IMPORTANT EVENT NOTICE
Unfortunately, due to increasing costs, Crazy Crow Trading Post will no longer be able to maintain the Event Calendar by updating or adding new events.
The pages will remain active for a time as there are a number of events with current information and past events that may help you contact the sponsors for new information concerning location, dates & times!
Please do NOT contact Crazy Crow about these events, except for corrections to events with 2020 dates that are incorrect. Email date corrections directly to eventcoordinator@crazycrow.com. PLEASE DO NOT CALL, as we have nothing to do with the events and have only provided the listings as a free service.
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2019 Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment

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Colonial history comes alive at the Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment on October5, 2019 around the Cliveden Mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., visit Historic Germantown sites, watch two battle reenactments of the Battle of Germantown, and enjoy a day of fun, food, and history in your backyard! After the battle, visit Historic Grumblethorpe for the Battle Bash from 4:00-8:00 p.m. – the annual after Battle party filled with food, music, and reenactors. Admission is FREE and includes activities for visitors of all ages.

Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment

One day in history, the Revolutionary War turned Cliveden into a bloody battleground for General George Washington’s colonial soldiers as they battled the British in the fight to liberate occupied Philadelphia. Honoring this significant moment in history dates back to a Centennial Celebration held at Cliveden in 1877. Today, the Revolutionary Germantown Festival is a unique celebration in the city that gave the world the Declaration of Independence, keeping the tradition alive, attracting over 5,000 visitors each year with a day of family entertainment and reenactments of the Battle of Germantown. Come join us for the annual Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment at Philadelphia’s largest one-day history festival on the first Saturday of October.!

Free Admission – Rain or Shine

Revolutionary Germantown Festival Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Battle of Germantown Reenactments at 12:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.

Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment Mini-Gallery

Schedule of Events[su_accordion][su_spoiler title=”At Grumblethorpe and Cliveden Mansion (subject to change)”]

  • 8:30 AM muster, followed by 9 AM March: The British 43rd Regiment of Foot, along with other units of the Crown Forces as well as the Continental Line, will perform a muster on the grounds of Grumblethorpe (5267 Germantown Avenue) followed by a march up the avenue to Cliveden (6401 Germantown Avenue) to begin the battle!
  • 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM: Encampment and Sutlers, Hands On Activities with Philadelphia Guild of Hand Weavers, Ned Hector, African-American Soldier & Teamster, Mini-Museum presented by Noah Lewis, Food on Germantown Avenue, Beer Garden at Upsala with beer by Victory Brewing Company, Children’s activities with the sites of Historic Germantown at Upsala
  • 10:00 AM: Meet George Washington
  • 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM: Cliveden museum open for tours
  • 10:30 AM: Rededication of Monument at the Site of the Continental Army Encampment of 1777 by Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution and its Color Guard (Queen Lane and Fox Streets)
  • 10:45 AM: Surprise of Germantown narrated by Tom McGuire at Cliveden
  • 11:00 AM: Presentation by George Washington at Upsala
  • 11:30 AM: Performance by MacGregor Pipe Band
  • 12:00 PM: Battle of Germantown reenactment
  • 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM: Visit the storyteller for 18th-century tales
  • 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Cliveden museum open for tours
  • 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM: Children’s Muster at Upsala
  • 1:45 PM: Surprise of Germantown narrated by Tom McGuire at Cliveden
  • 2:30 PM: Presentation by Ned Hector, African American Revolutionary War soldier at Upsala
  • 2:30 PM: Performance by MacGregor Pipe Band
  • 3:00 PM: Battle of Germantown reenactment
  • 3:45 PM Flag Folding Ceremony with Saving Hallowed Ground
  • 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM: The “Battle Bash” at Grumblethorpe, 5267 Germantown Avenue. Join the British troops as they celebrate their victory with music, food, beer provided by Evil Genius Beer Company, and plenty of family-friendly activities. Patriots welcome!

[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion][su_accordion][su_spoiler title=”Around Historic Germantown (subject to change)”]

  • 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM: Visit the Germantown White House (Deshler-Morris House 5442 Germantown Avenue; enter at 5448 Germantown Avenue), the house that British General Howe occupied after the battle. General Washington stayed here in the 1790’s when he was President. Admission is free.
  • 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Visit Germantown Mennonite Meeting House, 6133 Germantown Avenue, the 1770 meetinghouse offers free tours.
  • 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Visit the Johnson House, 6306 Germantown Avenue, a home that was a station on the Underground Railroad.
  • 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM: Visit Wyck, 6026 Germantown Avenue. Built in 1690, this home was used as a hospital during the Battle of Germantown.
  • 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Graveside ceremony at Concord School and Upper Burying Ground, 6309 Germantown Avenue. Listen to the ringing of the Concord School bell.

[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]

Location
Cliveden Mansion
6400 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144

Public Transportation: Germantown Avenue is accessible by the 23, XH, and H bus routes, and the Chestnut Hill East and West Regional Lines. Visit http://septa.org/index.html for schedules and route information.

Parking: Germantown Avenue will be blocked off during the festival between Upsal and Johnson Streets. Street parking is available in the surrounding neighborhoods on a first come, first serve basis.

For More Information: cwallace@cliveden.org 215-848-1777

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History of the Revolutionary Germantown Festival
The Revolutionary Germantown Festival is a neighborhood-wide event honoring the legacy of the Battle of Germantown. The Battle was the first planned attack by the American army during the Revolutionary War and aimed at liberating Philadelphia from British control. Eleven of Historic Germantown’s sites were involved in the October 4, 1777 Battle, with Cliveden as the main stage. The tradition of remembering the Battle of Germantown through reenactment dates to the 150th anniversary in 1927, where people dressed in their ancestors’ clothing to show their connections to the historic event. Today, the Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Germantown Battle Reenactments that it includes, tells the diverse stories of everyone involved, from General George Washington, to Ned Hector, an African American Patriot teamster, and even the pacifist Quakers who got caught in the cross-fire.

History of the Battle of Germantown
One day in history, General George Washington’s daring campaign to liberate the occupied capital city, Philadelphia, came to an abrupt end on the Germantown Road on October 4, 1777. Washington planned a pre-dawn attack on Germantown, where thousands of British soldiers were camped in the fields, living off the crops and livestock of the local residents. Homes were commandeered as headquarters for the British officers, including General William Howe at Stenton. Nearly 12,000 Continental troops were marshaled for the attack, yet 120 British infantrymen proved unbeatable as they barricaded themselves inside the thick stone walls of Cliveden, the summer house of the wealthy Loyalist Benjamin Chew.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title=”Read More”] Fierce fighting raged for several hours throughout the area, but Washington’s troops were eventually forced to retreat back into Montgomery County and the British tightened their hold on the town. After the Battle, local teenagers helped to bury the dead in mass graves. More than 150 American soldiers were killed — about half of them on the grounds of Cliveden — and 70 British. Hundreds more on both sides were wounded. The Battle of Germantown left indelible scars on the community.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]

Mark your calendar today so you don’t miss the next Revolutionary Germantown Festival and Battle Reenactment on the first Saturday in October around the Cliveden Mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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Tags: Revolutionary Germantown Festival, Germantown Battle Reenactment, Battle of Germantown Reenactment, Revolutionary War Reenactmetn

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IMPORTANT EVENT NOTICE
Unfortunately, due to increasing costs, Crazy Crow Trading Post will no longer be able to maintain the Event Calendar by updating or adding new events.
The pages will remain active for a time as there are a number of events with current information and past events that may help you contact the sponsors for new information concerning location, dates & times!
Please do NOT contact Crazy Crow about these events, except for corrections to events with 2020 dates that are incorrect. Email date corrections directly to eventcoordinator@crazycrow.com. PLEASE DO NOT CALL, as we have nothing to do with the events and have only provided the listings as a free service.
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