General Washington, however, who followed close in their rear, now led on the main body of the army, and attacked the enemy with great spirit. While he exposed himself to their hottest fire, he was so well supported by the same troops which had aided him a few days before in the victory at Trenton, that the British were compelled to give way, and Washington pressed forward to Princeton. A party of the British that had taken refuge in the college, after receiving a few discharges from the American field-pieces, surrendered themselves prisoners of war; but the principal part of the regiment that was left there, saved itself by a precipitate retreat to Brunswick. In this action upwards of a hundred of the British were killed, and nearly three hundred were taken prisoners. Great was the surprise of lord Cornwallis when the report of the artillery at Princeton, and the arrival of breathless messengers, apprized him that the enemy was in his rear. Alarmed by the danger of his position, he commenced a retreat; and, being harassed by the militia and the countrymen who had suffered from the outrages perpetrated by his troops on their advance, he did not deem himself in safety till he arrived at Brunswick, from whence, by means of the Rariton, he had communication with New York.
The successes of the American arms at Trenton and at Princeton were followed by important consequences. The affairs of the United States before these events, appeared to be desperate. Two thousand of the regular troops had a right, on the 1st of January, to demand their discharge.The recruiting service was at an end, and general despondency prevailed. The triumphs of the British through the previous parts of the campaign produced a common apprehension, in the citizens of the middle slates, that any further struggle would be useless, and that America must eventually return to her allegiance to Great Britain. Many individuals made their peace with the commissioners, and took protection from the officers of the crown; and more discovered an inclination to do it, when opportunity should present itself. General Howe supposed New Jersey restored to the British government, and thought the war drawing to a close. But these successes were considered as great victories, and produced important effects upon the public mind. The character of the commander-in-chief proportionably rose in the estimation of the great mass of American people, who now respected themselves, and confided in their persevering efforts to secure the great object of contention—the independence of their country. Other causes had a powerful operation upon the minds of the yeomanry of New Jersey.
The British commanders tolerated, or at least did not restrain, gross licentiousness in their army. The inhabitants of the state which they boasted was restored to the bosom of the parent country, were treated not as reclaimed friends, but as conquered enemies. The soldiers were guilty of every species of rapine, and with little discrimination between those who had opposed or supported the measures of Britain. The abuse was not limited to the plundering of property. Every indignity was offered to the persons of the inhabitants, not excepting those outrages to the female sex which are felt by ingenuous minds with the keenest anguish, and excite noble spirits to desperate resistance. These aggravated abuses roused the people of New Jersey to repel that army to which they had voluntarily submitted, in the expectation of protection and security. At the dawn of success upon the American arms, they rose in small bands to oppose their invaders. They scoured the country, cut off every soldier who straggled from his corps, and in many instances repelled the foraging parties of the enemy. Early in this year also the Americans were gratified by the arrival of a vessel from France at Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, with upwards of eleven thousand stand of arms, and a thousand barrels of powder; and about the same time ten thousand stand of arms arrived in another part of the United States.
This supply was, however, in some measure counterbalanced. In the month of March the British sent out two detachments to destroy the American stores at Peekskill, on the North river, and at Danbury, in Connecticut. Both succeeded in their attempt; and although the stores destroyed did not equal in quantity the report on which the expeditions were planned, yet their loss was sensibly felt by the Americans in the active season of the campaign.
Sir William Howe, having in vain attempted to entice or provoke general Washington to an engagement, had, in June, retired with his army from the Jerseys to Staten island. After keeping the American general in long and perplexing suspense concerning his intended operations, he at length sailed from Sandy Hook with about sixteen thousand men, entered Chesapeake bay, and on the 24th of August arrived at the head of Elk river. Generals Grant and Knyphausen having joined him on the 8th of September with the troops under their command, the whole army movedonward in two columns toward Philadelphia, the possession of which was now evidently the object of the British commander. Washington, who regulated his movements by those of the enemy, had by this time, with the whole American army excepting the light infantry, which remained on the lines, taken a position behind Red Clay creek, on the road leading directly from the enemy’s camp to Philadelphia. The British rapidly advanced until they were within two miles of the Americans; while Washington crossed the Brandywine, and took post on a height behind that river.
At daybreak on the morning of the 11th it was ascertained that Sir William Howe in person had crossed the Brandywine at the forks, and was rapidly marching down the north side of the river to attack the American army. The commander-in-chief now ordered general Sullivan to form the right wing to oppose the column of Sir William. General Wayne was directed to remain at Chadd’s ford with the left wing, to dispute the passage of the river with Knyphausen. General Green, with his division, was posted as a reserve in the centre between Sullivan and Wayne, to reinforce either, as circumstances might require. General Sullivan marched up the river, until he found favorable ground on which to form his men; his left was near the Brandywine, and both flanks were covered with thick wood. At half-past four o’clock, when his line was scarcely formed, the British, under lord Cornwallis, commenced a spirited attack. The action was for some time severe; but the American right, which was not properly in order when the assault began, at length gave way, and exposed the flank of the troops that maintained their ground to a destructive fire, and continuing to break from the right, the whole line finally gave way. As soon as the firing began, general Washington, with general Green’s division, hastened towards the scene of action, but before his arrival Sullivan was routed, and the commander-in-chief could only check the pursuit of the enemy, and cover the retreat of the beaten troops. During these transactions general Knyphausen assaulted the works erected for the defence of Chadd’s ford, and soon carried them. General Wayne, by this time learning the fate of the other divisions, drew off his troops. General Washington retreated with his whole force that night to Chester. The American loss in this battle was about three hundred killed and six hundred wounded. Four hundred were made prisoners, but these chiefly of the wounded.
Perceiving that the enemy were moving into the Lancaster road, towards the city, general Washington took possession of ground near the Warren tavern, on the left of the British, and twenty-three miles from Philadelphia. The protection of his stores at Reading was one object of this movement. The next morning he was informed of the approach of the British army. He immediately put his troops in motion to engage the enemy. The advance of the two hostile armies met and began to skirmish, when a violent storm came on, which prevented a general engagement, and rendered the retreat of the Americans absolutely necessary. The inferiority of the muskets in the hands of the American soldiery, which had been verified in every action, was strikingly illustrated in this retreat. The gun-locks being badly made, and the cartridge-boxes imperfectly constructed, this storm rendered most of the arms unfit for use; and all the ammunition was damaged. The army was in consequence extremely exposed, and their danger became the greater, as many of the soldiers were destitute of bayonets.Fortunately the tempest, which produced such serious mischief to the Americans, prevented the pursuit of the British. Washington still continued to make every effort to save the capital; but Sir William Howe, having secured the command of the Schuylkill, on the 23d of September, crossed it with his whole army; on the 26th he advanced to Germantown; and on the succeeding day lord Cornwallis, at the head of a strong detachment, entered Philadelphia in triumph.
The American army, reinforced to eight thousand continental troops and three thousand militia, took a position at Shippack creek, on the east side of the Schuylkill, about twenty miles from Philadelphia, and sixteen from Germantown. At the latter place was posted the main body of the British army. The first object of Sir William Howe was to subdue the defences, and remove the impediments of the Delaware, that a communication might be opened with the British shipping. General Washington made every effort to prevent the execution of his enemy’s design, in the hope of forcing general Howe out of Philadelphia, by preventing supplies of provisions from reaching him. Of the attainment of this important object he had no doubt, could the passage of the Delaware be rendered impracticable. For this purpose works had been erected on a bank of mud and sand in the river, near the confluence of the Schuylkill, and about seven miles below Philadelphia. The place, from these works, was denominated Fort island, and the works themselves fort Mifflin. On a neck of land on the opposite shore of New Jersey, called Red Bank, a fort was constructed and mounted with heavy artillery, and called fort Mercer. Fort island and Red Bank were distant from each other half a mile. In the channel of the Delaware, which ran between them, two ranges of chevaux-de-frise were sunk. These consisted of large pieces of timber, strongly framed together, and pointed with iron, and they completely obstructed the passage of ships. These works were covered by several galleys, floating batteries, and armed ships.
Sir William Howe having detached a considerable force from Germantown to operate against the works on the Delaware, general Washington thought this a favorable opportunity to attack the British army in their cantonments. The line of the British encampment crossed the village of Germantown at right angles, near its centre, and its flanks were strongly covered. The army, having moved from its ground about seven in the afternoon of the 3d of October, began an attack about sunrise the next morning. The advance of the column, led by Sullivan, and accompanied by the commander-in-chief, encountered and drove in a picket, which presently gave way; and his main body, soon following, engaged the light infantry and other troops encamped near the picket, and forced them from their ground. Though closely pursued, lieutenant-colonel Musgrove, with six companies, took post in a strong stone house, which lay in the way of the Americans, and severely galled them by a fire of musketry from the doors and windows. General Washington immediately ordered a brigade to surround the house; but colonel Musgrove refused to surrender.
Four pieces of cannon were brought against him, but he sustained the fire of them until major-general Gray, with the third brigade, and brigadier-general Agnew, with the fourth, came to his assistance, and attacked the Americans with great spirit. In the mean time general Green arrival with his column, and attacked the right wing of the British. Colonel Matthews routed a party of the British opposed to him; but being envelopedin a most extraordinary fog, he lost sight of the brigade to which he belonged, and was taken prisoner with his whole regiment. At length a part of the right wing of the British attacked the Americans on the opposite side of the town; and the embarrassments among the American troops, occasioned by the darkness, gave the English time to recover from their consternation. Sullivan’s division had penetrated far into Germantown; but the main body of the American army now commenced a retreat, and all efforts to rally it proved ineffectual. In this battle the loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was not less than twelve hundred men, while that of the British did not exceed half that number. The American army encamped again on Shippack creek, but soon after advanced to White Marsh, while the royal army removed from Germantown to Philadelphia.