Diary of the American War. Combatants at the Battle of Brandywine Creek: British and Hessian troops against the American Continental Army and Militia. Nathaniel Greene's 1st Division, composed of the 1st and 2d Virginia Brigades under Brigadier Generals Peter Muhlenberg and George Weedon, was entrusted with the primary defense of Chad's Ford. While putting his division into motion, Sullivan encountered Col. Hazen, who declared that the enemy were "Close upon his Heels," testimony backed up by the almost immediate sighting of the British advance guard. Hammond, Otis G. Letters and Papers of Major-General John Sullivan . The battle ended with the American army withdrawing up the road to Philadelphia in considerable confusion. The loss at Brandywine cost the fledgling nation its capital, but it earned new respect for troops determined to fight on to ultimate victory. The casualties reflected the bitterness with which it was fought. Anecdotes from the Battle of Brandywine Creek: Light Company Man 4th King’s Own Royal Regiment of Foot: Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War, Marquis de Lafayette wounded at the Battle of Brandywine Creek on 11th September 1777 in the American Revolutionary War. The attack began at about four o'clock, before Sullivan's division had a chance to take up proper positions on the American left. On 9th September 1777, Washington’s army took position along the east bank of the Brandywine Creek at Chad’s Ford (now Chadds Ford). New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1957. Pennsylvania Militia were posted to the left of the Chad’s Ford position, where little threat was perceived. 4th, 5th, 10th, 15th, 17th, 23rd (Royal Welsh Fusiliers), 27th, 28th, 33rd, 37th, 40th, 44th, 46th, 49th, 55th, 64th Regiments of Foot and three battalions of Fraser’s Highlanders or 71st Foot. The British came on quickly, routing in the process those remnants of Stephen's division which had been too slow to retreat. References for the Battle of Brandywine Creek: History of the British Army by Sir John Fortescue, The War of the Revolution by Christopher Ward, The American Revolution by Brendan Morrissey, The Philadelphia Campaign Volume I Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia by Thomas J. McGuire. The route to Philadelphia crossed Brandywine Creek at Chad’s Ford, the most southern of a series of fords. Burgoyne’s army was left to fight its way south on its own, with disastrous consequences for the British cause. That this position held until sundown was partly because of Washington's careful positioning, at Sullivan's suggestion, of Brigadier Generals Peter Muhlenberg's and George Weedon's brigades respectively on the front and flank of the British advance. Conway was, however, able to form a second defensive line out of his 3d Pennsylvania brigade on another small hill a short distance southeast of Birmingham Hill. Chad's Ford, where the American army now took up positions, was at the point where the Nottingham Road crossed the Brandywine Creek on the route from Kennett Square to Philadelphia.
2, 1 January 1777-16 October 1778. five times did the Enemy drive our Troops from the Hill & as often was it Regained & the Summit often Disputed almost muzzle to muzzle." Why Did George Washington Join the Revolution? The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. Translated and edited by Joseph P. Tustin.