Battle+of+Brandywine

 By: Linda Carlson

The Battle of the Brandywine was fought on September 11, 1777, and it was the end of a long period of frustration for the British in North America.It was fought between George Washington(who was the Major General at the time)and the [|British-Hessian] army of General Sir William Howe.On the day of the battle, the weather was very foggy, giving the British a great cover.During the confusion, Washington believed in the mistaken rumor that the British were sending their entire force against his line at Chadds Ford. Meanwhile, Howe and the majority of his force continued their approach. By mid-afternoon the British had crossed the river at the unguarded ford to the north of Washington's force and they had gained a well organized position near [|Birmingham Friends Meeting House]. As the British began their march toward the city, Washington and the people of Philadelphia were confident that the British could be stopped, right until the British appeared on the right flank. It them occurred to Washington that they were well outmaneuvered. He ordered his army to take the high ground around Birmingham Friends Meeting House as a last defense. Unfortunately, in the confusion caused by the British's surprise, the Americans were unable to successfully defend their position on time. The Americans fought bravely, but they had been defeated withe a short amount of time.

[|Philadelphia] was General Howe's goal during 1777. Philadelphia was the capital of the new nation and home to [|Congress] so that is what made it his target. The British approached from the [|Chesapeake]. Believing they could be stopped, General Washington engaged his troops from high ground at Chadds Ford. It was a safe passage across Brandywine River and [|en route] to Philadelphia. Just in case the British tried to cross the river north or south of his position, Washington sent detachments of troops south to Pyle’s Ford and Wistar’s Ford, to the north. Knowing there were no unguarded fords closer than 12 miles upriver, Washington and his troops set in for a fight. Washington didn’t know that north of Wistar’s Ford was another spot the British could use to cross the river. After grouping at [|Kennett Square], about 5,000 men under the comand of Wilhelm von Knyphausen advanced to meet Washington's troops at Chadds Ford. The remainder of the British army, under the comand of Charles, Lord Cornwallis, headed north, crossed the Brandywine River, and headed south to [|flank] Washington’s Army.

Washington had conflicting reports, so he maintained that the entire British army would meet him at [|Chadds Ford]. By mid-afternoon, Sep. 11, 1777, the British has crossed the river and gained a position near Birmingham Friends Meeting House. After realizing the British had flanked him, Washington ordered his troops to take the high ground around the same location. But, confusion among the Americans hampered any attempts to successfully engage the British. At nightfall the Americans retreated to Chester, suffering yet another defeat.



Wilhelm von Knyphausen(1716-1800) was a general from Hesse-Cassel. Knyphausen was educated in Berlin then enter the Prussian military service in 1734. In the army of Hesse-Kassel, he was one of the [|lieutenant generals]. By 1776, with 46 years of millitary experience, he came to the thirteen colonies as second comand of an army of 12,000. He fought in the Revolutionary War and he led Hessian mercenaries of behalf of the British Empire. Besides Brandywine, von Knyphausen led Hessian troops in many of the battles during the American Revolution. These battles include, White Plains, [|Germantown], Monmouth etc. He took under command of the German troops serving under Sir William Howe. Howe gave him the responsibility for the right flank at Brandywine, tasked with keeping the attention of the Continenal commanders on the river line at Chadds Ford. In 1785, a little bit after the war, Lafayette traveled to Kassel to meet von Knyphausen. He wrote to Washington that they reminisced the war and exchanged compliments.

Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis(1738-1805) was a British soldier and statesman. He is mostly famous because of his defeat at Yorktown in the American Revolution where he surrendered. He was later know as the man who was accused of "losing America". Although Cornwallis was a successful general, he was unable to defeat the American and French forces. In 1776, Cornwallis arived in America just 2 years after the Revolution had started. Coming to America ranked as major general, he was soon responsible for the entire British campaign in the South by 1740. All of that changed in 1781 when he was defeated at Nathanael Greene's army in South Carolina. Cornwallis lead the flanking manoeuvre at Brandywine as well as other battles in the Revolution such as Germantown, and Fort Mercer.

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