Is there a young history buff in your family? If so, they’d probably enjoy visiting Brandywine Battlefield Park in Chadds Ford and participating in their Summer History Camp! People familiar with the Chadds Ford area know that the largest land battle of the American Revolution was fought along the Brandywine and to the north around the Birmingham Meetinghouse near Dilworthtown. Yet many are not knowledgeable about how people actually lived during those times- when food and water could be scarce, the threat of invasion from British troops was ever present and the outlook for our struggling nation was uncertain.
The six-week Camp from June 30th through August 8th 2014 allows young people (ages 6 through 13, grouped for appropriate activities each week) to take a walk back over 200 years and see how settlers lived, soldiers fought and life went on in Colonial times. Each day of Camp is dedicated to a different aspect of the 18th century, including cooking, medicine, a soldier’s life and uniform, “capturing the flag” and purely fun activities like playing with water balloons and much more. Brandywine Battlefield Park Education Director Andrew Outten has been leading these and related activities at the Park for the past few years. He’s shared his knowledge of the Revolutionary War and Colonial life and customs with thousands of visitors as a guide, event coordinator and re-enactor. Andrew also gives tours of the Benjamin Ring House- known as “Washington’s Headquarters” during the battle which raged all around the area on September 11, 1777. Tours of the house will be conducted during the entire six-week Camp, along with a wide variety of other activities that are both interesting and educational.
“Living History” camps have become popular all around the country in recent years as parents realize their value in providing a supplement to regular textbook education for children. Many of our youngsters today don’t have a full understanding of their own heritage- and Summer History Camp at Brandywine Battlefield is a great way to teach them things they never learned in History class. The Camp brings the past to life- allowing kids to see, hear, feel and even taste the daily items and activities utilized each day as our ancestors lived and built the great nation we know today. Camp programs are all provided at Brandywine Battlefield Park, 1491 Baltimore Pike in Chadds Ford, Pa. For more information, call the Park at 610-459-3342 or visit the Park website at www.brandywinebattlefield.org .
Gene Pisasale is an author and lecturer based in Kennett Square, Pa. He’s written eight books, including “Lafayette’s Gold- The Lost Brandywine Treasure” and the upcoming “American Revolution to Fine Art- Brandywine Valley Reflections”, an historical/pictorial review of over 300 years of local and regional history due out in July 2014. He can be reached at Gene@GenePisasale.com; visit his website at www.GenePisasale.com