Monday, February 18, 2008

Washington and Lincoln

This plaque commemorates a local skirmish during the Battle of Germantown fought along the stretch of the Wissahickon that now borders, more or less, along Lincoln Drive. The rock to which it is fastened, for reasons unknown to me, is known as Washington's Rock. Since it is located just off of Lincoln Drive -- named for Abraham Lincoln -- it seemed an appropriate post for Presidents' Day.

The plaque, being over a hundred years old, and showing the effects of both nature and graffiti, is a bit hard to read. Here is what it says:

ON THE MORNING OF THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN, OCTOBER 4, 1777, THE PENNSYLVANIA MILITIA, UNDER GEN'L JOHN ARMSTRONG, OCCUPYING THE HIGH GROUND ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE CREEK OPPOSITE THIS POINT, ENGAGED IN A SKIRMISH THE LEFT WING OF THE BRITISH FORCES, IN COMMAND OF LIEUT-GEN'L KNYPHAUSEN WHO OCCUPIED THE HIGH GROUND ON THE EAST SIDE ALONG SCHOOLHOUSE LANE.
-- ERECTED BY THE PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY OF SONS OF THE REVOLUTION, 1907

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. I never heard of this before today.