Battle of Germantown

Battle of Germantown Part of the American Revolutionary War Date October 4 1777 Location Germantown, Pennsylvania Result British victory Belligerents United States Kingdom of Great Britain Commanders and leaders George Washington William Howe Strength 11,700 8,000 Casualties and losses 152 killed, 521 wounded, 400 captured 71 killed, 450 wounded, 14 missing

The Battle of Germantown was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on October 4, 1777 in the area surrounding Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Background

After the September 26, 1777, occupation of Philadelphia by Charles Cornwallis, General George Washington attacked William Howe's 9,000-man garrison in Germantown, five miles (8 km) north of Philadelphia.

Washington's plan was to simultaneously attack the British with four columns from different directions during the night, with the goal of creating a double envelopment. Because of poor timing and few resources, Washington's plan failed, and he was forced to retreat to Whitemarsh with the British in pursuit.

Battle

Germantown was a two-mile-long hamlet of stone houses from what is now known as Mount Airy on the north to an intersection called Market Square. Extending southwest from the Square was Schoolhouse Lane, running a mile and a half to the point where Wissahickon Creek emptied from a steep gorge into the Schuylkill River. General William Howe had established a base camp just south of Germantown along the high ground of Schoolhouse and Church lanes. The western wing of the camp, under the command of the Hessian general Wilhelm von Knyphausen had a picket of two Jäger battalions at its left flank on the high ground above the mouth of the Wissahickon. A Hessian brigade and two British brigades camped along Market Square and east were two British brigades under the command of General James Grant, as well as two squadrons of dragoons, and the 1st Battalion of the Light Infantry regiment. Covering the right flank was a New York loyalist unit called the Queen's Rangers. The total of British and Hessian troops in the camp totaled around 9,000, while a mere 3,000 troops were left to garrison Philadelphia.

Having learned about the British encampment, Washington decided to launch a surprise attack against the British despite the American army being underfed, ill-trained, and ill-equipped. Despite the recent defeats at the battles of Brandywine and Paoli and losses of more than a thousand men, Washington was quickly able to replace his losses, whereas Howe could not. With 11,000 men, Washington thought that the time was right to make an attack to destroy the British army. Instead of advancing in one massive surge against the British, Washington divided his army into four assault columns. Each column was to move through Germantown on various roads and engulf the British, attacking both flanks and the center in a pincer grip move to destroy the camp.

The American army left camp just after dark on October 3, 1777. The first unit to become engaged was the Pennsylvania militia under General John Armstrong, which halted on the banks of the Wissahickon Creek, firing a few rounds from their cannon at Knyphausan's camp before withdrawing. The three remaining columns, one under the command of General John Sullivan, advanced along Germantown Road, another column of New Jersey militia under the command of General William Smallwood would advance down Skippack Road to Old York Road to attack the British right flank. The other column, under the command of General Nathaniel Greene, which consisted of Greene's and General Adam Stephen's divisions and General Alexander McDougall's brigade, advanced along Limekiln Road to attack the British camp.

The leading elements of Sullivan's column struck the British pickets of the Light Infantry at Mount Airy just as the sun was rising at around five o'clock. The only British unit in Germantown was the 40th Regiment of Foot under the command of Colonel Thomas Musgrave. The outnumbered British troops fought until they were overwhelmed and forced to retreat. Cut off, Musgrave and his six companies, around 120 men, barricaded themselves in a large, unoccupied stone mansion called the Chew House, or "Cliveden"[1]. The owner, Chief Justice Benjamin Chew, was in a prison in Virginia as a suspected loyalist. The American brigades, under Sullivan, Conway, and Anthony Wayne, bypassed Musgrave and continued advancing to get to the British camp less than a mile away.

In the British camp, Howe tried to rally his men, having been taken by surprise by the American attack. He was trying to arrange a defense, but the American attack was beginning to falter. When Washington following the rear of the army noticed the Chew House where Musgrave was still holding out, his artillery commander, General Henry Knox, convinced Washington to storm the house. General William Maxwell's brigade, which was held in reserve, was brought forward to storm the house, while Knox established at least four 3-pound cannons on the other side of Germantown road, out of range of the British musket fire from the Chew House, to fire upon it. But the two-foot thick stone walls of the Chew House stood up against the American cannonade, and infantry assaults against the Chew House were cut down. The very few American colonials who reached the Chew House were shot or bayoneted as they tried to force their way through the boarded-up doors and windows. At least 70 American troops were killed and many more wounded in a futile attempt to take it. The British troops in the Chew House, told by Musgrave that the Americans would probably not take prisoners, were encouraged to fight to the last man.

Meanwhile, Greene's column on Limekiln Road managed to make contact with British pickets at Luken's Mill and drove them off. But because the heavy fog during that morning, smoke from cannons and musket fire made it harder for visual contact, the attacking column was soon confused. One of Greene's brigades, under the command of General Stephen, veered off course and began following Meetinghouse Road instead of converging with the rest of Greene's force on Market Square, colliding with the rear of Wayne's brigade. Stephen's wary troops, mistaking Wayne's men for British because of the fog and smoke, fired upon them. Because of this, Wayne's troops, confused, became disorganized and were forced to retreat when they were just about to smash the undefended British line of the camp. Wayne's withdrawal left Conway's left flank unsupported. On the north, McDougall's brigade fell under attack by the Queen's Rangers and the Guards of the British reserve, forcing them to retreat. A last-ditch attack by the Colonial 9th Virginia brigade of Greene's column tried to save the day, but they were soon surrounded by two British brigades which counterattacked, being led by General Cornwallis, who had just arrived from Philadelphia with reinforcements. Cut off, the 9th Virginia was forced to surrender. Greene, learning that Sullivan's column was retreating and that he now stood alone against the whole counterattacking British camp, also began to retreat.

With the main columns in retreat, Washington ordered Armstrong and Smallwood's men to withdraw as well. Maxwell's brigade, failing to capture the Chew House, were forced to fall back as well. Taking up a pursuit, part of the British army moved north for about nine miles, but was cut off due to some bad roads. The rear-guard actions of Greene's infantry, Wayne's artillerymen, a detachment of cavalry under the command of a Polish volunteer, Count Casimir Pulaski, and the sunset halted the British pursuit.

Aftermath

152 of the Americans were killed, 521 wounded, and 400 captured. 50 Americans were killed attacking the Chew House. British casualties were 71 killed, 450 wounded, and 14 missing. The result was another American defeat because they failed to inflict any real damage on the British army. American morale was not altered and remained high because the men under Greene and Wayne forced the British to retreat and because the battle faltered only when Wayne's men were mistakenly attacked by Stephen's men. Stephen was later court-martialed and dismissed when it was discovered that he was drunk during his advance. Command of his division was given to a promising young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette.

Washington's plan to attack the British camp failed because it was a complicated plan that required coordination between the four attacking groups, and even the most trained foreign military commanders later told Washington they would never have planned a complicated maneuver because of its many flaws, but the fact that it almost worked gave Washington's men and the rest of the American army more confidence in themselves.

Troops

Continental Army: 1st Maryland Regiment, 9th Virginia Regiment

Kingdom of Great Britain: Queen's Rangers, Hessian Brigade two Jäger battalions, 40th Regiment of Foot

Further Readings

• McGuire, Thomas J., "The Philadelphia Campaign, Vol. II: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge," Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2006. ISBN 978-0-8117-0206-5, pages 43 to 124.

External links

• Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
• 1877 Spencer Bonsall map of Battle of Germantown
• British Battles
• Battle of Germantown