[American Revolution]: Faden, William:

$17,500 · Offered by William Reese Company

BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE IN WHICH THE REBELS WERE DEFEATED, SEPTEMBER THE 11th, 1777, BY THE ARMY UNDER THE COMMAND OF GENERAL SR. WILLM. HOWE. An excellent portrayal of the Battle of Brandywine at which the Americans lost control of Philadelphia and barely escaped disaster.This fine engraving of the battle accurately depicts the sequence of events up to the American retreat toward Chester and indicates the very complex and rugged terrain which appears to have been a factor in the outcome. Washington had anticipated a British attack at Chadds Ford and set up his defenses on the high ground there. He neglected a ford of the Brandywine farther up, and crossing this enabled a large force under Cornwallis to outflank him. Meanwhile, the other half of the British forces under Knyphausen faced the entrenched troops at Chadds Ford. Fortunately for the Americans, Howe was slow to order the attack, and this enabled the Americans to throw together a right flank to deter Cornwallis. When the attack order was given, the Americans were thrown back, but not annihilated as they would have been had they been completely outflanked.Thanks to Nathanael Greene, the Americans were able to retreat in a more or less orderly fashion and at nightfall escape to Chester. They had suffered fairly high casualties and had lost most of their cannon. But the British mission required that they destroy the American army and then subdue the civilian population, as necessary. Neither Howe nor others involved seemed

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