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The American Revolution
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However, the British fleet eventually sailed up the Chesapeake Bay. On
August 25, some 17,000 troops under the command of General Howe landed
at Head of Elk, Maryland. They were just 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia.
Washington moved to block the British advance in southeastern Penn-
sylvania, at Brandywine Creek. He deployed troops on the eastern bank
of the Brandywine, at every place he thought the British could cross. He
expected the fighting to occur at Chad’s Ford (today spelled Chadds Ford).
On the morning of September 11, several thousand Hessians and red-
coats did attack around Chad’s Ford. But the main body of Howe’s army
crossed the Brandywine about eight miles to the north, at a ford Washing-
ton didn’t know about. In the afternoon, 8,000 to 10,000 British troops
bore down on the American right flank.
The American right and center gave way amid fierce fighting. But a
reserve division was rushed forward under General Nathanael Greene.
Greene’s division slowed the British advance. Washington’s army was able
to disengage without being destroyed.
Casualties, though, had been heavy.
After the Battle of Brandywine,
Washington tried to keep his forces
between the British army and Phila-
delphia. But the British managed to
maneuver around the thinly spread
Continental troops. On September 26,
Howe’s army marched unopposed into
Philadelphia. The Continental Con-
gress had fled the city a week earlier.
Washington didn’t wait long before
trying to dislodge the British from
Philadelphia. Early in the morning
on October 4, about 11,000 American
troops converged on Germantown, a
During the Battle of Germantown, near Philadel-
phia, British troops occupied this stone mansion
and thwarted an American attack. The Continen-
tal Army was unable to prevent British troops
from capturing and occupying Philadelphia, the
colonies’ largest city, in the fall of 1777.
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