles on Church St. 3 -- Near Old Swedes Church is the home port dock of The Kalmar Nyckel, a sailing ship representative of the early colonial days. 4 -- The Hagley Museum is a museum of post-colonial industry in the area, including the gunpowder mills that were the foundation of the DuPont Company. Elutheriam Mills, the first du Pont home in the U.S. has gardens done in the old French style. Take Pennsylvania Ave north from Wilmington, then Rt 100 a short way to Rt 141 and east (right) 0.3 miles. 5 -- Take "The Elegant Entertaining Tour" at Winterthur Museum, which has a world-renouned collection of early American home furnishings, with dozens of rooms taken from colonial and federal era homes. It is out Pennsylvania Ave (Rt 52), five miles north from I-95. 6 -- Blocking the British Invasion in 1777: Follow the route of the Continental Army in August 1777 as it marched from Pennsylvania south along Philadelphia Pike, Market St, and Maryland Ave and fortified the banks of the Red Clay Creek (west of Newport Gap Pike). This blocked the shortest path to Philadelphia from the British invasion force's landing site in Elkton MD. Visit the Hale-Byrnes House off Rts 4 and 7 in Stanton (1.1 m south of where Rts 4 and 7 meet in Stanton, 0.2 m north of where Rts 4 and 7 separate going south). Here Washington and his senior staff considered alternate plans for responding to possible movements of the invading army. General Washingon established the first multi-state regiment of 1,000 soldiers (including 300 troops from the Delaware militia) and sent it west from Christiana on Old Baltimore Pike to harass a 9,000-man advancing British column in the Battle of Cooch's Bridge on 1777 Sept 3. The monument to that battle (surrounded by four cannon) is on Old Baltimore Pike 0.4 miles west of Rt 72 and 0.5 m east of Rt 896. You can park on a solid shoulder a hundred yards west of the monument, but traffic makes it hard to walk safely to the monument. The Cooch home is private property. When the British marched north from Newark up Paper Mill Road (Rt 72) and Limestone Road (Rt 7) and Kaolin Road to Kennett Square PA Washington moved his army north up Rt 100 to Chadds Ford. The main armies finally clashed at the Battle of the Brandywine on Sept 11. Visit the Brandywine Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Soon after that British took over the ports of Wilmington and Christiana without a fight. Heritage Tourist Information for Northern Delaware Kalmar Nykel reconstructed historic ship from 1600s Old Swedes Church wall has a plaque noting dozens of Revolutionary War graves, including Dr. Capelle, who came here with Lauzun's Legion in 1782. Historic New Castle founded in 1600s, the Episcopal Churchyard wall has a plaque noting dozens of Revolutionary War graves. DuPont Gunpowder Works and Hagley Library Greenbank Mill Flour Grist Mill Lodging in the Northern Delaware Lodging near Wilmington from the Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau Wilmington: The Starwood Sheraton Suites often offers weekend tour packages in conjunction with local historical sites. Christiana: The Christiana Hilton often offers weekend tour packages in conjunction with local historical sites.

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