The First Foot Guards
We are a Revolutionary War
reenactment group based in Boston MA,
accurately portraying the royal household regiment that is now known as
The Grenadier Guards
The
Philadelphia Campaign
A series of articles from the Philadelphia Inquirer
illustrated with maps and photos
By Michael D. Schaffer, Inquirer Staff Writer
Click the links
1:
When the British were coming here
The rain pelts down on the upper Chesapeake Bay. It buffets a huge fleet of
more than 250 vessels riding at anchor near Elkton, Md., and slashes at thousands
of British Redcoats and German mercenaries huddled miserably on shore under
makeshift huts of fence rails and corn stalks.
2:
Washington's scouting trip takes a hair-raising turn
The British have barely arrived in northeastern Maryland, and already George
Washington has come calling. Not with the Continental Army, but with just
a few trusted officers, to get as close a look at the enemy as possible. The
date is Aug. 26, 1777.
3:
An army retreats, but is far from defeated
The rutted road from Dilworth to Chester is clotted with weary soldiers, trudging
to safety in the darkness that has just fallen on a long and bloody day in
late summer.
4:
Paoli. Redcoats' ruthless assault
The redcoated soldiers stalk through the rainy night as silent as predators.
5:
A British feint leaves Philadelphia wide open
Sir William Howe has his prize. Philadelphia, the largest and most important
city in England's rebellious North American colonies, has fallen to Howe's
army.
6:
Americans' attack at Germantown melts into panic
The grandest house in Germantown is under siege. American soldiers fire volley
after volley at Cliveden, the elegant Georgian summer home of Pennsylvania
Chief Justice Benjamin Chew. Six-pound American cannonballs slam against the
house's 2-foot-thick front wall of Wissahickon schist, only to bounce harmlessly
away.