Germantown

This month marks the anniversary of the Battle of Germantown, fought on October 4, 1777.

Last year I caught the reenactment; here we see the British at the Chew House.  On September 26, 1777 the British entered the American capital of Philadelphia.  Washington, anxious to engage Howe, ordered a four-pronged attack.  Theoretically sound on paper, the plan might well have succeeded for for a series of mishaps and misjudgments--the literal fog of war causing American units to fire on each other, an obsession with dislodging a small number of British units ensconced in the Chew House, and the drunken command of one of Washington's generals.  The attack on October 4, 1777 centered around Market Square and the Chew House.

This month also marks a year since I started this blog, with the intent of highlighting the places of the Revolution as they appear today.