Passage of the Brandywine by the British Army. scouting parties in various directions to observe the movements of the enemy. ses Hazen' was stationed with a considerable force at Jones's Ford. Between nine and ten in the morning, Colonel Theodoric Bland,' with some light horse, crossed the September 11. Brandywine at Jones's Ford, and discovered a portion of Cornwallis's division marching toward the west branch, at Trimble's Ford. Bland dispatched a messenger to Sullivan with the information, which was confirmed by another dispatch from Colonel Ross (dated at "Great Valley road at eleven o'clock"), who was in the rear of Cornwallis's division, informing Sullivan that "five thousand men, with sixteen or eighteen field-pieces, were on the march for Taylor's and Jefferis's Fords." Similar intelligence was sent by Colonel Hazen. These accounts reached Washington, from Sullivan, between eleven and twelve o'clock. The commander-in-chief immediately ordered Sullivan to pass the Brandywine and attack Cornwallis, while he, with the main division, crossed, and engaged Knyphausen at Chad's Ford. General Greene, of Washington's division, was ordered to cross the river above the ford and gain Knyphausen's rear. Before these several movements could be executed, counter intelligence was received by Sullivan from Major Spear of the militia, posted upon the forks of the Brandywine, who informed him that there was no appearance of an enemy in that quarter. Spear's information was confirmed by Sergeant Tucker, who had been sent out in that direction expressly to gain information. Relying upon this intelligence, Sullivan halted. He dispatched a messenger to Washington with the information, and the meditated attack upon the enemy at Chad's Ford was abandoned. Greene, who had crossed with his advanced guard, was recalled. While Washington was thus kept in suspense by conflicting intelligence, Cornwallis gained his coveted advantage. He made a circuitous march of seventeen miles, keeping beyond the American patrols, crossed the west branch of the Brandywine at Trimble's Ford, and the east branch at Jefferis's, and gained the heights near the Birmingham meeting-house, within two miles of Sullivan's right flank, before that general was certain that Howe and Cornwallis had left Kennet Square! This apparent want of vigilance on the part of his patrols drew upon Sullivan the severest censure of the public. Already the failure of an expedition against British posts on Staten Island,' under his general command, had biased public opinion against him; and Congress, wherein Sullivan had several active enemies, had directed General Washington to appoint a court to investigate the matter. The dis 'Moses Hazen was appointed colonel of a second Canadian regiment in 1775. He commanded at Mont Mores Harzen real for a short time. Afterward he was appointed colonel of a regiment called Congress's Own. He was in the battles of Germantown and Brandywine. Having charge of prisoners in Pennsylvania, he was ordered to designate, by lot, a British officer for retaliation in the case of Huddy, mentioned on page 366. He died at Troy, New York, January 30, 1802, aged 69 years. 2 Theodoric Bland was a native of Virginia. He was prepared by study for the medical profession, but abandoned it for the field when the Revolution commenced. He was among the earliest active opposers of Dunmore in Virginia. After distinguishing himself as a leader among the volunteers, he joined the regular army, and soon rose to the rank of colonel of dragoons. He was a vigilant and energetic officer. In 1779, he was appointed to the command of the "convention troops" (as those of Burgoyne's captured army were called), at Charlottesville, in Virginia, where he continued till the autumn of 1780, when he was elected a delegate in Congress. He held a seat in that body until the close of the war. He was then chosen a member of the Legislature of Virginia, and in that body he opposed the rat Thes ification of the Federal Constitution. When adopted, he patriotically gave it his firm support, and was chosen to represent his district in the first Congress under that instrument. While attending the session in New York, he was seized with illness, and expired on the 1st of June, 1790, at the age of forty-eight. Colonel Bland was a soldier, legislator, and poet. His papers were collected and published a few years since, and are interesting mementoes of the war. I have briefly referred to this expedition on page 56, in connection with a notice of the political influence of the Quakers during the war. Forming of the Lines for Battle. Conduct of Deborre. Commencement of the Battle. Skill and Courage of the Belligerents asters which occurred on the Brandywine were charged to Sullivan's want of vigilance, energy, and skill, and he was held responsible for the defeat of our troops. Even his honorable acquittal, by a court martial, subsequently, did not altogether remove from the public mind a distrust of his ability as a general officer. When Sullivan was assured, by a note from Colonel Bland, dated at "quarter past one o'clock," that the enemy were in great force on Osborne's Hill, a little to the right of the Birmingham meeting-house, he dispatched a messenger to Washington with the intelligence,❜ and marched immediately to oppose the enemy. His division consisted of his own, Stirling's, and Stephen's brigades. Upon the gentle slopes near the Birmingham meeting-house he began to form his line for battle, his left extending toward the Brandywine. It was an advantageous position, for both flanks were covered by thick woods; but, in consequence of the delay in waiting the return of the messenger with orders from the commander-in-chief, the rough and broken character of the ground, and the time occupied by Sullivan in making a wide circuit in bringing his brigade to its assigned place in the line,' he was not fully prepared for action when the refreshed and well-formed battalions of the enemy, under Cornwallis, came sweeping on from Osborne's Hill, and commenced a furious attack. The advanced guard were German troops. On arriving at the Street road, they were fired upon by a company of Americans stationed in an orchard north of Samuel Jones's brick dwellinghouse. The Hessians returned the fire, and the action soon became general. The artillery of both armies opened with terrible effect; and while the Americans maintained their position, the carnage was great. The most indomitable courage was displayed, and, for a while, the result was doubtful. The Americans, many of them unskillful militia, repelled charge after charge of the well-disciplined infantry, chasseurs, grenadiers, and guards of the enemy, until overwhelming numbers obliged them to yield. The right wing of the Americans, under General Deborre, first gave way, and the left, under Sullivan, soon followed. The latter officer used every exertion to rally the flying troops, but in vain. In broken fragments they fled over the fields toward the main division of the army at Chad's Ford. The center division (Stirling's brigade), in which was General Conway, with eight hundred men, yet remained firm as a rock in the midst of the wild ocean of carnage. To this divi Three days after the battle on the Brandywine (September 14th), Mr. Burke, a delegate in Congress, made specific charges against Sullivan. On the strength of these charges, Congress voted that Sullivan should be recalled from the army till an inquiry should be made into his conduct. The recall was suspended at the earnest solicitation of Washington, who knew the falsity of the charges, the worth of Sullivan, and the immediate wants of the army; there being a lack of general officers, in consequence of Lincoln, Arnold, and others, having been sent to the northern army. 2 Tradition says that Thomas Cheyney, a resident Whig, gave Washington the first intelligence of the approach of the enemy. He was alone, on a spirited mare, reconnoitering, and came suddenly upon the British. They fired upon him, but he escaped to the quarters of Washington. The chief doubted the truth of his intelligence at first; but the solemn assurances of Cheyney that it was correct-an assurance backed by an oath-made Washington believe him. Sullivan's note soon removed all doubt. Cheyney was an active spy while the American army was in the vicinity of the Delaware, and often suffered much from the Tories. 3 A dissension at this time existed respecting the post of honor, on the extreme right of the line. General Deborre, a French officer who had lately joined the army, claimed this post, an honor which Sullivan would not yield. Perceiving his orders disobeyed, and Deborre pertinaciously insisting upon taking the right, Sullivan made a circuitous march for the purpose of outreaching him, and was, consequently, late upon the field. His brigade was not formed for action when the conflict commenced. Sullivan did not accomplish his purpose, and Deborre obtained his coveted position on the right. His brigade was the first to give way in the action. For his conduct on this occasion, and also in the expedition against Staten Island, Congress voted an inquiry. Deborre was offended, and resigned his commission. Having made himself very unpopular in the army, Congress readily accepted his resignation. He was an officer of thirtyfive years' service in Europe, but was totally unfit to command American troops. 4 Osborne's Hill is an eminence extending eastward from the Brandywine, and crossing the road from Jefferis's Ford, about a mile and a quarter above the Birmingham meeting-house. The British, under Cornwallis, halted and divided on the north side of Osborne's Hill, between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. It was at this time that the two armies first discovered each other, and prepared for action. The British army advanced over and down the south side of the hill (according to the narrative of Joseph Townsend, an eye-witness), across the lands of James Carter, now (1848) occupied by his nephew, James Forsyth. Effects of the British Artillery. Retreat of the Americans. March of Greene to their Support. La Fayette wounded. sion Sullivan now attached himself, and, with Stirling and La Fayette, engaged personally in the hottest of the battle. To this point Cornwallis directed his energies. His artillery made dreadful breaches in their ranks, and strewed the earth with the slain.' Resistance was vain, and, when hope no longer encouraged the contending patriots of the center, they, too, wheeled, and joined their comrades in their flight. Two of Sullivan's aids were killed; and La Fayette, who had leaped from his horse, and, sword in hand, was endeavoring to rally the yielding patriots, was wounded in the leg by a musket-ball, and fell. Gimat, his aid, helped him on a horse, and he escaped. Despair seized the troops, and every effort to rally them was, for a time, vain. They fled to the woods in the rear, pursued by the victorious enemy. Some of them were rallied half a mile northward of Dilworth, and a brief encounter ensued between the fugitives and the pursuing party of the left wing of the enemy. The conflict was short, and the Americans again fled. The British right wing got entangled in the woods, and did not participate in the subsequent engagement, when Greene checked the pursuers. On receiving intelligence of the approach of the British, Washington, with Greene's division of Virginians and Pennsylvanians, pushed forward to the support of Sullivan, leaving General Wayne at Chad's Ford to oppose the passage of Knyphausen. When the first cannon-peals from the Birmingham meeting-house broke over the country, Greene pressed the support of the right wing. His first brigade, under General Weedon,' took the lead, and so rapid was their march that they traveled four miles in forty minutes. Between Dilworth and the meeting-house they met the flying Americans, closely pursued by the British. Greene, by a skillful movement, opened his ranks and received the fugitives, then, closing them again, he covered their retreat and checked the pursuers by a continual The place where the hottest of the conflict occurred was between the Birmingham meeting-house and the present dwellings of Messrs. Hibbert Davis and Brinton Jones. Many were killed near the meetinghouse; and, on the day after the battle, several bodies were found south of the meeting-house, doubtless slain in the retreat. The meeting-house was taken possession of by General Howe, and used as an hospital. Several officers who died there were buried in the grave-yard, on the north side of the building. A popular tradition asserts that Earl Percy, the officer who commanded the retreat from Lexington, was killed in this engagement, and that he had a presentiment of his death on this occasion. Even the place where he was said to be buried, near the entrance gate to the grave-yard of the Birmingham meetinghouse, was pointed out to me. This is not correct. The earl (who was afterward Duke of Northumberland) left America previous to this battle. He died in England at the age of ninety-four, on the 10th of July, 1817. 2 The bullet passed quite through his leg. He met a surgeon in the rear, who put a slight bandage around his leg, and he rode to Chester. The soldiers were retreating, in a straggling manner, in that direction; and La Fayette placed a guard near the bridge, at the entrance of the village, with orders to stop all the retreating soldiers at that place. His wound was then dressed, and the next morning he was conveyed to Philadelphia, from whence, after a few days, he proceeded to Bristol. When Henry Laurens was on his way to York, he took the route through Bristol, and conveyed La Fayette in his carriage to Bethlehem, where he received the kind attentions of the Moravians. There he remained about two months, till his wound was sufficiently healed to enable him to join the army. Laurens's kindness was long remembered. When, subsequently, he became a prisoner in the Tower of London, the Marchioness De La Fayette wrote a touching letter in his behalf to the Count De Vergennes, soliciting the aid of the French court in procuring the release of Laurens.-Sparks's Washington, v., 456. 3 more. George Weedon was a native of Virginia, and was an inn-keeper at Fredericksburg before the war.* We find his name first connected with military affairs, in a letter to Colonel Washington, in April, 1775, informing him that the Independent Company of Fredericksburg were determined, with his approbation, to march to Williamsburg, on account of the removal of powder from the magazine by order of Governor DunThis letter was signed by himself, Hugh Mercer, Alexander Spottswood, and John Willis. He joined the Continental army in the course of the summer, and in February, 1777, he received from Congress a commission as brigadier. He was in the battles at Brandywine and Germantown. In consequence of some dissatisfaction about rank, he left the service while the army was at Valley Forge. He resumed the command of a brigade in 1780, and commanded the Virginia militia at Gloucester, during the siege of Yorktown, in October, 1781. From that time he was not engaged in active service in the field. I have met with no account of his subsequent career and death. Gordon, ii., 225. * Dr. J. F. D. Smyth, an English traveler in America, in giving an account of Fredericksburg, says, "I put up at the inn kept by one Weedon, who was afterward a general officer in the American army, and was then very active and zealous in blowing the flames of sedition." The British checked by Greene. Knyphausen preparing to cross the Brandywine. General Muhlenberg fire of artillery. At a narrow defile about a mile from the meeting-house, in the direction cf Chester, flanked on each side by woods, he changed his front, faced the enemy, and kept them at bay while the retreating party rested and formed in his rear. Greene defended this pass with great skill and bravery until twilight, when the pursuers encamped for the night. In this defense the brigades of Weedon and Muhlenberg were greatly distinguished, particularly the tenth Virginia regiment, under Colonel Stevens, and a Pennsylvania regiment, under Colonel Stewart. We have observed that the plan of the enemy was to attack the Americans front and rear at the same time, by Cornwallis gaining the right flank of the patriots, and Knyphausen crossing the Brandywine at Chad's Ford. The firing of heavy guns on the American right was to be the signal for the German general to ford the stream. When the firing commenced at the Birmingham meeting-house, Knyphausen observed the departure of Greene's division, and the consequent weakening of the de'fense of the passage of the river. He immediately made a proper disposition of his troops for crossing. Wayne was on the alert, and, the moment Knyphausen's forces moved forward, he JOHN PETER GABRIEL MUHLENBERG was born in the village of Trappe, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of October, 1746. He was the son of Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, D.D., the founder of the Lutheran Church in America; and his mother was the daughter of Conrad Weiser, a celebrated offi. cer and Indian agent in Pennsylvania. Peter, his eldest born, was dedicated in infancy to the Church, and he was educated for the ministry, partly in this country and partly in Europe. He was ordained a minister in 1768, and commenced his labors in Western New Jersey the following year. He was married to Anna Barbara Meyer in 1770. In order to take charge of a congregation in Virginia, to which he had been called, he went to London in 1772, to receive ordination from an English bishop. Mr. White (afterward Bishop White, of Pennsylvania) was ordained at the same time (the 23d of April, 1772) by the Bishop of London. In his journal Mr. Muhlenberg states that, before their return to America, he and Mr. White attended the theater to see the performance of Garrick, then in the height of his career as an actor. Returning to America, he assumed ministerial duties at Woodstock, in Virginia, where he soon became a leading spirit among those who opposed British oppression. In 1774, he was chairman of the committee of safety in his county, and was also elected a member of the House of Burgesses. At the close of 1775, he was elected colonel of a Virginia regiment, and laid aside his pastoral character. In concluding his fare. well sermon, he said, that, in the language of Holy Writ, "there was a time for all things; a time to preach, and a time to pray, but those times had passed away;" and then, in a voice that echoed like a trumpet-blast through the church, he said, "that there was a time to fight, and that time had now come!" Then, laying aside his sacerdotal gown, he stood before his flock in the full regimental dress of a Virginia colonel. He ordered the drums to be beaten at the church door for recruits; and almost his entire male audience capable of bearing arms joined his standard. Nearly three hundred men enlisted under his banner on that day. He was in the battle at Charleston in 1776, and served with fidelity in the Southern campaign that year. Congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier general in February, 1777, and he was ordered to take charge of all the Continental troops of the Virginia line in that state. He joined the army under Washington, at Middlebrook, in May following, and was with the chief in all his movements until 1779, including the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, the sufferings at Whitemarsh and Valley Forge, the conflict on the plains of Monmouth, and the capture of Stony Point. At the close of that year he was directed to take command of the troops in Virginia, where he was very active until the attack of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In that battle and victory General Muhlenberg participated. At the close of the war, he was elevated to the rank of major general. He removed to Pennsylvania, and in various civil capacities served that state. He was a member of the first and third Congress, and in 1801 was elected a United States senator. The same year he was appointed supervisor of the internal revenue of Pennsylvania, and in 1802 was made collector of the port of Philadelphia. He remained in that office until his death, Passage of the Brandywine by Knyphausen. Bravery of Wayne. General Retreat of the Americans. Result of the Battle. opened upon him a heavy fire of artillery from his intrenchments and the battery near Chad's house. Although in no condition to oppose nearly one half of the British army, he stood firm at first, and gallantly confronted the heavy and steadily progressing columns. But, on receiving intelligence of the defeat of Sullivan at Birmingham meeting-house, and discovering that a considerable force of the enemy, who had penetrated the woods, were coming out upon his flank, Wayne ordered a retreat. This was accomplished in great disorder, leaving his artillery and munitions of war in the hands of Knyphausen. They retreated, in broken columns and confused fragments, behind the division of General Greene, then gallantly defending the pass near Dilworth, and joined the other defeated troops. The approach of night ended the whole conflict. The Americans retreated to Chester that night, where they rendezvoused, and the next day marched toward Philadelphia, and encamped near Germantown. General Armstrong, who was stationed at Pyles's Ford, had no opportunity to engage in the action. The British remained upon the field, near Dilworth, Howe taking up his quarters at Gilpin's, a few miles from Chad's Ford.' Military men, when considering the battle of Brandywine, have questioned the judgment of Washington in incurring the great risk incident to a disparity in numbers and discipline. The numbers engaged in the action have never been accurately ascertained. The British effective force, on the day of the battle, was probably not less than seventeen thousand men, while that of the Americans did not exceed eleven thousand, and many of these were raw militia. Washington was aware of the expectations of Congress and the whole country, and wisely considered that a defeat in battle would be less depressing upon the minds of the soldiers and the people, than permitting the enemy to march, without opposition, to the capture of Philadelphia, then the political metropolis of America. Influenced by these considerations, he resolved to fight the enemy; and had not conflicting intelligence perplexed and thwarted him in his plans, it is probable that victory would have crowned the American army. The result was disastrous, and many noble patriots slept their last sleep upon the battle-field that night." which occurred at his country seat, near Philadelphia, on the 1st of October (his birth-day), 1807, at the age of sixty-one years. His grave is near the village church where he was baptized, and a simple monument bears this inscription: "Sacred to the memory of General Peter MuhlenberG, born October 1st, 1746; died October 1st, 1807. He was brave in the field, faithful in the cabinet, honorable in all his transactions, a sincere friend, and an honest man." The portrait here given is copied, by permission of the author, from an engraving in the Life of Peter Muhlenberg, by his grandson, Henry A. Muhlenberg, Esq., from which I compiled this brief memoir. In M. Hilliard d'Auberteuil's work, in French, published in 1782, entitled "Essais Historiques et Politique sur la Revolution de l'Amerique Septentrionale," there is a touching story of a scene which occurred near the Brandywine, after the battle. It is in substance as follows: A beautiful girl, named Molly Harvey, loved a young patriot soldier by the name of Seymour. Her father was wealthy; the young man was poor. They were not allowed to marry; and young Seymour, determined to distinguish himself, went to South Carolina, and was in the severe battle at Sullivan's Island. He afterward joined the army under Washington, and commanded a company in the battle on the Brandywine. After the battle he obtained leave of absence for three days, and repaired to the house of Harvey, near by. The parents consented to the marriage, and the nuptials were celebrated. The friends of the parties were assembled under the trees, enjoying the festivity, when two soldiers from the British army approached, and attempted to make Seymour their prisoner. A contest ensued, in which the bride was killed by a bayonet-thrust. The day of her marriage was the day of her death. Accompanying the story is a beautiful engraving, representing the sad spectacle. The number of the killed and wounded in the several engagements on the 11th is not known. Washington was unable to make a return of the American loss on account of the confusion which followed the defeat, many of the militia companies being thinned by desertion; and Howe's estimates were only conjectural. General Greene estimated the loss of the Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, at about 1200; that of the royal army nearly 800. Howe reported his loss at 90 killed, 488 wounded, and six missing. He also stated the loss of the Americans at 300 killed, 600 wounded, and 400 taken prisoners; about the number estimated by Greene. The Americans also lost ten small field-pieces, and a howitzer. Many French officers were engaged in the action. The Baron De St. Ouary, serving as a volunteer, was taken prisoner. Captain Louis de Fleury, the hero of Stony Point, had a horse killed under him. His bravery rommanded the admiration of Washington. Two days after the battle, Congress ordered another horse to be presented to De Fleury |