On This Day in 1777: Defeat at Brandywine
On September 11, 1777 George Washington was not having a good day. In the afternoon British generals Sir William Howe and Charles Cornwallis, who had split up their 18,000 troops under a veil of fog, began a full-on attack of Washington’s encampment from two directions. Washington and his troops, who were stationed at an outpost on Brandywine Creek at Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, were forced to retreat.
By the end of the battle more than 1,100 Americans were either killed or captured while the British suffered only 600 deaths and injuries.
Afterward the Continentals marched to Germantown, Pennsylvania and set up camp. Rather than chase them, the British headed to Philadelphia and easily took over the capital city, forcing Congress to flee.
