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Battle of Germantown

The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Continental Army under George Washington.

After defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, and the Battle of Paoli on September 20, Howe outmaneuvered Washington, seizing Philadelphia, the capital of the United States, on September 26. Howe left a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown, then an outlying community to the city. Learning of the division, Washington determined to engage the British. His plan called for four separate columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. The two flanking columns were composed of 3,000 militia, while the center-left, under Nathanael Greene, the center-right under John Sullivan, and the reserve under Lord Stirling were made up of regular troops. The ambition behind the plan was to surprise and destroy the British force, much in the same way as Washington had surprised and decisively defeated the Hessians at Trenton. In Germantown, Howe had his light infantry and the 40th Foot spread across his front as pickets. In the main camp, Wilhelm von Knyphausen commanded the British left, while Howe himself personally led the British right.


A heavy fog caused a great deal of confusion among the approaching Americans. After a sharp contest, Sullivan's column routed the British pickets. Unseen in the fog, around 120 men of the British 40th Foot barricaded the Chew House. When the American reserve moved forward, Washington made the decision to launch repeated assaults on the position, all of which failed with heavy casualties. Penetrating several hundred yards beyond the mansion, Sullivan's wing became dispirited, running low on ammunition and hearing cannon fire behind them. As they withdrew, Anthony Wayne's division collided with part of Greene's late-arriving wing in the fog. Mistaking each other for the enemy, they opened fire, and both units retreated. Meanwhile, Greene's left-center column threw back the British right. With Sullivan's column repulsed, the British left outflanked Greene's column. The two militia columns had only succeeded in diverting the attention of the British, and had made no progress before they withdrew.


Despite the defeat, France, already impressed by the American success at Saratoga, decided to lend greater aid to the Americans. Howe did not vigorously pursue the defeated Americans, instead turning his attention to clearing the Delaware River of obstacles at Red Bank and Fort Mifflin. After unsuccessfully attempting to draw Washington into combat at White Marsh, Howe withdrew to Philadelphia. Washington, his army intact, withdrew to Valley Forge, where he wintered and re-trained his forces.

Washington mistakenly believed his troops were sufficiently trained and experienced to launch such a complicated, coordinated assault.

[29]

Success of the plan required constant communication between the many columns of his army and precise timing. Communication was lackluster because of the night march, and it was further handicapped by the fog.

When the British 40th Foot put up stubborn resistance, Stephen disobeyed orders and attempted to assail the Chew House. All attempts were repulsed. Stephen was later and cashiered from military service after evidence surfaced that he was intoxicated during the battle.[30]

court-martialed

Washington's ambitious plan failed for several factors:


Washington had intended for his attack to be a second Trenton. Had everything gone according to plan, Washington may have trapped and destroyed a second major British force. Coupled with Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga, the defeat of Howe at Germantown could have compelled Lord North and the British government to sue for peace.[31]

Designations

Battle of Germantown

City

American Revolution, George Washington, Military

October 05, 1996[32]

. Places 'Battle of Germantown' in overall sequence and strategic context.

American Revolutionary War § British northern strategy fails

Cliveden (Benjamin Chew House)

Dawesfield

Peter Wentz Homestead

Wyck House

(1994). Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-0578-1.

Boatner, Mark M. III

Esposito, Vincent J. The West Point Atlas of American Wars. Vol. 1. New York, NY: Praeger Publishers, 1978.  0-275-20080-9

ISBN

. The American Revolution: In Two Volumes, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1892.

Fiske, John

Jenkins, Charles F. The Guide Book to Historic Germantown, Innes & Sons, 1904.

Johnson, Curt. Battles of the American Revolution. London: Rand McNally & Co., 1975.  0-528-81022-7

ISBN

Katcher, Philip R. N. King George's Army 1775–1783: A Handbook of British, American and German Regiments; Osprey, Reading, Berkshire; 1973;  0-85045-157-4.

ISBN

Massey, Gregory D. John Laurens and the American Revolution.  978-1-57003-330-8.

ISBN

McGuire, Thomas J. (2006). The Philadelphia Campaign, Volume I: Bradywine and the Fall of Philadelphia. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books.  978-0-8117-0178-5.

ISBN

McGuire, Thomas J. (2007). The Philadelphia Campaign, Volume II: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books.  978-0-8117-0206-5.

ISBN

Sawicki, James A. Infantry Regiments of the US Army. Dumfries, VA: Wyvern Publications, 1981.  978-0-9602404-3-2.

ISBN

. The American Revolution, Longmans, Green & Co., 1912.

Trevelyan, George Otto

Trussell Jr., John B.B. , Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1974.

The Battle of Germantown

Ward, Christopher. The War of the Revolution, Volume 1, The Macmillan Company, 1952.

Part II Vol II - Watson's Annals of Philadelphia And Pennsylvania, 1857

Watson's Annals of Philadelphia And Pennsylvania, 1857.

History of Early Chestnut Hill, by John J. MacFarlane, A.M. (Philadelphia, City History, Society of Philadelphia, 1927) Chapter IX Revolutionary and Other Military Events, p. 79.

1877 Spencer Bonsall map of Battle of Germantown

Website for annual re-enactment of Battle of Germantown

Archived 2013-04-26 at the Wayback Machine

Animated History of the Battle of Germantown

at National Archives and Records Administration

General Orders for Attacking Germantown, 3 October 1777