BATTLEFIELDS AND MILITARY LANDMARKS
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Brandywine
Battlefield | Paoli Massacre/Memorial Grounds |
Valley Forge Nat'l Park
BRANDYWINE BATTLEFIELD-
In the fall of 1777, believing that
capturing the city of Philadelphia would greatly shake the resolve of the
colonists, British General, Sir William Howe, landed his army of 16,000 men,
horses and artillery at the head of Chesapeake Bay. From here the troops
would fight their way north in order to capture the (colonial) capital of
Philadelphia.
Knowing that the British troops would have to cross the Brandywine Creek in
order to reach Philadelphia, General George Washington deployed his troops to
try and thwart Howe's advance to Philadelphia. Washington's troops
included about 11,000 men, including many mustered militiamen. He
stationed troops on the high ground at the ford, on the river's north slope,
hoping to take advantage of both the height of the terrain and the natural
obstacle presented by the river itself. Other forces were stationed
upstream to the west at the four other fords that Washington's scouts had
identified.
The British troops reached the Brandywine on September 10th. As General
Washington had expected, Howe sent several regiments to engage his forces at
Chadds Ford. Meanwhile, Howe divided his remaining army of about 8,000
men and marched westward along the southside of the Brandywine. This
action caught the American's by surprise.
Once aware of Howe's movements, Washington ordered several contingents to
engage the British, who had already crossed the Brandywine and had reached the
Quaker meeting-house at Birmingham. The fighting that ensued was
severe. A British officer described the fighting as " a most
infernal fire of cannon and musquetry...incessant shouting...the balls
ploughing up the ground, the trees cracking over one's head, the branches
riven by artillery, the leaves falling as in autumn by their grapeshot."
Washington had quickly sent in reinforcements to the battle lines, but it did
no good. The Americans were forced to fall back.
By evening, a cavalry charge by the Americans, combined with the continual
heavy shelling by Washington's artillery, stopped the British advance.
The retreating American army was not pursued by the British in the dark.
Both the Americans and British suffered heavy casualties. Wounded men
were later treated at a field hospital set up at the Birmingham Friends
Meeting-house. American casualties were estimated at 1,300 and British
casualties were about 2,000.
After several days of treating their wounded, the British army marched on
toward Philadelphia. On September, 26th, the main British force marched
unopposed into the city of Philadelphia.
The battle at Brandywine turned out to be the biggest land battle during the
6-year war. It was also one of the few engagements where General
Washington directly faced British Major General Howe.
Also see the section, Brandywine
Battlefield, for further information.
Top of Page PAOLI
MASSACRE/MEMORIAL GROUNDS-
A few days after the Battle of Brandywine,
the British army continued their march towards Philadelphia.
Washington and his troops took towards the Schuylkill River, trying to keep
themselves between the advancing British and the Continental capital of
Philadelphia. With the hopes of slowing the British advance, he sent a
division of 1,500 soldiers, under the command of Brig. General Anthony Wayne,
to harass the British. General Wayne and his troops were warned to be
aware of possible ambushes by the British.
On September, 19, 1777, as per his orders, Wayne and his troops marched
towards the British camp at Tredyffrin. Wayne hoped to find the British
preparing to break camp; an attack on their camp at this time would leave them
vulnerable. Upon arrival near the British camp, Wayne found that the
British had not yet prepared to break camp.
Wayne decided not to attack yet and withdrew his troops. About four
miles from the British camp, Wayne set up a secluded camp of his own, in the
area farm fields. The fields were surrounded by dense woods.
Wayne felt secure here, as he knew the area quite well, having grown up in
Waynesborough, only a few miles away. Wayne was waiting for the
reinforcements from a contingent of militiamen from Maryland. He took
the usual precautions of posting pickets to watch and warn him of any
movements made by the enemies. Once the reinforcements had arrived,
Wayne planned to attack the British camp on September 21st.
But, on the evening of September 20, Wayne was alerted by a local farmer that
the British planned to attack his camp that very night. Additional
pickets were sent out to cover all sides of the American camp, as well as
posted horsemen were sent out to patrol the roads.
British commander, Major General Charles Grey, and his forces of about 1,200
troops, were ordered to attack the Americans. Grey learned from his
spies where the American camp was and concocted a plan for his attack.
After forcing a local blacksmith to lead him to Wayne's location, he divided
his troops so that they could attack the camp from two sides. The attack
was to occur late at night, so as to try and catch the American troops
asleep. The British troops were ordered not to use their muskets, they
were told they could only use their bayonets. The explanation of being
ordered only to use their bayonets was explained by a British officer:
"By not firing we knew the foe to be wherever fire appeared and a charge
ensured his destruction; that amongst the Enemy those in the rear would direct
their fire against whoever fired in front, and they would destroy each
other."
The outlying pickets of the Americans were overwhelmed by the British troops;
the pickets were either killed or captured. Several pickets had a chance
to fire their muskets, alerting Wayne's troops back in the camp.
Once the attack was at the American camp, the Colonists fought hard, but were
unable to fully form their ranks to fire, before the British troops closed
in. The scene was later recalled by a British officer: "The
whole battalion dashed into the wood, and guided by the straggling fire of the
picket, that was followed close up, we entered the camp and gave such a cheer
as made the wood echo. The enemy were completely surprised; some with
arms, others without, running in all directions in the greatest
confusion. The light infantry bayoneted every man they came up
with. The camp was immediately set on fire, and this, with the cries of
the wounded, formed together one of the most dreadful scenes I ever
beheld."
As Wayne's troops fled westward for safety, American defenses were quickly
dissolved. Many of the American troops were either killed or wounded or
taken prisoner. American soldiers were easy targets for the British, as
they were silhouetted by their own campfire.
Wayne did manage to save his artillery pieces and form a light infantry to
cover the retreat.
The Americans suffered greatly from this attack; 53 men were killed and
approximately 100 were wounded. Another 71 were taken prisoners by the
British; 40 of those reportedly were wounded. The British loss was
considerably less; only 4 killed and no more than 20 wounded.
Also
see the section, Paoli Memorial Grounds.
Top of Page
VALLEY FORGE-
By December, 1777, General Washington knew
that he needed to find a location for winter quarters for his troops.
The location had to be close enough to Philadelphia to inhibit the British
Army from foraging expeditions and to be wary of possible surprise
attacks.
Some of the suggested locations for the winter encampment were: Reading,
Bethlehem and Wilmington. General Anthony Wayne reportedly suggested
Valley Forge, which was a bit more than 20 miles from Philadelphia. This
area was situated in a strong defensive location and had many trees that could
be used both to make huts and for firewood.
Washington's troops left for Valley Forge on December 11th. On December
19th, his 12,000 Continental soldiers, reached their destination.
General Washington ordered that the troops be housed in huts as soon as
possible. Per his orders, the huts were to be constructed to house 12
men and were to be 14 feet wide, 15 feet long and 6-1/2 feet high. They
were to be erected along orderly company streets, chinked with clay and roofed
with any materials the men could find. Each hut was to have chimney and
fireplace. Washington offered a $12 reward for the first
well-constructed hut to be finished in each regiment. Reportedly on
December 21, the first hut was completed. By the end of the month, more
than 800 huts were under construction.
The troops were supposed to receive a daily allowance of a pound of meat or
fish and were fortunate if they received that much in a week. Some
soldiers ate only "firecake"-- a tasteless concoction of flour and
water, baked on a hot stone. General Washington was very concerned about
the fate of his troops and made repeated pleas to both the national and state
legislatures. His pleas brought sporadic shipments of supplies and
provisions--barely keeping the men alive. Washington wrote to Governor
Clinton of New York, "For some days past, there has been little less than
a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week without any kind of
flesh, and the rest three or four days. Naked and starving as they are,
we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery
that they have not been ere this excited by their sufferings to a general
mutiny and dispersion."
Some of the troops began hunting small, local game. The animals did no
better-- hundreds of horses reportedly died from starvation or
exhaustion.
Due to both lack of nourishment and clothing, along with wet, damp housing,
the men eventually became ill with: typhus, typhoid, dysentery and
pneumonia. Reportedly 3,000 soldiers died that winter.
By March, 1778, supplies and equipment began arriving in a more regular
fashion, once Major General Nathaniel Greene took the position as
quartermaster.
Baron Friedrich von Steuben, a Prussian officer, offered to help Washington
develop and carry-out an effective training program for the Continental
Army. The army's biggest flaw was their lack of organization. Most
of the soldiers were actually farmers, or frontiersmen and had little or no
military training.
Baron von Steuben put together a manual, based on the Prussian system; these
manuals were copied and distributed to each company.
Each day, all day long, von Steuben drilled the troops. After a while,
the soldiers moved smartly, from line to column and column to line. They
learned to load their muskets with precision.
As time went by, Washington's army showed a dramatic transformation. All
their hard work and sacrifice was paying off.
Six months later, a "brand-new" Continental Army, marched away from
Valley Forge on June, 19, 1778.
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