Germantown, October 4th, 1777.
After the Battle of Brandywine, Washington was eager to force another encounter with Howe. The American army was still between Howe and Philadelphia, and Washington wanted to keep it that way. The two armies seemed poised to fight again on the 15th of September, when a massive storm broke out, making it impossible to fire and ruining a great quantity of American ammunition. Washington was forced to withdraw to Reading Furnace to await new supplies. The Americans then marched 29 miles, crossing the Schuylkill River at Parker’s Ford through rapidly flowing chest-deep water, and moved on to Richardson’s Ford to keep themselves between Howe and Philadelphia.
In the meantime, on the 19th, Washington ordered General Anthony Wayne’s division of 1,500 men and four fieldpieces to attack the British rear near Warren Tavern. Wayne took up a position a mile north of Warren Tavern and two miles southwest of Paoli Tavern. However his location was betrayed to the British by Tory loyalists and the British sent Major General Grey with a large force to ambush him. This was effected on the 20th and the British bayoneted about 300 Americans in an event known as the Paoli Massacre, losing only about six of their own men. Now Howe had no fear of attack from the rear and could move at will. Howe was now able to move past Washington and into Philadelphia on the 26th and 27th of September, Congress having fled to Lancaster on the 18th. The major part of the British army encamped at Germantown, north of Philadelphia. The American army encamped on the 29th, about sixteen miles north of the British. Reinforcements had come in, so the American forces probably numbered more than 11,000 men.
Howe had divided his forces, so that at Germantown
