A 300-year-old Delaware tree that once shaded George Washington and his generals as they met to plan an American Revolution battle may soon be lost to history.
Known as “the Witness Tree,” the American Sycamore still stands at the Hale-Byrnes House in Stanton where Washington met with his top generals on Sept. 6, 1777, three days after the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.
The tree was planted around 1732, give or take 40 years, and was fully grown during Washington’s visit.
Washington sat under the tree with his men, including Nathaniel Greene, Henry Knox, the Marquis de Lafayette and more Continental Army Officers, to plan the defense of Philadelphia. Some clippings that were taken from the tree in 1776, just a year before this meeting, can be found in a local museum.
While the Witness Tree observed Delaware for generations, it has acquired a series of ailments − leaf scorch, powdery mildew, black spot, canker strain, fungus − and experts fear it’s at the end of its life.
“Every year we have arborists come and take a look at it. The arborists always say as long as the tree puts out a full limb of leaves, it’s alright,” said Kim Burdick, resident site manager for the Hale-Byrnes House. “It has pretty good care, although it’s hollow so people fear it will tip over.”
Along with natural signs of wear and tear, Burdick has noticed the tree getting dried out over time, she said.
How Delaware’s Witness Tree is being memorialized
Given the tree’s current condition, members of the Halye-Byrnes group came together earlier this year to raise money for a painting of the famous meeting held at the site and will be unveiling it on Sat., Dec. 3, at the Hale-Byrnes House.
The painting, called “Prelude to Brandywine,” was commissioned by Bryant White, a painter of Revolutionary War-era scenes and a reenactor, and will remain in the front room of the Hale-Byrnes House after the unveiling.
The doors of the house will open at 12 p.m. and the painting will be unveiled at 3 p.m. Traditional music, colonial-revival style décor and exhibits from the Revolutionary Era will be featured until 5 p.m., and White and his wife Pamela, also an artist specializing in historical scenes, will make a special presentation at 7:30 p.m. Notecards and prints of the painting will be available for purchase at the event.
Aside from the Witness Tree at the Hale-Byrnes House, there are other witness trees located across the 13 colonies that share similar tales from significant moments in American history.
Although the tree that Washington perched under on a later summer day may soon be gone, board members of the Hayle-Byrnes group are determined to keep its memory alive.
Local horticulturist and historian Joshua Loper used three cuttings taken from the tree during the summer of 2021 to grow saplings.
One of the two saplings Loper kept will most likely be planted in place of the current witness tree, while the third taken from the Witness Tree was installed in a position of prominence next to a municipal building in the Township of Pittsgrove, New Jersey.
Along with this effort, members have also discussed saving pieces of the sycamore’s wood to make gavels or wood frames from, said Burdick.
