Editing Battle of Brandywine (section)

==Battle==
{{hatnote|See [[Brandywine order of battle]] for a detailed list of the regiments and organizations of both armies.}}

===British advance===
[[File:Battle_of_Brandywine_1777.jpg|thumb|right|Map of the Brandywine battlefield (1830 engraving)]]
[[File:Battle of Brandywine.USMA.edu.history.gif|thumb|left|The Battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777]]

September 11 began with a heavy fog, which provided cover for the British troops. Washington received contradictory reports about the British troop movements and continued to believe that the main force was moving to attack at Chadds Ford.

'''Knyphausen's Column'''

At 5:30&nbsp;a.m. the British and [[Hessian (soldier)|Hessian]] troops began marching east along the "Great Road" (now Route 1) from Kennett Square, advancing on the American troops positioned where the road crossed Brandywine Creek. The first shots of the battle took place about 4 miles west of Chadds Ford, at Welch's Tavern.  Elements of Maxwell's continental light infantry skirmished with the British vanguard (primarily the Queen's Rangers – a battalion of loyalists). The British continued to advance and encountered a greater force of continentals behind the stone walls on the [[Old Kennett Meetinghouse]] grounds. The battle was fought at mid-morning around the meeting house while the pacifist Quakers continued to hold their midweek service. One of the Quakers later wrote, "While there was much noise and confusion without, all was quiet and peaceful within."<ref>{{Cite book|title = Brandywine|last = Harris|first = Michael|publisher = Savas Beatie|year = 2014|isbn = 978-1-61121-162-7|location = El Dorado Hills, CA|page = 226}}</ref>

From the Meetinghouse grounds, the battle continued for three miles to the Brandywine Creek, at Chadds Ford. Eventually the British pushed the Americans back but not before suffering heavy losses.

'''Cornwallis's Column'''

The main British column under General Cornwallis (and accompanied by General Howe) set out from Kennett Square at 5:00&nbsp;a.m..  Local loyalist sources had provided Howe with knowledge of two unguarded fords, above the forks of the Brandywine.  The 17-mile flank march took approximately 9 hours to complete. The British appeared on the Americans' right flank at around 2&nbsp;p.m. and took a much-needed rest on Osbourne's Hill, a commanding position north of the Continental army.  Having received intelligence from Colonel Bland's scouts, Washington ordered Sullivan to take overall command of Stirling and Stephen's divisions (in addition to his own) and quickly march north to meet the British flank attack.  As they were forming their lines north of Dilworth, Howe launched his attack.  Having taken overall command of the right wing of the army, Sullivan left his division to confer with the other generals.  His own division he left under the command of Preudhomme de Borre, with orders to shift to the right in order to link up with Stirling and Stephen's divisions (from left to right the divisions were arranged as Sullivan, Stirling, Stephen).  As the British lines advanced, the Hessian Jaegers threatened to flank the American right forcing Stephen and Stirling to shift right. Howe was slow to attack, which bought time for the Americans to position some of their men on high ground near [[Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse|Birmingham Meetinghouse]], about a mile (1.6&nbsp;km) north of Chadds Ford.<ref>Birmingham Meetinghouse is located at {{Coord|39|54|20|N|75|35|42|W|name=Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse and School}}</ref> By 4&nbsp;p.m., the British attacked.  The British Brigade of Guards caught de Borre by surprise on the American left, before de Borre had time to fully form, and immediately sent them in to disarray, causing the entire division to rout.  Initially,  Stephen's and Stirling's divisions held firm, aided by a battery of artillery on a knoll between their divisions.  However, the British light infantry battalions, aided by the Jaegers, eventually caused Stephen's division to fall back.  A bayonet charge by the British grenadier battalions, in the center, similarly forced Stirling to retreat.  The [[Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] had only just arrived, joining Stirling's division, when he received a wound while trying to rally the retreating troops.

===Washington and Greene arrive near Dilworth===
Around 6&nbsp;p.m., Washington and Greene arrived with reinforcements to try to hold off the British, who now occupied Meeting House Hill.  Washington conferred with Greene and Knox, the latter of whom was head of artillery, in the yard of the William Brinton house.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ebenreiter|first1=John|title=Battle of Brandywine|url=http://brandywinebattlefield.org/?page_id=112|website=Brandywine Battlefield|access-date=28 February 2017}}</ref> The 2nd Battalion of Grenadiers was nearing their position, and was joined by a fresh reserve brigade (the 4th British Brigade).  It was determined that Knox would deploy artillery to slow the British advance.  Greene's reinforcements, combined with the remnants of Sullivan's, Stephen's, and Stirling's divisions, formed south of Dilworth and stopped the pursuing British for nearly an hour, letting the rest of the army retreat.  When darkness fell, Greene's division finally began the march to [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]] along with the rest of the army.  The British army was not able to pursue due to the onset of night.  The Americans were also forced to leave behind many of their cannons on Meeting House Hill because almost all of their artillery horses were killed.

====Knyphausen's final attack====
[[File:Brandywine SW from Wylie Road.jpg|thumb|Location of Stirling's Division on the ridge (i.e. Birmingham Hill) just west of Birmingham road (looking west).  The British Grenadier battalions attacked from right to left, ultimately forcing Stirling to fall back with a bayonet charge.]]
Upon hearing the attack of Cornwallis's column, Knyphausen launched an attack against the weakened American center across Chadds Ford, breaking through the divisions commanded by Wayne and [[William Maxwell (Continental Army general)|William Maxwell]] and forcing them to retreat and leave behind most of their cannons. Armstrong's militia, never engaged in the fighting, also decided to retreat from their positions. Further north, Greene sent Brigadier General [[George Weedon]]'s troops to cover the road just outside the town of Dilworth to hold off the British long enough for the rest of the [[Continental Army]] to retreat. Darkness brought the British pursuit to a standstill, which then allowed Weedon's force to retreat. The defeated Americans retreated to Chester where most of them arrived at midnight, with stragglers arriving until morning. The American retreat was well organized, largely because of the efforts of Lafayette, who, although wounded, created a rally point that allowed for a more orderly retreat before being treated for his wound.<ref>{{cite news  | last = Gaines  | first = James  | title = Washington & Lafayette  | work = Smithsonian Magazine Online  | publisher = Smithsonian  | date = September 2007  | url = http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/washington_main.html?c=y&page=3  | access-date = October 21, 2008  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120403015032/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/washington_main.html?c=y&page=3  | archive-date = April 3, 2012  | url-status = dead  }}</ref>