CHAPTER XVIII.PENNSYLVANIA INVADED.—BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE.
The British Commander-in-Chief entertained no doubts of the success of Burgoyne’s invasion from Canada. His reiterated appeals to Britain for reënforcements were not heeded, and he certainly knew that troops could not be furnished up to his demand. But he still hoped that the invasion from the north would so drain New England and New York of their able-bodied militia, as to render it impossible for either section to forward its respective full quota to the Continental army of Washington. Two campaigns into New Jersey had sufficiently satisfied him that he never could bend Washington to his knees; and yet he must get Washington away from his position near New York, and then defeat that army utterly, before British supremacy could be restored. This conviction, once before noticed, was reflected in a letter to Lord Germaine, from which extracts have interest. He had “not overlooked New England,” but says in this letter, that “Burgoyne’s movement would draw Washington’s army northward, where the population was dense and the spirit of defence was animated.” “In Connecticut,” he continues, “there was no object for which he would be willing to risk a general action; and only two or three places upon the coast of Long Island Sound could be kept in the winter.” But he adds that, if his “reënforcements had been forthcoming, New England would have had a share in the general operations of the campaign,while the main army acted toward the southward.” “To have moved up the Hudson, in force, would have imperiled New York, or sacrificed all other operations to a union with Burgoyne, who was expected to force his own way to Albany.” “To enter Pennsylvania, was not only to assail the capital, but attempted the surest road to peace, the defeat of the rebel army.”
All these considerations, thus tersely communicated to the British Government, were sound in military policy; and yet all of them had been anticipated by the American Commander-in-Chief, as prudent on the part of General Howe. Even very insignificant incidents were weighed by him, as of determining value in a nearly balanced scale; so that the number, character and distribution of pickets from the New York garrison became valuable indications to the keen espionage with which Washington conducted his search for the real intent of General Howe’s published or unpublished designs.
The British fleet had actually sailed from New York before Washington received Howe’s letter of the second. Clinton returned to the city on the tenth. On the fifteenth, an express from Burgoyne informed General Howe of the capture of Ticonderoga, and stated, that “his army was in good health, and [which was never realized] that Ticonderoga would be garrisoned by troops from Canada, which would leave his force complete for further operations.” Howe’s expedition southward left New York on the twenty-third of July, and did not arrive off the Delaware until the thirtieth.
Upon the first disappearance of the fleet, Washington, suspecting someruse—its possible return and a movement in support of Burgoyne, or a descent upon New England, or even New Jersey, started his army for Coryell’s Ferry; to be ready to march northward, or eastward, in the prospect of an active campaign. Whenassured that the entire fleet had positively sailed southward, he marched with exceeding celerity to Philadelphia. Active measures were initiated for gathering the militia, sinking obstructions in the Delaware, and picketing every spot along the river which might be utilized for the landing of troops. But the appearance of the British fleet in Delaware Bay, its speedy withdrawal, and its long absence due to contrary winds, foiled all calculations of Washington as to its ultimate destination. At a Council of War, held on the twenty-first of August, it was unanimously concluded that Howe had sailed for Charleston, S.C. But, on the twenty-second, at half-past one in the afternoon, Washington received the following despatch from President Hancock: “This moment an express arrived from Maryland with an account of near two hundred sail of General Howe’s fleet being anchored in Chesapeake Bay.”
This information was received with the most intense interest. In the face of slow enlistments, scarcity of funds, and deficiencies in clothing and all military supplies, the transfer of British military operations from the Hudson was regarded as an indication that New Jersey had been substantially recovered from British aggression, and that Washington had outgeneraled his adversary. The operations of Burgoyne northward could be taken care of by the rapidly increasing flow of New England militia to resist his advance; and the Pennsylvania people were wide awake.
The army of Washington paraded through Philadelphia, gayly decorated with evergreens. The enthusiasm of the soldiers, rank and file, received fresh inspiration from the almost wild demonstrations of thousands who bordered their course of march. Incessant cheering, loud greetings of encouragement, as well as bountiful gifts of delicacies and of useful conveniences for the camp or march, sent them forward hopeful and happy.
The American army which finally marched against General Howe’s well equipped force of nearly eighteen thousand men was of the nominal strength of fourteen thousand; but the entire roster added up not quite eleven thousand “effectives, present for duty.”
The thoughtful reader, of whatever age or training, is prompted to linger here a moment, and catch a parting view of this column of earnest men, so proudly and joyfully marching to meet in battle the magnificent array of Britain’s chief captains and most honored battalions, the famous Grenadiers of Hanau, and the dragoons and lancers of Hesse. When all are waiting for the advance, who is that man who swiftly rides past the column to its front, erect in saddle, calm, self-reliant, imposing in presence, and with face radiant in confidence and trust? What sort of faith is that which inspires the utterance, which rings like that of the Hebrew Captain when about to face the horsemen and chariots of the Egyptian Pharaoh: “Tell the people that they goforward”? How dare this American soldier reckon upon chances for victory in such an unequal measurement of physical force, unless he discern, through plainest garb, the proof-panoply of those whose cause is just? And whence the inspiration of those men of brawn, whose nerves seemed turned to steel, that they are so firmly and confidently ready to enter into the trying ordeal of battle.
It is the Continental Army of America, with Washington in command!
Only short halts at Derby, Chester and Wilmington delayed their march; and after each halt, that single word, “Forward!” as it ran down the lines, brigade after brigade, again brought shouts from spectators and soldiers alike.
General Sullivan, who had been detained in New Jersey to make an attack upon the British posts on Staten Island which failed of its anticipated success joined the commandjust in time for Brandywine. There was no timidity in this advancing army. Every heart beat with steady cadence. Maxwell, with a selected corps of one hundred men from each brigade, supplied the place of Morgan’s Rifles, then with the northern army. He pushed forward even to Elk River, accompanied by the youthful Lafayette, hoping to save some stores gathered there before the British could effect a landing, and possibly to obstruct the landing itself.
This was on September third; but too late to save the stores, for the British were already encamped. A sharp skirmish with Cornwallis was reported by General Howe to have resulted in a British loss of two officers and twenty-two men, killed or wounded.
On the seventh, the entire army reached Newport, and took position along Red Clay Creek. On the same day, General Howe occupied Iron Hill, within eight miles of Red Clay, and again the American Rifles had a skirmish with the British advance. These picked men deliberately took up position after position, and only yielded to superior force as they slowly retired. The confidence of Washington was everywhere fully realized. On the eighth, the British army demonstrated in force; with view to turning the right of Washington, and to cut him off from communication with Philadelphia. At half-past nine of the morning of the ninth, pursuant to the unanimous vote of a council of officers, Washington took up a new position, selected by General Greene, on the east bank of the Brandywine and on high ground, just back of Chadd’s Ford, and commanding the Chester and Philadelphia road. The Battle of Brandywine followed. The space which has been allowed for this narrative can admit only such leading incidents as unfold Washington’s general management, and the ultimate results.
A reference to the map will aid the reader to understandthe relative positions of the opposing armies. The American army was on the eastern bank of the river, which was quite rugged of approach and easily defended. Its left wing, southward, began with Armstrong’s Pennsylvania militia. At the next ford, Chadd’s, and nearly as far as Brinton’s, are Weedon, Muhlenburg and Wayne, with Proctor’s artillery in their rear, behind light earthworks thrown up in haste. Intheirrear, on still higher ground, is the reserve division of General Greene, with Washington’s headquarters. Next in order, up the river, are the divisions of Sullivan, Stephen and Stirling, each of two brigades—with Sullivan in virtual command, and Stirling, next in rank, commanding the right division—and practically reaching Jones’ Ford. Major Spear had charge of scouts extended as far as the forks of the Brandywine and the adjacent fords, both below and above the forks. The upper ford, Jeffries, was not thoroughly watched, and its distance almost precluded the liability of its use. A road from Jones’ Ford runs perpendicularly to the river, over to the Dilworth and Winchester road, and just before reaching the Birmingham Meeting House, passes high, rough and wooded ground, where the chief fighting took place. The British encampment on the tenth is indicated at the left of the map.
Battle of Brandywine.
On the morning of the eleventh, Maxwell crossed at Chadd’s Ford; advanced to Kennett Meeting House, and skirmished with Knyphausen, until compelled by a superior force to fall back to high ground near the river. Porterfield and Waggoner crossed at his left and attacked Ferguson’s Rifles. Knyphausen brought up two brigades, with guns; and this force, with the Queen’s Rangers, on Knyphausen’s extreme right, compelled both American detachments to recross the river. The American casualties were sixty, and those of the Hessian and British troops about one hundred and thirty. A fog along the river had facilitated Maxwell’s operations; but it prevented the American scouts from gaining accurate data as to the movements of the British. While Knyphausen was demonstrating as if to force a crossing at Chadd’s Ford, Cornwallis was reported to be moving with five thousand men and artillery toward a ford near the forks of the Brandywine. Bland had crossed at Jones’ Ford, between nine and ten in the morning, and reported this movement of Cornwallis. Washington ordered Sullivan to cross and attack Cornwallis, while he intended to cross at Chadd’s Ford, in person, and attack Knyphausen, assigning to General Greene an intermediate crossing, to strike the left of the Hessian general. When the fog disappeared, there was no evidence of the whereabouts of the British column. It seemed hardly possible that it had gone further up the river; while, if it had joined Knyphausen, the force was too strong to be attacked. Washington therefore revoked his orders, and withdrew the skirmish party that had already made the crossing. As a matter of fact, the movement of Cornwallis was but a flanking support to the advance of the entire British army; while Knyphausen’s advance towards Chadd’s Ford, although prepared to cross, if opportunity favored, was aruseto draw attention from General Howe’s splendid manœuvre. That officer left Kennett Square at daylight, marched seventeen miles, and by two o’clock had crossed the upper fork of the Brandywine, and was moving down upon the right of the entire American army.
As soon as advised that the British were advancing, Washington ordered Sullivan to bring the entire right wing into position to oppose their progress. The woods were dense and the surface was rocky, so that three divisions must swing back and present to the British advance a new front, almost perpendicular to that with which theyhad previously faced the river. But it would bring them to the high ground, before noticed, between Birmingham Meeting House and the river. This movement, which practically involved one of the most difficult elements of Grand Tactics,—defined in the Preface as the “Art of handling force on the battlefield,”—was not within General Sullivan’s capacity. The best troops in the world would have found it slow of execution, while no less vital to success in the existing emergency. It required of the division commanders just that kind of familiarity with combined movements of brigades and divisions, which is required of regiments in a single brigade, or of companies in a regiment. Sullivan could not at the same time command the Grand Division, or Corps, and his own division proper, unless able to place that division in charge of a brigadier-general who was fully competent to command a division. It is also to be borne in mind that the woods, rocks, undergrowth, and suddenness of the order complicated the movement. Stirling and Stephen succeeded in gaining the new position, barely in time to meet the assault of Cornwallis, without time for intrenching to any effect. Sullivan’s Division fell into such disorder, that after sending four aides, and then a personal appeal, he gave up the attempt to rally his division. He says: “Some rallied, others could not be brought even by their officers to do anything but fly.” Only three of his regiments—those of Hazen, Dayton and Ogden, ever reliable—gained and firmly held the new position throughout the battle.
The enemy, which had formed behind Osborne’s Hill, advanced rapidly, Cornwallis in the lead. The resistance was stubborn and well maintained, as General Howe admitted, from three o’clock until sunset. Sullivan, upon finding himself powerless to rally and move his own division, while he was responsible for the entire combinedmovement, went to the battlefield and was conspicuous for bravery during the day. The resistance of Stirling and Stephen was admirable; but the brigade of Deborre, a French general, broke and fled, in wild disorder. The absence of Sullivan’s Division left a gap on the American left of nearly half a mile, and Deborre’s cowardice shattered the right wing.
As soon as the right wing gave way, Washington hastened, with Greene, to the front. There was no retreat except toward Dilworth. By a direct march of nearly four miles in fifty minutes, and a wheel to the left, of half a mile, Washington was enabled to occupy a defile from which to open a passage for the retreating battalions. He then closed in upon their rear, and prolonged the resistance with vigor. In an orchard beyond Dilworth, three regiments made another stand. Night separated the two armies. Stirling and Stephen saved both artillery and baggage. Armstrong’s brigade, on the extreme left, below Chadd’s Ford, was not engaged: but, together with Maxwell’s, and Wayne, who was compelled to abandon his guns, joined the main army, without further loss. They had, however, kept Knyphausen beyond the river. The entire army fell back to Chester. The American casualties were seven hundred and eighty, and those of the British were six hundred. Lafayette lost a horse, and was himself wounded, in this his first service after receipt of his commission.
Deborre was dismissed for cowardice. Conflicts as to the defective reconnoissance that nearly sacrificed the army arose, which need not be discussed. In justice to General Sullivan, Washington wrote a letter responsive to his request for some testimonial to submit to Congress, which is here given in part: “With respect to your other query, whether your being posted on the right was to guard that flank, and whether you had neglected it, I canonly observe that the only obvious if not the declared purpose of your being there, implied every necessary precaution for the security of that flank. But it is at the same time to be remarked, that all the fords above Chadd’s from which we were taught to apprehend danger were guarded by detachments from your division, and that we were led to believe by those whom we had every reason to think well acquainted with the country, that no ford above our picket-lines could be passed without making a very circuitous march.” The British army remained on the field; and the wounded of both armies were properly cared for by General Howe. His skill as a scientific soldier was again illustrated, as well as his habitual failure to follow up a first success; but he was under peculiar conditions which must have influenced his judgment. His army had left its ships, which had been ordered to go to the Delaware; as his objective was the capture of Philadelphia, after first destroying the American army. That army had retreated in remarkable order and under good control. Humanity alone would have persuaded Howe to care for the wounded, and a night pursuit, of the Americans through that country, would have been a wild venture.
Washington’s despatch to President Hancock announcing his retreat to Chester, was dated from that place at midnight, September 11, 1777. The wonderful presence of mind of the American Commander-in-Chief, his aptitude for emergencies, and his extraordinary capacity for making the most of raw troops, were never more thoroughly evinced during his entire public career. The uneven ground, dense woods, and facilities for good rifle-practice, were features favorable to inspire his troops with special resisting capacity; and it is not beyond a fair presumption to suggest that, if the main army had been allowed two hours for fortifying their position, the British, accustomedto lighting in close order, would have been repulsed. It is certain that General Howe had skilful as well as willing guides, to secure to him, by so long a détour, his surprise of Sullivan’s right wing. That was part of the same toryism of that period which a few days later, and not far away, betrayed Wayne’s forces, with great loss. But with all the mistakes, and the retreat of the American army, there was much of hope in the experience and in the sequel of the Battle of Brandywine.
Note.—Lafayette, or LaFayette, makes his first appearance in this battle. At that period “affix-names,” derived from fiefs, seigniories, or estates, long held by families, were emphasized. Hence, La villa Faya, in Auvergne, when acquired, was added to the family name Motier. In the parish register, now in the war archives of France, the name is thus recorded: “Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Rock-Gilbert Dumotier Lafayette.” He signed his nameLafayette, and his grandsons, Senators Oscar and Edmond Lafayette, followed his example. The permanent acceptance of the spellingLafayetteis therefore fully warranted, and harmonizes with its use for counties and cities in many of the States.
This gallant young volunteer in the cause of American Independence, attended by Baron John De Kalb, and nine others, came to America in the shipVictoire, chartered by himself; and on the 19th of June, Lafayette wrote to his wife of his enthusiastic welcome at Charleston, S.C. On the 27th of July, he reached Philadelphia. He was commissioned Major-General by the American Congress, and took his first seat at a Council of War, August 21st, when the movement of the American army against Howe was under advisement.