1777: The British in Aston

How to read the labels. DOCUMENTED an original or contemporary record · SUPPORTED a credible published source or sourced tree; original not yet seen · FAMILY TRADITION a handed-down story, not yet proven · HYPOTHESIS a reasoned idea still to be tested · DISPROVEN-CORRECTED shown to be wrong, with the correction. “Potts” means Thomas Maxwell Potts, Bi-Centenary Memorial of Jeremiah Carter (1883); “Court Record” means Record of the Courts of Chester County (1910).

Two days after the Battle of Brandywine (11 September 1777), Lord Cornwallis brought the light infantry and grenadiers down through Concord to Aston. Captain John Montresor, the army's chief engineer, wrote that they reached “Ashton within 4 miles of Chester”. DOCUMENTED They camped about two nights within a mile or two of the Carter land on Chester Creek, then marched north to Goshen, the ‘Battle of the Clouds’ and Paoli.

The march, Brandywine to Aston and on to Paoli

Pink route overlay on the 1862 Delaware County map: Brandywine to Aston, then north toward Goshen and Paoli — Routes drawn on Smith's 1862 map of early Delaware County settlements (Library of Congress). Solid lines are routes Montresor names. Dashed lines are probable roads; the journal names only the end points. Squares mark the Carter Graveyard, the Neumann University ground (camp site as REPORTED by Kevin) and the Concord Road / Dutton Mill corner. White Horse and Paoli lie beyond the drawn part of the map, so their positions are approximate.

Who owned the land, 1777–81

No map of who owned the land in 1777 is known for Aston and Chester Township. The 1777 British and Hessian campaign maps (Montresor, Faden 1778, Wangenheim) and Scull & Heap's 1777 map show roads, streams and a few houses, not owners. The owners on the march map therefore come from records. They are taxables in the 1779–81 Chester County tax lists (Pennsylvania Archives, 3rd ser. vol. XII), the closest lists to 1777. A name is placed on the map only where a land record shows where that land lay. Everyone else is in the side list. SUPPORTED

Owner (tax list)	Acres	Where placed	Label
Abraham Carter, Chester Twp (1779, 1780)	100	On the Jeremiah Carter tract by Chester Creek, at the Carter Graveyard (Potts 1883)	SUPPORTED
Edward Carter, Chester Twp (1779, 1780)	100	Same tract (Potts 1883)	SUPPORTED
Martin and Joseph Carter, Chester Twp (1779, 1780)	none listed	Not placed	DOCUMENTED
Richard Dutton, Aston (1780)	50	Near the Dutton Mill corner; approximate	HYPOTHESIS
Abraham Martin, Aston (1780)	200	Not placed. His link to Jonathan Martin of the 1777 story is unproven	HYPOTHESIS
George Pierce, Aston (1774 tavern; 1780)	300	Not placed	DOCUMENTED

Day by day

When	What happened	Label	Source
11 Sep 1777	Battle of Brandywine. Howe and Cornwallis flank the Americans at Birmingham. Knyphausen crosses at Chadds Ford. The British camp on the field near Dilworth.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
12 Sep, 2 p.m.	Maj. Gen. Grant marches the 1st and 2nd Brigades from Chadds Ford 'towards Concord', collecting wagons, cattle and hiding rebels.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
13 Sep, 6:30 a.m.–5 p.m.	Lord Cornwallis, with the 2nd Light Infantry and 2 battalions of Grenadiers, joins Grant and moves 'towards Chester'. At 5 p.m. he reaches 'Ashton within 4 miles of Chester'. Neighbours come in for protection.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
13–15 Sep	The camp stretches 'from Mount Hope to the lower part of Village Green'. Cornwallis lodges in an old brick house at Village Green. Foraging parties seize flour from the mills.	SUPPORTED	Ashmead, History of Delaware County (1884), p.291–292
13–15 Sep	Kevin places the camp on the ground where Neumann University now stands. That ground lies inside Ashmead's Mount Hope–Village Green camp.	REPORTED (Kevin)	Kevin, 30 Oct 2026
14 Sep, night	Three soldiers cross Chester Creek above Dutton's mill, plunder Jonathan Martin's house and slightly wound Mary Martin, 18, with a bayonet. They then rob Mr. Coxe's house near Sneath's Corner.	SUPPORTED	Ashmead, History of Delaware County (1884), p.291–292; Smith, History of Delaware County (1862), via Ashmead
15 Sep	Howe rides with a dragoon escort to Cornwallis's post '¾ of a mile west of Chester'. Ashmead says this was 'in the neighborhood of the present Cartertown'. The girls identify the men and a court-martial follows. 'This day two men were executed, one Grenadier, and one light Infantry' (Montresor).	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777; Ashmead, History of Delaware County (1884), p.291–292
15 Sep	Smith says the two were hanged on an apple tree on George L. Nield's property in Aston. Kevin remembers a big oak 'down the road and up the hill'. The site is not located.	SUPPORTED	Smith, History of Delaware County (1862), via Ashmead
15 Sep, 8 p.m.	Cornwallis's body 'moved from near Chester towards the Lancaster road'. The road taken is not recorded.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
16 Sep	The main army marches from Dilworth by the Turk's Head (West Chester) to Goshen Meeting and joins Cornwallis at 11 a.m. A gale and heavy rain cut short Wayne's attack (the 'Battle of the Clouds'). Headquarters: the Boot, Goshen.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
18 Sep	The army goes on by the White Horse to Tredyffrin. Stores are found at Valley Forge.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777
20–21 Sep	Night attack on Wayne's camp near the Paoli tavern ('put … to the Bayonet'). On the 21st the army moves to Valley Forge and Moore Hall.	DOCUMENTED	Montresor, Journals of Capt. John Montresor (Collections NYHS 1881 / PMHB), entries 12–21 Sep 1777

The stay in Aston

Ashmead (1884) puts the camp in a crescent from Mount Hope to the lower part of Village Green. SUPPORTED Kevin's reported camp site is the Neumann University ground. REPORTED (Kevin) It lies inside that crescent. Neighbours came in for protection. Foragers took flour, which Cornwallis sent on to the main army on the 15th. DOCUMENTED

1875 atlas of Aston with the British positions of September 1777 overlaid in pink — The British positions of 13–15 September 1777, overlaid on the 1875 atlas of Aston. Pink areas are approximate; the labels follow the table above.

Local families

Mary Martin, 18, daughter of Jonathan Martin, was slightly wounded by a soldier's bayonet on the night of 14 September. Her testimony led to the court-martial and the two executions on the 15th. SUPPORTED (Ashmead 1884; Smith 1862). See the timeline. None of the soldiers or victims is known to be a Carter. No Carter loss claim for 1777 has been found yet. HYPOTHESIS

Where the sources agree and differ

They agree on dates, the Aston camp, the robbery at the Martin house and the two executions.

Point	Sources
Who the soldiers were	Smith (1862) says Hessians. Montresor's journal, the primary source, says 'one Grenadier, and one light Infantry', i.e. British.
Where Cornwallis slept	Ashmead (1884): an old brick house at lower Village Green. Chester Times, 25 Jul 1899: the Seven Stars.
Cornwallis's forward post	Montresor: ¾ mile west of Chester. Ashmead: 'in the neighborhood of the present Cartertown', which is about 2 miles west of the old borough. Either the post moved, or Ashmead stretched the distance.
Hanging tree	Smith: an apple tree on G. L. Nield's land, Aston. Kevin: a large oak down the road and up the hill. The 1875 atlas shows 'Mrs. R. Neeld, 65 a.' just NE of the Concord/Dutton Mill corner (HYPOTHESIS that this is the same farm).
Concordville hanging story	Smith and Ashmead place the hanging in Aston, not Concordville (DISPROVEN-CORRECTED).
The red line on Kevin's copy of the 1862 map	It runs Edgmont → Middletown → Nether Providence → Ridley → Darby. No source ties it to the British route. It is not used as a route.

Sources

Montresor, The Montresor Journals, ed. G. D. Scull (NYHS Collections 1881), 11–21 Sep 1777. Primary source.
Ashmead, History of Delaware County (1884), pp.291–292.
Smith, History of Delaware County (1862), with its map of early settlements (Library of Congress 2012593312).
Chester Times, 25 Jul 1899 (Seven Stars).
Kevin's family account (REPORTED).