The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Battle of Germantown - 1777 - Jan. 14th, 2003

http://www.ilssar.org/germantown.html ^ | Albert Carlson

[Paulie]

'We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.'

I like this one. Reminds me of the saying " the greatest measure of a man is not never falling, but rising again after he has fallen."

[SAMWolf]

That's the reason we finally won. We wouldn't quit.

[Brian_Baldwin]

Thank you for these posts, it gives me shivers to think of our Fore Fathers whom I love so much. I know that many have family members of past generations who died for freedom, that freedom is not free, and we should all be ready to join with George Washington if he calls us again. Washington is one of my greatest heroes of all time, I wish that if there is a heaven I can see him some day - and I want to see him as he was at that time, leading our troops.

[SAMWolf]

You're Welcome.

It's a shame how PC is removing Washington's contributions to our Country.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Pippin. Good to see you around here. :-)

[Jen]

Hi friends. Do y'all remember me??? Sorry I've been gone so long. Real life took precedence over FReeping. I've missed my Foxhole FRiends! Hope everyone is doing well.

Those tag lines are cool. How do I make one?

[SAMWolf]

Hiya Jen! Taglines are under the box you type your posts in.

[SAMWolf]

The Plan

General Howe was camped outside of Philadelphia and Washington's rebel forces were looking to drive Howe away from Philadelphia and re-capture it. Washington basically devised a plan to divided his army into 4 groups with each group taking a different path and to have a night march. Hopefully in the early morning his troops would hit Howe's army from 4 different roads all at the same time. This was a brilliant plan if it could be carried out successfully. It would surprise the British on both flanks and in the center and hopefully it would compel the British to retreat from the vicinity Philadelphia and leave it open for the rebel re-capture.

Order of Battle

The British were camped from along School House Lane and Church Street. The British units from left to right were a division of Hessians under Lt. General Baron William Fnyphause, two British support brigades, a division of British regulars under James Grant, a division of the Queens Rangers(Tory units raised in the colonies) and two battalions of British Guards. Located near the Chew House was the 14th regiment under Lt. Col. Thomas Musgrave. His job was to support the 2nd Light Infantry Battalion under Capt. Allen Mclane if it came under attack. A half of a mile away was the Logans House, where General Howe's HQ was.
For Washington he was going to have the Pennsylvania militia under General John Armstrong hit the British on the left while militia under colonel William Smallwood and David Formann hit the British on the right. In the center would be Washington's best troops, Brigadier General Anthony Wayne and Sullvian's Division. Between these troops and the militia to the left would be four brigades all under Major General Nathanel Greene which was Washington's largest prong.

Opening

The opening of the battle consisted of Sullvian's advance with brigadier General Thomas Conway leading the way. He smashes the 2nd Light Infantry, while at the same time Wayne's troops deploy to the left. The 14th British regiment moves forward under the fog and temporally stabilizes the front while covering the retreat of the 2nd Light Infantry. While they retreat they burn the fields, covering the battle with smoke.

Phase 1

Some of the retreating British troops take cover in the Chew House. Henry Knox tries to bombard the house, but to little affect. Next, William Maxwell orders his troops to take the house by storming it. Thirty minutes and fifty dead later, Washington calls the attack off and has the house cordoned off. The delay of thirty minutes cost Washington the surprise in his attack. While Sullvian's troops are engaged with the Hessians and Wayne's troops are engaged with the James Grant Division, Greene's men after an hours delay show up and drive toward Church Street.

Phase 2

Greene's troops attacked the Queens Rangers and the two British Battalions with 2 of his 4 brigades. One of his brigades under, Major General Alexander Mcdougall's inexplicably never advanced. This blunder caused both Brig. Gen. Peter Mulenberg and Brig Gen. George Weeden to be flanked by British troops. The Militia under John Armstrong to the left side of the battle fought elements of the Hessian troops throughout the entire battle. Also two militia units under David Forman and William Smallwood never even showed up. This , in turn, caused Greene's troops to be without reinforcements. During all this fighting Greene's fourth and last brigade shows up under the now drunk Brig. Gen. Adam Stephen. This brigade after being separated from the rest of Greene's forces by a night march, wanders all across the battlefield towards the sound of the fight. His men then proceed to mistakenly fire into the back of Wayne's troops.

The Retreat

Adam Stephen's blunder of firing into the back of Wayne's troops convinced Wayne and his men that they were surrounded so they naturally decided to extract themselves from the fight in order to prevent his unit to be routed and captured. Sullivan seeing his right flank fall back decided to do the same and soon a general retreat followed. This didn't go as planned because at the same time the British after hearing an American call for ammunition decided now was the time to charge. The British charged the American lines and routed them. During the rout and the 9th Virginia in Greene's division found themselves to be surrounded by British troops, so they surrendered in mass.

The Aftermath

The Americans finally re-organized themselves at Pennypacker's Mill. The cost for the Americans were 152 killed, 521 wounded and, 400 missing. The casualties for the British were 71 killed, 450 wounded and, an unknown number of troops missing in action. The battle lasted 2 hours and 45min. During this time the battle proved that Americans could stand up and fight against the British. Also, it provided a morale boost because of the near win. Plus, it got the French to think about helping the American cause. Of course, their help would prove to be immeasurable at the Battle of Yorktown.
Washington blamed the lost battle, literally all on the fog-of-war. Although the fog was a roadblock in Washington's plans several other factors contributed to the failure. The drunkenness of Stephen who, at the climax of the fight, fired into his own troops. The militia not showing up or providing very little support to the continentals. The delays, especially the delay at the Chew House, which cost Washington the surprise and the hour delay for Greene which enabled the British to prepare for an attack. Also, the shortage of ammo was a crucial factor in the battle and, to some extent, Washington himself can be blamed because of the complexity of his plan involving a night march with untrained troops, especially the militia.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Jen!!! Glad to see you back my friend!

[Jen]

Hi Victoria!!! I hope it's Sam hiding in that tree who wants to give me a hug. You know how homophobic I am!!!

[Jen]

Aha! Thanks.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! She's on to us Victoria.

Sam the tree

[Victoria Delsoul]

LOL!!! It's me, hahahaha.

[Victoria Delsoul]

She's on to us Victoria.

Oh, yes. Happy to see you, Jen. We missed ya big time.

[PhilDragoo]

It's a shame how PC is removing Washington's contributions to our Country.

Conan O'Brien did a disrespectful bit re Washington some nights ago.

Celebrities idolize smack jockeys, implanted bimbos, traitors a la traitor-rapist42.

"Going to the dogs" is a disservice to man's best friend.

"Going to the Clintons" is more apt.

Now some Brits attempt to support Saddam Hussein over their own security.

Persistent karma.

Godspeed Swift Victory and Safe Return to the Finest Fighting Force on Earth.

A two-thousand-degree send-off for the bankroller of the Palestinian bombers.

SADDAM-FREE IN '03

Clintons no more in '04

[SAMWolf]

Good Evening PhilDragoo.

It's amazing the people that are considered "heroes" today.

[Jen]

Good night friends!

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[Lee'sGhost]

I believe that there is a monument there -- to Arnold's leg which he should have lost -- the only part of him the country would give tribute to.

[conservativemusician]

Thanks Sam.

Been real busy lately and I'm trying to catch up.
I am a huge fan of Revolutionary War history and this is a great post.