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 attack. Thick fog, a stubborn British stand at the stone Chew House, and confusion that led some American units to fire on each other unraveled the plan.
The plan unravels
Washington's attack was repulsed and he withdrew. The British kept Philadelphia.1
Our article on the Battle of Germantown covers the attack and the aftermath. › Battle of Germantown, 1777
Also on this day
1636: Battle of Wittstock. Near Wittstock in Brandenburg, Johan Banér's Swedish army fought the combined Imperial and Saxon forces of Melchior von Hatzfeldt and Elector John George I in the Thirty Years' War.
Frequently asked questions
When and where was the Battle of Germantown?
It was fought on 4 October 1777 at Germantown, then just outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the American Revolutionary War.
Who fought at Germantown?
George Washington's Continental Army attacked the British army under General William Howe.
Who won the Battle of Germantown?
The British. Washington's attack was repulsed and he withdrew, leaving Philadelphia in British hands.
Notes
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