In the second year of the American Revolution, the British were at a stalemate, without a decisive victory against the American Continental Army led by General George Washington. British General Sir William Howe aimed to capture Philadelphia, the capital of the thirteen colonies with supplies for the revolution.
Howe Decides to Attack Continental Army from the Southwest to Capture Philadelphia
With heavy fortifications protecting Philadelphia on the Delaware River, Howe sailed 264 ships containing between 15,000 to 18.000 troops to the Chesapeake Bay, and thence north, to present-day Elkton, Maryland, where the British forces marched northeast toward Philadelphia.
George Washington planned to defend Philadelphia by placing his troops, numbering about 11,000, in the rolling farmlands in and around Chadds Ford, a small hamlet of Quakers, and a popular crossing of the Brandywine River, on the road between Baltimore and Philadelphia. He also placed defenses at Buffington and Pyle's fords. Despite some warnings, Washington decided not to defend Jefferis Ford to the north, as being too deep for crossing.
However, Howe set up a diversion. He sent troops of Hessian mercenaries to Chadds Ford, where Washington expected the British. But Howe ordered the bulk of the British troops north, where they crossed the Brandywine River at Jefferis Ford, and then marched south, in a surprise attack on the American troops.
British Win the Battle of the Brandywine, Capture Philadelphia on September 26, 1777
Though the Continental Army was outnumbered on that hot , muggy day in the battle by the Brandywine River, the British forces lost more, about 2,000 troops. Washington was unable to prevent the British takeover of Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, and retreated to nearby Germantown for another battle, and then eventually to winter at Valley Forge while the British occupied Philadelphia.
Continental Troops Retain Faith in General Washington and the Cause of Freedom
Despite these setbacks, the colonial troops kept their spirit, certain that inaccurate field reports and the overpowering number of British forces were the cause for the loss. Paradoxically, the loss refreshed the Continental Army, and solidified support for the American Revolution.
Common Sense author Thomas Paine had this to say about the Battle of the Brandywine: "Those who expect to reap the blessings of Freedom, must... undergo the fatigue of supporting it... It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause that we are defending...."
Brandywine Battlefield is Now Under Fire from State of Pennsylvania Budget Cuts
Today, the Brandywine Battlefield is facing a different enemy. As a way of balancing the state budget, Pennsylvania has targeted the parklands, and proposed closing the battlefield to the public. The Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site contains information about efforts to keep the Brandywine Battlefield park open and forever honor the fight for freedom at Chadd's Ford.
Sources:
The History of the Battle of the Brandywine
Teresa Knudsen - Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Online she has written for USA Today and E How.
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