The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-30
BANKER TAYIOKS HOBBi.
lie Has Spen, @sO.ODO for Monuments IN
brandy wine Battlefield.

On the Brandywine battlefield in Chester
county. Pa, where the stars and stripes
were first unfurled in combat against the
British, there is remarkable conection
of monuments One OF them was built by
public subscription. II is terra GOTTA
shat, that cost $500
The other monuments. numbering score
or more are the results of private enterprise.
John g. TAYLOR, a retired banker OF west
Chester, has spent more than $5OOoo IN
building shafts and statues on the oauie-
field, and he declares that If necessary ne
will devote his entire fortune TO securing the
proper preservation Of the historic sites
of Braudywine.
The $500 monument was erected by the
Chester County Historical Society TO mark
the spot where Lafayette was wounded.
II was unveiled on Sept. II, 1895. the ami
yersarv Of the battle. The orator OF the
day declared that. like the Babylonian re-
cords written on clay. tins terra Gotta
monument should defy the tooth OF time:
In spite of this poetic outburst, the shaft
soon tumbled down. II has been replaced
by a second terra-cotta SHAFT, which was
completed the other day.
The monuments erected by MI Iayior
are near the Birmingham Quaker Meeting
House, W here the fiercest part Of the battle
was fought This building is to-day the
same picturesque little one-story structure
that il was when the first sett lers met there.
In the original graveyard ADJOINING II.
where neither headstones nor mounds were
allowed by the early members OF the faith,
nearly 900 Americans we're killed while fight
| ing behind the stone wall surrounding the
| plot. The old burial ground rerna ins simply
an inclosed level field. with no indication OF
the stirring scenes once enacted there.
When the Quakers no longer deemed IL
necessary to refuse to mark the graves Of
their dead they laid out another cemetery
north of the meeting house and there the
erect ion of low headstopes was permitted.
Later a third cemetery was provided Tor
those who are not bound by Quaker customs.
and here Mr.. Taylor is exercising his hobby
by adjoining the spot with memorials in
marble and granite.
He began by marking the grave Of his
| great grandfather who participated in the
| battle. Then he erected statues in memory
| of his wife and child. the figures, which
represent Christ and the Virgin Mary, hav-
ing been carved in Italy at cost OF $4,000.
Next he proceeded to honor the memory
of various commanders who performed acts
| of bravery in the battle. The most con-
spicuous monument of this kind is one
TO Lafayette. il is 45 feet high and COM
posed Of huge books Of native granite.
Recently Mr.. Taylor became interested in
the story OF the two boys. Wells and
McComas, who at the time of the British
invasion during the War Of 1912, shot Gen.
Ross as he stepped ashore at Baltimore
| A monument to these boys Is to be added tn
the group on the Brandywine field.
Principally through Mr.. Taylor's efforts
| the Brandywine Battlefield Association has
| beautified the grounds in many ways and
has interested the people Of the vicinity in
| the movement to preserve the Revolution
| airy landmarks. Appropriate signs have
been placed at the buildings that were
occupied as headquarters by Washington.
LAFAYETTE and Howe. and eff orts have been
made to induce the state or the National
Government to buy the land and convert it
into a public park.