Prelude
The campaign for Philadelphia had begun quite badly for the American forces. George Washington and the Continental Army had suffered successive defeats at Brandywine and the Paoli that left Philadelphia defenseless. After the seizure of the revolutionary capital by Charles Cornwallis on September 26, 1777, William Howe left 3,462 men to defend it and moved 9,728 men to Germantown, 5 miles (8.0 km) north, determined to locate and destroy the American forces. Howe established his headquarters at Stenton, the former country home of James Logan.
With Howe's forces thus divided, Washington saw an opportunity to confront the British. He decided to attack their garrison in Germantown as the last effort of the year before the onset of winter. His plan was to attack the British at night with four columns from different directions with the goal of creating a double envelopment. Washington hoped to surprise the British and Hessian armies in much the same way he had surprised the Hessians at the Battle of Trenton.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Germantown
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