Battle of Brandywine
During the summer of 1777, General Howe and his troops had spent their time in New York. However, as the summer came to an end, the British were planning to attack and takeover another city: Philadelphia. At the time, Philadelphia was the American capital and the British believed that, if they were able to capture it, they would easily be able to end the war. When George Washington heard of the upcoming attack, he prepared his troops to defend Philadelphia by preventing the British from crossing Brandywine Creek. The ensuing fight, the Battle of Brandywine, was the largest battle of the war; present were 15,000 British soldiers and 15,000 American soldiers. In the aftermath of the battle, Birmingham Meeting House was used as a hospital, where there were so many wounded soldiers that General Howe appealed to George Washington for help. Washington sent Dr. Benjamin Rush but the casualty counts were still high with the British at approximately 500 and the Americans about 1,000. |
Important AmericansThe Continental Army was divided into several groups, each of which defended a different ford along Brandywine Creek. John Armstrong and his men defended Pyle's Ford, Anthony Wayne and Nathanael Greene led the defense of Chads Ford and Chads Ferry, and John Sullivan headed the efforts around Brinton's Ferry. However, Washington was unaware of two fords far upstream and they were left unguarded. Howe divided his men and sent some with Wilhelm von Knyphausen to attack Brandywine Creek directly. Meanwhile, Howe and Charles Cornwallis led another group to cross the two unprotected fords, Trimble’s and Jeffries, in order to flank Washington's troops. The first shots of the battle were fired at Welch’s Tavern, though the worst part of the fighting would later occur at Birmingham Meeting House, where the flanking British Army met up with American troops. The fighting was chaotic and heavy casualties were suffered by both sides, though it was the Americans who retreated first while Nathanael Greene and Casimir Pulaski held off the British.
Important British |