Battle of Brandywine: Wayne Holds at Chadds Ford
Near Wilmington, Delaware
While the famous flanking attack unfolded miles to the north on September eleven, seventeen seventy-seven, this stretch of Brandywine Creek was the center of the American battle line. General Anthony Wayne commanded here at Chadds Ford, facing west across the creek toward the Hessian and British division under General Knyphausen. Knyphausen spent most of the afternoon holding Wayne in place with artillery fire and feints, preventing Washington from shifting troops northward to meet Howe's flank attack.
Only in late afternoon, once word arrived that Sullivan's line was collapsing, did Knyphausen send his men across the Brandywine in a direct assault. Wayne fought back hard but was forced to retreat. The fighting at Chadds Ford was a calculated diversion, and it worked.
Nine days later, Wayne would suffer a surprise night attack at Paoli.
