Wilmington, Delaware, sits at the confluence of the Brandywine Creek and the Christina River, a few miles above where they empty into the Delaware River. That geography made it one of the most strategically important locations in the mid-Atlantic during the Revolutionary War — and the reason the largest land battle of the entire war in the northern theater was fought in its immediate hinterland.
PEOPLE
General Sir William Howe
British Commander-in-Chief in North America, Brandywine Campaign Commander
General George Washington
Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army, First President of the United States
Lord Charles Cornwallis
British General, Brandywine Flanking Column Commander
Marquis de Lafayette
French Volunteer Officer, Continental Army General
KEY EVENTS
STORIES
MODERN VOICE
The Mills That Fed the Army
When we talk about Brandywine, we talk about the battle — the flanking movement, the American retreat. What we rarely discuss is why the British needed to take this particular ground. The Brandywine ...
HISTORICAL VOICE
When Neutrality Failed
The Quaker community of the Brandywine Valley believed in neutrality. What the Revolution taught them was that neutrality, in a civil war, is itself a choice, and both sides will hold you accountable ...