Battle of Germantown

1777-10-04

The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by General Sir William Howe and the American Continental Army under General George Washington. After Howe seized Philadelphia on September 26, Washington planned for four separate columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. In heavy fog, the American attack collapsed: columns mistook each other for the enemy in friendly fire, repeated assaults on the barricaded Cliveden mansion failed with heavy casualties, and the Americans withdrew, leaving Germantown in British hands.