Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777

by Michael C. Harris

The weeks of bloody maneuvering and fighting along the Delaware River at Fort Mercer, Fort Mifflin, and Gloucester receive but scant attention in the literature of the American Revolution. The same is true for the five-day Whitemarsh operation and other important events in December 1777. Award-winning author Michael C. Harris's impressive Fighting for Philadelphia: Forts Mercer and Mifflin, the Battle of Whitemarsh, and the Road to Valley Forge, October 5-December 19, 1777 rescues these important actions from obscurity, puts them in context with the Saratoga Campaign, and closes his magnificent trilogy that began with Brandywine and left off with Germantown.

This period of the war began when General Sir William Howe's army of 16,500 British and Hessian soldiers set out aboard a 265-ship armada from New York to capture Philadelphia in late July 1777. Six difficult weeks later, Howe landed near Elkton, Maryland, moved north into Pennsylvania, and defeated Washington's army in the large battle at Brandywine on September 11. Philadelphia fell to the British.

On October 4, Washington launched a successful surprise attack obscured by darkness and a heavy morning fog against the British garrison at Germantown. The recapture of the colonial capital seemed within Washington's grasp until poor battlefield decisions brought about a reversal of fortune and a clear British victory. Like Brandywine, however, the bloody Germantown scrap proved Continental soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with British Regulars. What followed was a protected quasi-siege of the British garrison in Germantown prior to the travails soon to come that winter at Valley Forge.

Harris's Fighting for Philadelphia is the first complete study to merge the strategic, political, and tactical history of the complex operations sandwiched between Germantown and the arrival of the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Harris's sweeping prose relies almost exclusively on original archival research and a deep personal knowledge of the terrain, highlighted by eighteen original maps, illustrations, and modern photos. Told largely through the words of those who fought there, Fighting for Philadelphia is sure to please the most discriminating reader and assume its place as one of the finest military studies of its kind.

Genres: History, American Revolutionary War, Nonfiction, Military History

480 pages, Hardcover

First published June 15, 2025

Reviews

[Joseph Ficklen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reason I love studying a campaign as opposed to individual battles is because there is so much contingency leading to a battle, and the real significance of events is usually to be found in a campaign, not a single battle. The movements of armies, the restrictions of supply and intelligence, the what-ifs… To that end, this book was a fascinating read. Sure, it didn’t cover any of the well-known battles of the Rev War like Harris’ previous two books, but it provided a neat final act to those two prior titles. The defense of Forts Mifflin and Mercer could very well have proved a fatal stranglehold on the British hold on Philadelphia, possibly forcing them to abandon the city for lack of supplies. The skirmishes at Edge Hill and Chestnut Hill could very well have developed into a general action and “Whitemarsh” would have stood alongside the famous names of Brandywine and Saratoga. But oddly enough, the real significance of these events was their insignificance in the broader strategic context. Washington was beaten at Brandywine and Germantown, he lost control of the Delaware River forts, and he had to spend a grueling winter at Valley Forge. Meanwhile the Continental Army fought with growing confidence and competency. But what did the British gain? A city that was symbolic but useless to them, gained with great expense of blood and treasure, which was a burden and a distraction from the strategic necessities of the war. Sir William Howe conquered Philadelphia at the cost of Burgoyne’s whole northern army, and then that same city was abandoned nine months later. All to no purpose.

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM