Hooton 
 The Battle of Brandywine
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 THK 
 
 LE OF BRANDY WINE 
 
 \VITU ITS 
 
 LINES OF BATTLE, 
 
 
 THE OLD FLAG'S BAPTISM OF FIRE, ETC. 
 
 >1. F. C. Hooton and His Committee Make Report of 
 Their Researches to McCall Post, G. A. R., Concern- 
 ing Various Points of That Memorable Struggle. 
 
 l>ii 
 
 : \NLTV HAY. I'Ki
 
 Wf-ST 
 
 OF 
 
 BRANDYVWNE 
 
 r OUGHT AT 
 
 BIRMINGHAM, PA., 
 SEPTEMBER 11.1777. 
 
 AMERICANS, ca 
 ITISH, at 
 
 H'V*
 
 THE 
 
 Battle of Brandywine 
 
 With Its Lines of Battle. 
 
 COL. F. C. HOOTON AND His COMMITTEE MAKE REPORT OF THEIR RESEARCHES TO 
 McCALL POST, G. A. R., CONCERNING VARIOUS POINTS OF THAT MEMOR- 
 ABLE STRUGGLE. 
 
 THE OLD FLAG'S BAPTISM OF FIRE, ETC. 
 
 McCall Post, Xo. 31, G. A. R., West Chester, met Friday 
 evening, June 30, A. D. 1900. 
 
 The Committee on the Baptism of the American Flag in 
 battle, and matters of interest generally relating to the history 
 of the Battle of Brandywine made its report, through its Chair- 
 man, Col. F. C. Hooton, which we publish below, in full, be- 
 cause of its general interest. 
 
 The Post also decided to erect a fine flag pole and fling to the 
 breeze a beautiful flag at Sandy Hollow, on the farm of Henry 
 Bennett, in commemoration of the heroic stand made there by 
 General Greene's command, and the American dead who are 
 buried there. 
 
 The pole will be erected there on September 11 next, and the 
 Secretary of War has been asked for a cannon to be placed 
 there. 
 
 Congressman Butler has been requested to look after this 
 
 part of the matter. 
 
 (D 
 
 960383
 
 2 
 
 To the Post Commander, officers and.meiiibers of Gen. George 
 A. McCall Post, No. 31, G. A. K., Department of Pennsyl- 
 vania: 
 
 The committee appointed to investigate and report as to 
 whether the tradition that the American flag, the stars and 
 stripes, was first unfurled in battle at the Battle of Brandy- 
 wine, fought September 11, A. D. 1777, is true or not, respect- 
 fully reports: 
 
 It appears that the necessity for a common flag occurred to 
 Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Lynch, of South Carolina, and 
 Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia, who visited Washington's 
 camp at Cambridge, in October, 1775, as a committee from Con- 
 gress, to consult with him as to the best method of continuing 
 and supporting a regular continental army. 
 
 The result of their conference was the adoption of a flag 
 which was partly the British flag with the thirteen red and 
 white stripes added to it to represent the thirteen colonies. 
 
 This flag was carried into Boston when it was evacuated, at 
 the defeat of our forces on Long Island, at the defence of Forts 
 Washington and Lee, in the retreat through New Jersey and 
 at the victories at Princeton and Trenton, but from its simi- 
 larity to the British flag it was deemed advisable after the Dec- 
 laration of Independence to abandon it. 
 
 Accordingly on Saturday, June 14. 1777. Congress resolved 
 that the flag of the thirteen Fnited States should be thirteen 
 stripes, alternately, red and white, and the union should be 
 thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new con- 
 stellation. 
 
 This date is therefore the birthday of the American flag. 
 This resolution was not published in the newspapers until 
 August and was not officially promulgated under the 
 signature of the Secretary of Congress at Philadelphia, 
 until the 3d of September, eight days before the Battle 
 of Brandywine, but it seems to be well authenticated 
 that the stars and stripes except as to the number of the stars 
 was first unfurled in the Battle of Brandywine. fought in what 
 was then Chester county. Pennsylvania, but from the division 
 of the county, is now partly in Chester county and partly in 
 Delaware county, on September 11. A. D. 1777. 
 . In 1704 the States of Vermont and Kentucky having been ad-
 
 mitted. the flag was by act of Congress changed and two stars 
 and two stripes added, making fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. 
 
 This flag continued to be the national flag until 1818. It was 
 under that flag we won our naval victories and our victories 
 on land in the war of 1812. 
 
 In 1818 Congress passed an act by which we went back to 
 the flag of the Revolution, with thirteen stripes, alternately 
 red and white, with a. blue field, in this field to be one star for 
 every State in the Union. 
 
 We, therefore, carried in the war of the Rebellion the same 
 flag our ancestors carried in the Revolution, first unfurled 
 at Brandywine, except with the increase of the number of 
 stars. 
 
 Every military post is provided with three flags: first, the 
 garrison flag, which is twenty feet wide and thirty-six feet 
 i<mjr: second, the post flag, which is ten feet wide and twenty 
 feet long; third, the storm flag, which is four feet two inches 
 wide and eight feet long. 
 
 Each regiment in the army has two flags known as the colors. 
 One of the national flag, the other the regimental flag, both of 
 silk. 
 
 Each of these flags except for the cavalry, is four feet six 
 inches wide and five feet six inches long; the pike is nine feet 
 in length. 
 
 The cavalry colors which are somewhat smaller are called 
 standards and the pike somewhat longer. 
 
 The centre stripe of the flag has embroidered on it the name 
 and number of the regiment. The regimental flag is scarlet, 
 for the engineers and the artillery, blue for the infantry and 
 yellow for the cavalry. 
 
 The regimental flag has on it the c-oat of arms of the United 
 States, and the number or name of the regiment. In a volun- 
 teer regiment the coat of arms of the State it is from and the 
 number and name of the regiment. 
 
 When we recall the number of engagements on sea and land 
 in which our flag has been unfurled, we naturally experi- 
 ence a desire to know something about the history of its first 
 engagement, whether the soldiers who carried it showed proper 
 courage, whether they maintained their ground as you would 
 hope thej' did and, in general, whether there was anything in 
 the flags first battle to be ashamed of.
 
 On August 25. 1777, the British army under the command of 
 Sir William Howe with, as Capt. Montressor, Howe's chief en- 
 gineer officer states, 18,000 men landed at Turkey Point on 
 the Elk, in Cecil county, Maryland, on their expedition for the 
 capture of Philadelphia, the Capitol of the colonies. 
 
 This army Howe immediately divided into two grand divi- 
 sions, one of 11,000 men under Gen. Knyphausen, the other of 
 7,000 men under Lord Corn wa His. 
 
 These" two divisions advanced by easy stages on the road 
 towards Philadelphia, skirmishing daily with the Americans 
 until the 10th of September, on the evening of which day both 
 divisions reached Kennett Square. Here the British General 
 learned that General Washington had made every preparation 
 to dispute his further advance at the Brandywine, some seven 
 miles distant. 
 
 He accordingly arranged his plan of attack. Washington's 
 army consisting of aboutJJLOOO men, divided into five divisions 
 of aboirt_1^00 men carfi^-witfa- Maxwell's corps of riflemen of 
 about 300 men, together with 1,500 militia under General Arm- 
 strong, commanded respectively by Generals Stirling, Stevens, 
 Sullivan, Greene and \Yayne, had been slowly falling back be- 
 fore the British. 
 
 The Brandywine is a considerable stream, capable of being 
 forded at many places. Within the distance of nine miles 
 it is crossed at the following places: 
 
 Pyle's Ford, two miles below Chadd's Ford, where Washing- 
 ton made his stand; Brinton's Ford, two miles above; then 
 Jones' Ford, a mile above, now called Painter's Bridge; Wis- 
 ter's Ford, now called Lenape; more than a mile above that, 
 nufh'ngton's Ford, now called Shaw's Bridge, and Jefferis' 
 Ford, about a mile above the last named ford. 
 
 The troops of Wayne, Stirling and Stevens were stationed 
 back of and above Chadd's Ford. The division of Sullivan ex- 
 tended up to Brinton's Ford, Greene was held in reserve, while 
 the militia were at Pyle's Ford. 
 
 Colonel Hazen with two regiments had been ordered to 
 guard the fords above Brinton's Ford. 
 
 He placed a Delaware regiment at Painter's Bridge, half of 
 his own regiment at the Lenape Ford, and the other half at 
 YlnfHngton's Ford. The British plan of battle provided that
 
 5 
 
 the division of Cornwallis, which Howe personally accom- 
 panied, should make a wide detour, get in Washington's right 
 and rear at Dilworthtown, thus cutting him off from Philadel- 
 phia, while Knyphausen should advance opposite Chadd's Ford 
 with threatening demonstrations until such time as Cornwal- 
 lis had reached Dilworthtown, which Knyphausen could de- 
 termine \)y the sound of the cannon, when he should cross and 
 with their combined attack crush Washington between them 
 and drive him down the Delaware peninsula. 
 
 Cornwallis started at daybreak; Knyphausen at five o'clock. 
 Knyphausen had seven miles to go; Cornwallis, sixteen. The 
 morning was hot and foggy until eleven o'clock. 
 
 The head of Cornwallis column reached Sconneltown about 
 three miles from the battlegrounds at Birmingham, a little 
 after one o'clock, where they halted, that the rear of the 
 column might come up. 
 
 Here they rested more than an hour and fed the horses and 
 the men. In the meantime General Washington, who about 
 two o'clock had learned of the approach of this flanking'column, 
 saw that he must deliver battle at Birmingham and not at 
 Chadd's Ford as he had determined, and that he must hold the 
 enemy in check at Birmingham, at all hazards, until .his trains 
 had been sufficiently advanced on the retreat towards Chester, 
 and until the troops at Chadd's Ford should succeed in retreat- 
 ing beyond the line of Dilworthtown. 
 
 He accordingly threw all of his available force into the fight 
 at Birmingham with the exception of Wayne, whom he held 
 at Chadd's Ford to keep Knyphausen in check, and the militia 
 at Pyle's Ford, two miles below. 
 
 General Knyphausen in his official report says he observed 
 great commotion amongst the Americans at two o'clock. 
 
 He saw four batteries of artillery move from Washington's 
 left to his right, and the trains begin to move hither and thither 
 on the road towards Chester. 
 
 Washington immediately ordered Stirling and Stevens to 
 Birmingham. At half past two he ordered Sullivan with his 
 division to join Stirling and Stevens and take command. 
 
 Hazen, at Shaw's Bridge, at one o'clock saw the British 
 crossing at Jefferis' Ford, one mile above and waiting until he 
 could estimate their numbers, commenced a rapid and cautious
 
 6 
 
 inarch down the Brandywine, taking up as he marched his de- 
 tachments at Wister's Ford, and at Jones' Ford. Here he met 
 General Sullivan, who had just come up from Brinton's Ford 
 and was proceeding to march east on the Street road. 
 
 It is not probable that Hazen followed any road, but most 
 likely marched through the woods along the creek. There 
 was an old road from near Lenape or Wister's Ford, but it was 
 much too close to the British. 
 
 When within probably half a mile of the point where the 
 road from Sconneltown to Birmingham crosses the Street 
 road, Sullivan's advance saw the British in the Street road 
 about seven hundred feet ahead of them. 
 
 The British line of battle had been formed on the west side 
 of the road from Sconneltown to Birmingham, a little north of 
 the street road. 
 
 This line could not have been less than a quarter of a mile 
 in length from left to right. As Sullivan was seven hundred 
 feet west of the right of this line, we think it probable he must 
 have been almost half a mile west of the road crossing before 
 mentioned. 
 
 About the same time Sullivan saw the position held by Stir- 
 ling and Stevens, which was about half a mile to his right and 
 rear on ah eminence. 
 
 In their reading of Sullivan's statement, the historians, who 
 
 have written about the Battle of Brandywine, have all con- 
 
 luded that as soon as Sullivan saw the British he went right 
 
 into tne field a nd formed line of battle and they think he 
 
 formed his line about where Parker Xorris' house now stands. 
 
 In this conclusion they make no allowance for the length 
 of the British line of battle west of the Birmingham road. 
 
 It is not likely that Sullivan made the extraordinary move- 
 ment of turning the head of his column to the right and into 
 the fields at the south at the point where he first saw the 
 British ahead of him. 
 
 By such a movement he would expose his left flank and the 
 rear of his entire column to the enemy as he turned into the 
 field and they not more than seven hundred feet distant. 
 
 Is it not more probable that he about faced his whole column 
 and after he had inarched a safe distance away from the 
 iiito The field on the south and marched
 
 until he was in a line with the other two divisions at least a 
 quarter of a mile south and west of where historians think he 
 formed his line. 
 
 Thomas Sharpless, whose father lived on the ground of the 
 battle, says his father told him that his father, the grand- 
 father, told him that the American line was first formed on an 
 eminence a'bout a quarter of a mile southwest of where Harvey 
 Darlington's spring house stands, a proper position on which 
 to plant artillery and place infantry. It is almost in a line 
 with Stirling and Stevens' position and distant almost half a 
 mile. 
 
 Any one visiting the battle ground possessed of this informa- 
 tion and reading Sullivan's report will see at a glance that this 
 was undoubtedly the place where his line was formed. 
 
 Here he formed his line unfortunately with a gap of almost 
 half a mile separating it from the other two divisions. 
 
 It is probable Sullivan thought this the best place to oppose 
 the British advance until after he visited Stirling and Stevens,, 
 when he determined to move his troops to the right and join 
 them. 
 
 Unfortunately just as he attempted to execute this move- 
 ment the enemy commenced their attack upon him with his 
 entire left flank exposed. 
 
 This his troops could not stand and they broke and went to 
 the rear as many more experienced soldiers would have done 
 and cold not be again brought into action. 
 
 We will here give Sullivan's account of it in his own lan- 
 guage. He says: "At. half past two I received orders to march 
 with my division to join with and take command of that and 
 two others to oppose the enemy who were coming down on the 
 right Hank of our army. I neither knew where the enemy were^ 
 nor what route the other two divisions were to take, and, of 
 course, could not determine where I should form a junction 
 with them. 
 
 "I began my march in a few minutes after I received my 
 orders and had not marched a mile when I met Colonel Hazen 
 and his regiment, who informed me that the enemy were close 
 upon his heels. While I was conversing with Colonel Hazen, 
 and our troops still on the march, the enemy headed us in the 
 road about forty rods from our advanced guard this is about
 
 8 
 
 700 feet. I then found it necessary to turn off to the right to 
 form and so get nearer the other two divisions in the rear and 
 to the right of the place I then was. I ordered Colonel Hazen's 
 regiment to pass a hollow way, file off to the right and face to 
 cover the artillery. The enemy seeing this did not press on, 
 but gave me time to form my division on an advantageous 
 height in a line with the other divisions, but almost half a mile 
 to the left. I then rode on to consult the other general officers, 
 who, upon receiving information that the enemy were en- 
 deavoring to outflank us on the right, were unanimously of the 
 opinion that my division should be brought on to join the 
 others, and that the whole should incline further to the right 
 to prevent our being outflanked, but while my division was 
 marching on and before it was possible for them to form to 
 advantage the enemy pressed on with rapidity and attacked 
 them, which threw them into some kind of confusion/' 
 
 Sullivan became the object of much animadversion for his 
 movements on that day. He was accused of making a long 
 detour when he should have reached the desired point by a 
 much shorter route across the fields. 
 
 He did not know where Stirling and Stevens were. He did 
 not know where the British were until he saw them. We have 
 no doubt the British column was as much surprised as Sulli- 
 van was wheD they suddenly confronted each other at these 
 cross roads. 
 
 When the British saw Sullivan form his line with an in- 
 terval of almost half a mile between him and the left of the line 
 at Mrs. Kiddle's hill, they probably thought this gap was to be 
 filled by another approaching American column and hastened 
 their attack. 
 
 The engagement at Mrs. Biddle's hill lasted an hour and 
 forty minutes. The hill was taken and retaLka-five times and 
 the ground front mere to tne Meeting House was covered with 
 dead and wounded British. 
 
 The right of the line where (Jen. Stevens' commanded held 
 its position until about the time of the arrival of Gen. Greene. 
 
 He opened his ranksjo permit Stevens' men to pass through 
 and then closing up again, placing part of his men at a defile 
 with Weedin's Brigade on his left and the balance of Muhlen- 
 berg's Brigade on his right, stubbornly confronted the enemy, 
 until darkness set in.
 
 9 
 
 According to the accounts of the British historians, it was 
 with the greatest difficulty they could drive Stevens from his 
 position and they state that when his men did retreat they 
 united with a fresh body of Americans. Undoubtedly Greene's 
 men took another strong position and held it until after dark. 
 
 Lieut. McMichael, of Col. Stewart's Pennsylvania Regiment, 
 of Greene's Division, states in his diary, that for twenty 
 minutes the troops, where his regiment was, fought the British 
 at the distance of fifty yards, and continually repulsed them 
 until night set in. 
 
 Much speculation has been indulged in as to where this defile 
 could be. There is but one defile between Birmingham and 
 Dilworthtown. This is at Sandy Hollow where great numbers 
 of the Americans were buried. 
 
 This defile is a very strong position. Two thousand men 
 could at this day hold it against three times their numbers. 
 
 We think it is altogether probable this is the point where 
 Gen. Greene so long held the British at bay. 
 
 The duty which devolved on (Jen. Wayne on this occasion 
 was of a most delicate nature. He was required to hold Gen. 
 Knyphausen, who had 11,000 men with him, in check, such a 
 length of time"~as would prevent him from getting in the rear 
 of the Americans fighting at Birmingham, w r hile he himself 
 must needs leave the field before the British fighting at Bir- 
 mingham should get in his rear and cut off his retreat. 
 
 His retreat appears to have been precipated by a singular 
 circumstance. The British and Hessian grenadiers and the 
 light infantry made the attack on Sullivan and broke him 
 while attempting to close the gap between himself and the 
 troops on Mrs. Biddle's hill. They appear to have followed 
 the flying troops until they became inextricably entangled in 
 a thick woods from which they were unable to emerge. When 
 they finally extricated themselves they were discovered by 
 Wayne approaching his rear, while he was fighting Knyphau- 
 sen, whereupon he was immediately compelled to retreat. 
 
 These British regiments continued until they reached Israel 
 Gilpin's house, where Gen. Howe established his headquarters*. 
 
 The student investigating the history of the Battle of 
 Brandywine, as it is called, will observe in the lines we have 
 marked out, that we have differed to some extent w r ith those 
 who have preceded us. We feel compelled to state that our
 
 10 
 
 conclusions are the result of much thought, of traditions hand- 
 ed down by the contemporaneous families, combined with some 
 military experience on the part of several members of the 
 committee. 
 
 In dividing his army Sir William Howe committed one of thfe 
 greatest military blimdei^_LX>m the consequences of which 
 heji&ca^R d bj llHl liierest accident. His troops were first worn 
 out by their sixteen-mile march in the sweltering September 
 sun and then went into battle beyond the aid of the supporting 
 I column of Knyphausen. 
 
 Had he been unsuccessful he would have been destroyed be- 
 j-we ttre'fither column could have come to his assistance. 
 
 Had Sullivan reached the ground fifteen minutes earlier he 
 would have hern Hoped njrTvith the other column, when the 
 | British attack commenced and the panic avoided. Had Greene 
 also reached the ground where Stevens fought, half an hour 
 sooner, we think the battle would have resulted in the com- 
 jplcte overthrow of LorcTT'oriiwalTis* flanking column, ending 
 ^in its total rout. This we are induced to think from the fact 
 That for an hour and forty minutes i lu> two divisions of Stirling 
 and Stevens, aided by the three regiments from Sullivan's di- 
 vision, of Hazen, Ogden and Dayton, not composing in all more 
 jlhan 3.000 men. jwith stood this entire British column, cousist- 
 in of 7.000 men. at Mrs. Biddle's hill, and from the further fact 
 ttiat wTTen (Ten. Greene arrived, his division, assisted by such 
 of the broken column as rallied with them, not numbering in all 
 more than .3.01)0 men. withstood the entire British column until 
 dark. 
 
 In Hume's Histoiy of England, it is said: "This battle upset 
 all previous conclusions. It had been claimed that the Ameri- 
 cans could not stand before the King's troops in a fight in the 
 open and upon equal conditions, but that this battle upset all 
 of these conclusions. 
 
 "The Americans" says the historian, "met the British in 
 about equal numbers, they fought them face to face in an en- 
 gagement, which in all of its parts commenced at sunrise and 
 did not terminate until darkness put an end to it, and while 
 1 it left the British in possession of the field it left them in such 
 a condition that thev could not move from it until after the 
 lapse of three days."
 
 11 
 
 General Washington in this engagement manifested su- 
 perior generalship. With but a moment for thought he trans- 
 ferred the great body of his troops to a new field, without for- 
 gettin^_thejiexjesi^ies of the old. 
 
 He fought the flower of the British army until darkness set 
 in and almost defeated it. He then returned to Chester and 
 in a few days advanced to meet the British in Goshen. 
 
 We should remark that in this history of events we have 
 confined ourselves almost exclusively to the battle extending 
 from Birmingham to Dilworthtown. The fighting in Knyphau- 
 sen's front simply consisted of a series of skirmishes of greater 
 or less magnitude, while the great battle of the day was fought 
 on the lines we have mentioned, all of which took place within 
 that part of Birmingham township, which is in the present 
 limits of Chester county, with a small part of it in Thornbury 
 township, Chester county, and that to distinguish it from the 
 skirmishing at Chadd's Ford it might well be called the Battle 
 of Birmingham. 
 
 So great was the number of wounded the British surgeons 
 could not give any attention to the Americans in their hands, 
 and Sir William Howe was compelled to ask Gen. Washington 
 to send him some of his surgeons to attend to them. Several 
 Philadelphians volunteered for the performance of this humane 
 duty, including Dr. Benjamin Rush, Dr. Leiper, Dr. La timer. 
 Dr. Willet and their assistants. 
 
 In this engagement our ancestors, indifferently armed, 
 poorly clad, insufficiently fed, proved themselves the peers of 
 I he fines-t troops in the British Army, as they boldly held alof'r 
 the Stars and Stripes, the Battle Flag of Freedom, and we 
 find much in them to emulate and praise, but nothing to con- 
 demn. 
 
 FRANCIS C. HOOTON, 
 L. G. McCAULEY, 
 CHAS. H. PENNYPACKER. 
 JOS. THOMPSON. 
 WM. WAYNE, JR., 
 GILBERT COPE..
 
 (13)
 
 Universi 
 
 from which it was borrowed
 
 aulord ; 
 
 PAMPHLET BINDER 
 
 Syracuse, N. Y. 
 Stockton, Calif. 
 
 REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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