With his usual care and genius Washington chose his position well,
on the banks of the Brandywine, a little river which falls into the
Delaware at Wilmington about twenty-six miles from Philadelphia.
On both sides the battle was well fought. But the British army was
larger, better equipped, and better drilled, and they gained the
victory.
This defeat made the fate of Philadelphia certain, and Congress
fled once more, this time to Lancaster. Yet for a fortnight longer
Washington held back the enemy, and only on the 26th of September
did the British march into the city. But before they had time to
settle into their comfortable quarters Washington gave battle again,
at Germantown, on the outskirts of Philadelphia.
It was a well contested battle, and at one time it seemed as if it
might end in victory for the Americans. But Washington's plan of
battle was rather a hard one for inexperienced troops to carry out.
They were as brave as any men who ever carried rifles, but they
were so ignorant of drill that they could not even form into column
or wheel to right or left in soldierly fashion. A thick fog, too,
which hung over the field from early morning, made it difficult to
distinguish friend from foe, and at one time two divisions of the
Americans, each mistaking the other for the enemy, fired upon each
other.
But although the battle of Germantown was a defeat for the Americans
it by no means spelled disaster.
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