Learn how Washington and the Continental Army defended Philadelphia against the British in the Battle of Brandywine during the American Revolution

The Battle of Brandywine occurred September 11, 1777. It was Washington's main attempt to defend Philadelphia from the British invasion. By early afternoon, around two o'clock, American forces, in large numbers, started coming up Birmingham Road here, from the area down near Chadds Ford. It was General Stirling's forces. They were mostly New Jersey troops and some Pennsylvania troops. They were followed by General Adam Stephens's division of Virginians.

The Virginians set up about a mile from here, on Birmingham Hill, and they formed the right flank. Stirling set up in the center of the line, and General John Sullivan managed to somehow find these two American forces and put himself into some kind of an alignment. The problem was the total number of American troops here maybe was 3,000, and they are faced with 8,000 under Lord Cornwallis.

Not only are Cornwallis's forces outnumbering the Americans, it was the flower of the British army. It was all of the British grenadiers and Hessian grenadiers, all the British light infantry, plus two British brigades and Hessian riflemen. No matter what American troops were put into this fight, they were probably going to lose, and a number of the British and Hessian accounts actually compliment how well the Americans fought on this hill, even though they ultimately were driven off.

Once that part of the attack happened, the American troops retreated right through this area and take up new positions about three-quarters of a mile southeast of here. Once that happens, some American artillery started firing at the British at long range, so right in this immediate vicinity, two British 12-pounders, which were the heaviest guns the British had, set up. And there was a bit of an artillery duel back and forth across this area. The dead and wounded all lay on the battlefield that night.

The British army set up camp in this vicinity the next day, and Birmingham meeting house was turned into a hospital. The Dilworthtown Inn, which is just a quarter of a mile from here, that became really the center of the British camp. Also, American prisoners, nearly 400 of them, were brought to Dilworthtown, and ultimately marched off with the British army later.

The British camped in this area for the five days after the battle for several reasons. One was they did take significant casualties, but not as many as later American accounts claim. They probably lost around 500 men killed, wounded, and a few missing. The American army, on the other hand, lost well over 1,000, killed, wounded, and at least 300 to 400 captured. Hundreds disappeared into the darkness, and whether they went back to the army or not, we don't know.

The fact that the British army sat here the next five days and sent their wounded down to Wilmington, it gave Washington the opportunity to regroup his army and bring them back into Chester County five days later to try to block General Howe's advance on Philadelphia again. The Battle of Brandywine is probably the biggest battle of the war. It is a battle that even though Washington's army lost, the army managed to hold together, rally itself, and regroup. In that sense, this battle was great experience for the Continental Army and it showed a bit of resilience.

On the side of the British, however, criticism of General Howe after Brandywine was very strong, particularly in England among some Pennsylvania loyalists, who said that he was literally letting Washington get away. And he later had to answer to the House of Commons for his delay after this battle. It's the battle that loses Philadelphia in the sense that Washington's army did not defeat the British army here. Ultimately, the British will capture Philadelphia, two weeks after this battle.