Another Vietnam

The American Revolution was Britain’s Vietnam.  Like the Americans two hundred years later, Britain had the larger, better trained army and the largest navy in the world.  Just like the Americans in Vietnam, the British repeatedly won battles while failing to win the war.  

A perfect example is the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777. (There’s no brandy involved, unfortunately.)   After two years, the British had chased the Americans out of Boston, Long Island, New York City and New Jersey.  The next big northern city was Philadelphia which was also the home of the Continental Congress.  If the British could capture Philadelphia quickly, they might also nab the American government.

Lt. General Sir William Howe was the overall commander of the British forces. Howe knew that Washington had used the early months of 1777 to rebuild and train his motley forces while allowing small units to harass the British, attacking and fading away like the VC in the jungle.  Washington avoided a set piece battle which he knew the Americans would lose.

Howe was losing patience, as were his political bosses in London.  He placated London by promising to send troops to help Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne take upstate New York so that New England would be split from the other colonies. But he also decided to pursue his own campaign toward Philadelphia. It was Howe’s Vietnam moment because it muddled the British military strategy.

In July, Howe loaded 16,500 men aboard ships commanded by his brother Admiral Richard Howe.  The fleet sailed from New York City headed for the Delaware Bay intending to land near Philadelphia.  New York City is about 95 miles from Philadelphia. Howe’s troops spent six weeks at sea trying to find a suitable place to land.

Eventually, they sailed into the Chesapeake Bay and came ashore in Maryland.  The seasick soldiers headed for Philadelphia hindered most of the way by American skirmishers.  On September 11th, they arrived at Chadds Ford, 25 miles southwest of Philadelphia.

Chadds Ford was one of about eight fords on Brandywine Creek.  The creek varies between three to five feet deep and would have been relatively easy to wade across.  However, the Continental Army was guarding the ford as well as others along a six mile stretch of the creek.  The Americans held the high ground which should have been an advantage.  Luckily for the British, the American artillery had lousy aim and was of little effect early in the battle. 

Seeing Washington’s deployment, Howe decided to split his forces. A force of about 5,000 soldiers attacked Chadds Ford to hold the Americans in place.  Meanwhile, the bulk of the British forces marched around the Americans and crossed at another ford, moving into position to hit the Americans in the rear.

The battle began early in the day after the fog lifted so that soldiers could see what they were aiming at.  Around 11 am, garbled reports reached Washington that most of the enemy was flanking his position.  That’s when Washington had his Vietnam moment. 

First, he ordered two of his commanders to move northeast to prepare to defend against the British flanking forces.  Then he decided to leave the high ground, cross the creek and attack the British holding force at Chadds Ford, perhaps planning to defeat them before wheeling to face Howe’s main force.  Then he canceled both orders and awaited developments.

By 2 pm, Washington finally had confirmation that his position was effectively screwed because Howe was preparing to attack him from the rear.  While the Americans were trying to get into a new defensive position, Howe attacked.  Luckily for the Americans, their artillery had finally dialed in their aim and provided support to the soldiers.

Around 5 pm the American line began to collapse.  Major General Nathanael Greene arrived and threw his troops into the line to stop it from disintegrating. Unfortunately, for the Americans they were trapped between Howe to the north and the British forces at Chadds Ford.  Outnumbered and outgunned, the Americans finally retreated.

The Battle of Brandywine cost the British fewer than 600 casualties. The Americans suffered 1,100 casualties and lost 11 cannons.  But just like the Viet Cong 200 years later, the Americans absorbed the loss and kept on fighting.  The war went on until 1783.

I learned of the Battle of Brandywine while growing up in eastern Pennsylvania and refreshed my recollections with A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, by Theodore P. Savas and J. David Dameron (2006).  However, there are countless books and biographies about the battles and people in the American Revolution.  

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A Christmas Present for a Nation

The sun shone brightly on Christmas morning 1776 as George Washington plotted his next move. The American Revolution was less than a year old and appeared doomed. The situation could scarcely have been worse.

Washington’s army was a defeated mess. In less than a year, the Continental Army and its supporting state militias had been chased out of Boston and New York City. The British chased them across New Jersey and were closing in on Philadelphia. In anticipation of the British attack, the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia sinking the currency backed by the Continental Congress, making it difficult to buy weapons and supplies for the army.

Washington knew he had about one week to save the entire rebellion. At the end of December, most of his army would disappear when their short-term enlistment period expired. Recruitment efforts floundered because few people wanted to enlist in a lost cause.

Success in war depends on luck as much as good leadership, and Washington’s luck was about to change. First, the British decided to call off their advance and settle into winter quarters. Second, the British believed the Americans were inferior fighters compared to their well-trained, well-supplied professional army. As soon as the weather improved, they planned to crush the rebellion.

While the British got warm and comfortable at various fortified encampments in New Jersey, Washington dreamed up a complicated plan to attack them. He chose Trenton because it was isolated from the other British encampments and was close to the Delaware River. Trenton was held by Hessians, the 18th-century mercenaries preferred by any monarch who could afford to hire them.

Washington’s plan was complicated because his troops had to cross the Delaware River at night, then march eight miles to Trenton and simultaneously attack from two directions. Around 2 p.m. on Christmas Day as the Americans marched toward the river, a winter storm blew in. Many of the troops walked barefoot through the freezing rain and snow because they’d worn out their boots on the long marches earlier in the year.

Washington’s genius as a commander was to remain calm and outwardly confident in the most of dire circumstances. He inspired his men to keep going. Somehow they managed to cross the partially frozen Delaware River in wooden boats, taking their cannons along. The event is memorialized in Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware.”

Across the river, the Americans reformed into their battlegroups and began lugging their cannons toward Trenton. The atrocious weather delayed their arrival from dawn to about 8 a.m. on December 26th.

The popular myth is that the Hessian troops were taken by surprise after having too much to drink during their Christmas celebrations. Actually, the Hessians were sober and had been warned about the attack. But they made the same mistake as the British; they believed the American army was inferior to them and besides, no one would be crazy enough to attack at night in a snowstorm.

At about 8 a.m. on December 26th, the Americans simultaneously attacked Trenton from the north and the south. Trenton was unusual in that it had been built on a grid. The perfectly aligned streets provided an excellent field of fire for the American cannons and sharpshooters.

Some Hessians escaped to the edge of town but were attacked before they could counterattack. During this brief melee, the Hessian commander was mortally wounded and the Hessians surrendered. The Hessians lost 40 killed, 66 wounded and 918 captured. Americans lost 4 killed, 8 wounded, and 5 frozen to death during the march from the river.

The Battle of Trenton is considered the turning point in the American Revolution by many historians. Thanks to this win, American morale soared, recruitment improved and the long grinding war continued until the British surrendered at Yorktown in 1781. Trenton was Washington’s Christmas present for a nation that didn’t yet exist.

For a quick overview of the war, see A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution, by Theodore P. Savas and J. David Dameron (2006). Of the many biographies of George Washington that I’ve read, my current favorite is Washington: A Life, by Ron Chernow (2010). Chernow also wrote a biography of Alexander Hamilton that inspired Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical.

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