On Sept. 11, 1777, at the Battle of Brandywine near the Birmingham meetinghouse, Marquis de Lafayette was wounded while trying to turn retreating American soldiers around to face the British advance. A British musket ball passed through his left leg below the knee.

In July 1776, Dr. William Shippen Jr. (1736-1808) was appointed chief physician of the Continental army hospital in New Jersey by George Washington. In October, he became director general of all …