Topic > The Tremendous Battle of Germantown

The Tremendous Battle of Germantown that led to the Revolutionary War took place on October 4, 1777. Before this battle, William Howe, a British general, captured Philadelphia in September 1777. This outraged the general George Washington, causing him to create a complex plan to get Philadelphia back. William Howe and his men decided to camp at the Chew Mansion in Germantown, Pennsylvania, after their terrible capture. Washington planned four separate attacks on the Chew Mansion that would all occur at the same time a month after the capture. Above is an illustration of Washington's original attack plan on the Chew Mansion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The image shows the four attacks and the assigned leaders. In his attempt to retake Pennsylvania, George Washington led the colonists and some Canadian auxiliaries to the Chew Mansion, which housed some British soldiers. He had a thorough plan in mind according to which the colonists would divide into 4 columns and attack from different angles, “precisely at 5 o'clock with loaded bayonets and without firing”. The 4 attacks were one on the right wing, one that went down Philadelphia's main street and attacked the center, and the other two attacked the remaining wings of the Chew Mansion. The British camp was poorly defended, having fewer troops than Washington, however the colonists failed to use Washington's complex plan due to unfavorable weather. The fog was very thick on the day of the battle and caused much confusion for the approaching colonists. The British and Hesse-Kassel frightened the Americans, leaving the colonists with twice as much damage as they received. Many colonists died in this battle, as the illustration above suggests. Many colonists were killed, even though they had about 2,000 more soldiers. Above, the Chew Mansion is depicted as Washington and his crew fought the English on horseback. The battle caused damage to both sides, although the English ultimately defeated the colonists. 152 colonists were killed in battle, 521 were wounded in some way, and 438 were captured by the English out of 11,000 men. 71 British were killed in battle, 448 were wounded of some kind and 14 men were said to be missing out of 9,000. The battle also led many Americans to question Washington as a leader due to the loss. However, even though the Americans were defeated, France decided to lend aid to the colonists after their impressive success at Saratoga and their ability to attack the English. The outcome may not have been expected, but it still had a massive impact on the Revolutionary War.