Battle of Brandywine

Overview

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The forces met near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. More troops fought at Brandywine than at any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the second longest single-day battle of the war, after the Battle of Monmouth, with continuous fighting for 11 hours. As Howe moved to take Philadelphia, then the American capital, the British forces routed the Continental Army and forced them to withdraw, first, to the City of Chester, Pennsylvania, and then northeast toward Philadelphia.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Brandywine, fought near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1777, was the largest engagement by troop numbers in the entire American Revolution, with more than 30,000 combined forces in the field. It was also the second longest single-day battle of the war, with continuous fighting lasting eleven hours. The battle was fought as part of the British effort to seize Philadelphia, then the American capital, and its outcome directly enabled that objective. British forces under Howe routed the Continental Army and forced Washington's forces to withdraw first to Chester and then northeast toward Philadelphia, leaving the capital exposed. The defeat demonstrated the vulnerability of Washington's army to a coordinated British offensive and marked a significant setback for the Continental cause in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (13)