He launched into a near-lecture explanation of an N.C. Wyeth painting of Confederate troops marching through a Virginia town.
"It's my favorite painting in the museum," he said. "You can see one or more of the troops looking at the viewer . . . and thinking, 'You really don't know the horrors of war.' "
He also pointed to a portrait of Sanderson, a lanky schoolteacher who obsessively collected pieces of American history, ranging from a lock of George Washington's hair to a letter from the soldier who lowered the Union flag at Fort Sumter. His artifacts - unexploded Civil War munitions, cards signed by the likes of Orville Wright - are arranged tightly into every nook and cranny of the museum, a two-story frame house where Sanderson spent his latter years.
"He loved to talk about Chester County," Pisasale said. "He loved to talk about the Battle of the Brandywine, the history of America. Anything that engaged him, he tried to engage the viewer."
History buffs credit Sanderson with being a major force behind the state's recognition of the Brandywine Battlefield as a historic site.
Pisasale said he felt close to Sanderson. Formerly employed in the oil industry, then as a financial professional, he is retired and spends his days lecturing local groups about the region's past and writing mysteries involving Pennsylvania history. He has also donated proceeds from book sales to help fund the Brandywine Battlefield visitors center - now staffed by volunteers because the state cut its paid staff. To generate publicity for the Sanderson museum, he has recently been writing articles about items in the collection.
"I just love history from way back," Pisasale said. "It's one of my favorite things."
