Battle of Paoli - Aftermath

Aftermath

An official inquiry found that Wayne was not guilty of misconduct but that he had made a tactical error. Wayne was enraged and demanded a full court-martial. On November 1, a board of 13 officers declared that Wayne had acted with honor.

The incident gained some notoriety with rumors that the British had stabbed or burned Americans who tried to surrender, making martyrs out of the casualties and the battle was dubbed, "the Paoli Massacre". Military historian Mark M. Boatner III has this to say on the matter: "American propagandists succeeded in whipping up anti-British sentiment with false accusations that Grey's men had refused quarter and massacred defenseless patriots who tried to surrender ... The 'no quarter' charge is refuted by the fact that the British took 71 prisoners. The “mangled dead” is explained by the fact that the bayonet is a messy weapon".

Nevertheless, some of Wayne's troops swore revenge. There is a tradition that, to show their defiance, the men of the 2nd Light Infantry dyed their hat feathers red so the Americans would be able to identify them. In 1833 the Light Company of the 46th Regiment were authorised to wear red cap distinctions instead of the regulation Light Infantry green, apparently in commemoration of this gesture, and in 1934 The Royal Berkshire Regiment, which carried on the traditions of the 49th Foot, were authorised to wear a red distinction in their head dress although, misleadingly, this was granted 'to commemorate the role of the Light Company at the battle of Brandywine Creek'. In the second half of the 20th century, the descendants of both regiments wore red backing to their cap badges and did so until 2006 when the Light Infantry and the Royal Gloucester, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry were absorbed by The Rifles.