On 4 October 1777, days after losing Philadelphia, George Washington threw his Continental Army at the British camp at Germantown in an ambitious four-column dawn attack2. Thick fog, a stubborn British stand at the stone Chew House, and confusion that led some American units to fire on each other unravelled the plan, and the attack failed. Yet the boldness of striking back so soon impressed observers in Europe3, reinforcing the Saratoga victory that brought France into the war.
Barely a week after the British marched into Philadelphia1, most generals would have gone into winter quarters and licked their wounds. George Washington did the opposite: he attacked. The Battle of Germantown was a defeat, but a defeat daring enough to change how the world saw the American cause.
Part of The greatest battles of the American Revolution · Before: The Battle of Brandywine · Next: The Battle of Saratoga
After the fall of Philadelphia
In September 1777 General William Howe outmaneuvered George Washington, beat him at Brandywine and occupied Philadelphia, the American capital4. With the main British army camped at nearby Germantown, Washington saw a chance to strike back before winter and restore his men's confidence. He planned an ambitious attack in four separate columns, converging on the British camp at dawn.
A plan too clever by half
The scheme needed careful timing and clear communication, and it got neither. A heavy autumn fog rolled in3, blinding the columns and throwing off their coordination. In the murk two American columns even mistook each other for the enemy3 and traded fire. What had looked bold on the map dissolved into confusion on the ground.
The Chew House
The attack stalled around a strong stone mansion, Cliveden, known as the Chew House, where a body of British troops barricaded themselves3. Instead of pushing on, part of the American army stopped to besiege it, wasting time and ammunition on the walls1 while the assault lost its momentum. The British recovered, counterattacked, and Washington ordered a retreat.
A defeat that helped win a war
Germantown was a clear British victory, and it left Philadelphia in British hands for the winter. Yet coming so soon after Brandywine, the sheer nerve of the attack made an impression. The decisive event was the American triumph at Saratoga that same month, but Germantown added to the impression, and the French alliance of 1778 changed the course of the war.