The Battle of Brandywine: Part 1 of 10 The British... Many of the 15,000 British troops spent the night in Kennett Square -- population 2,000 -- unwinding and carousing, while a battle loomed. General Howe's flanking strategy was devised two days earlier: While General Knyphausen attacked at Chadd's Ford, as Washington expected, Cornwallis would stealthily move north, cross the Brandywine, and flank Washington's right. [Map and a fuller explanation] The Americans... By the night of September 10th, the American …showed first 75 words of 609 total…

…showed last 75 words of 609 total…day quoted the general as saying: Should they push their designs against Philadelphia, on this route, there all is at stake. They will put the contest on the event of a single battle. If they are overthrown they are utterly undone. The war is at an end. Now, then, is the time for our most strenuous endeavors. One bold stroke will free the land. Washington's army seemed well-positioned and well-prepared to meet the British thrust.