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The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume I: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia
The first in a monumental two-volume set on the pivotal 1777 campaign of the American Revolution, this book is an in-depth examination of the military engagements that resulted in the British capture of Philadelphia. Based on surviving accounts of soldiers and civilians, the author weaves together the compelling story of the fight for the Continental capital. In the winter of 1777, after the victories at Trenton and Princeton, George Washington painstakingly rebuilt the Continental Army. The following spring, all eyes turned to the British commander-in-chief, Sir William Howe, to see when and where he would resume the drive on the rebel capital. Numerous skirmishes and seemingly pointless maneuvers finally led to Pennsylvania. The two main armies finally clashed in the bloody Battle of Brandywine on September 11, where Howe's flanking tactics inflicted a serious defeat on Washington. Rallying his forces, Washington resumed his defense of Philadelphia, only to be thwarted at the Schuylkill and suffer a small but bloody defeat at Paoli. Congress fled the capital as the British Army approached, and the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the American people raged in full fury as the two armies marched through the region.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2006
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107 people want to read
About the author
Thomas J. McGuire
15 books7 followersThomas J. McGuire teaches history in Malvern, PA. His work on the Battle of Paoli is considered the most complete documentation of the Revolutionary War battle, and was instrumental in preserving the battlefield as a historic site. In that book, as well as his other work, McGuire uses a wealth of primary material to record history from the American Revolutionary War, with a particular focus on Southeast Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 2, 2013
This book was quite informative. There was so much more to the Battle of Brandywine than is usually lead on. This covers all the smaller battles that went with the British march from their landing through to the capture of Philadelphia. I wish it had a few more maps when discussing what unit was moving where because it can get quite confusing. And instead of writing in sections in the chapters to distinguish between British and American, everything kind of runs together so it can sometimes be hard to figure out when and where he switches to the other side... especially if a name is the same. But overall, excellent book and definitely worth a read for anyone studying the American Revolution or even just the Battle of Brandywine.
October 30, 2021
Great narrative using primary sources to tell the history of an interesting and often overlooked campaign. Very detailed with thorough endnotes and exhaustive sources. Several maps based on British sources enhance the readers understanding while color pictures of watercolors by a British soldier enrich the story. The book could benefit from more subchapters to break up the long narrative of each chapter and additional maps to assist the reader grasp the larger geography of the campaign. Fortunately, Michael C. Harris's Brandywine: A Military History of the Battle That Lost Philadelphia But Saved America, September 11, 1777 is a great compliment to Thomas J. McGuire's The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume I: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia and provides some of these additional features (unfortunately I read that book first). I'm excited to read The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume II: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge next.
June 19, 2019
A masterfully written and exhaustively researched treatment of a pivotal campaign in the American Revolution. Although the Patriots won no battles in the campaign they succeeded in bottling up the British army in Philadelphia and nearly cutting off their supply routes. General Howe was forced to abandon the city and march for New York. Ultimately, in the bigger picture, they also succeeded in keeping Howe from uniting with Burgoyne which contributed to the latter’s defeat at Saratoga.
February 19, 2018
Very detailed, well-sourced. More maps would have very helpful.
December 5, 2016
It's a very technical read so it may take time but very well researched and informative.
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October 3, 20172007-07 - The Philadelphia Campaign: Volume One: Brandywine and the Fall of Philadelphia. Thomas J. McGuire (Author) 420 pages, 2006.
My wife bought me both volume one and two as a graduation present. This book was a real gem. (I will review volume two when I finish it) It has its quirks and caveats but I really enjoyed it.
The book is a compilation of primary sources so like Rebels and Redcoats it is the participants who speak rather than just the historians.
This of course can confuse the heck out of someone who lacks a general knowledge of the events. The reader must understand that each participant has a tunnel vision of their experience. This comes across quite clearly when you are reading battle accounts in this book. You will read sometimes five or six accounts of a small engagement and be baffled at the different points of view, so baffled that you may wonder if it is even the same engagement.
The historian steps in and guides you along though. The book also uses some maps drawn up by participants and this is most interesting, because the maps reflect what was known at the time.
The other bit of oddity is that the author has not changed the language, spelling, or punctuation in the snippets. Reading 18th century spelling, language, and punctuation may totally turn many readers off. I found it sometimes humorous and occasionally found it creeping into my own writing.
The book contains a glossary of 18th century military terminology in the back. Many readers will find this helpful as meanings of some words have changed since the 18th century. It also provided some interesting factoids that I was unaware of.
The book did suffer in the introduction. Though it did a very good job of covering the “Forage War” in New Jersey in the winter and spring of 1777, it provided no background to the choices and strategies taken in this “Year of the Hangman”. It therefore is a great help if you already know why the choices were made and what the overall plan and intent of the various forces, especially the British, was. I must admit that I have been to virtually all of the sites associated with the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 so I have an interest and an advantage of being able to visualize the terrain.
There are two things though which this book brings out very well. The first is all of the small engagements which occurred in the larger campaigns. Many of these fights had 100 or 200 participants and have been mostly forgotten. Here they are told, and we are better for this.
The second aspect regards the British forces. General Howe and General Cornwallis actually seem better at their jobs then history tends to give them credit for. Their use of light infantry tactics and forces went along way to making this war almost winnable for the crown forces. Had they not used light infantry tactics, even with their guards and grenadiers or large amounts of light forces, British losses may have been much higher and the war over much sooner. The notion that the British always fought European style in straight up posture, compact formations etc simply does not hold up. They fought almost as much with a bulk of their forces in the same way as the Americans did.
The British proved adaptable and capable to a larger degree then they often get credit for. An incident from The Brandywine Battle; Americans had reported seeing really large British losses when in fact the losses though heavy were not as heavy as the Americans thought. A key answer is that the British forces in the van were using light infantry tactics. They were advancing in rushes, and by crawling. To the American observer then … he sees a large British force advancing, guns fire and the British all fall down, he assumes of course that they were felled by musketry etc. He then sees some get up and rush forward, but only a small group here and there. Understanding this makes reading period documents even more interesting.
My wife bought me both volume one and two as a graduation present. This book was a real gem. (I will review volume two when I finish it) It has its quirks and caveats but I really enjoyed it.
The book is a compilation of primary sources so like Rebels and Redcoats it is the participants who speak rather than just the historians.
This of course can confuse the heck out of someone who lacks a general knowledge of the events. The reader must understand that each participant has a tunnel vision of their experience. This comes across quite clearly when you are reading battle accounts in this book. You will read sometimes five or six accounts of a small engagement and be baffled at the different points of view, so baffled that you may wonder if it is even the same engagement.
The historian steps in and guides you along though. The book also uses some maps drawn up by participants and this is most interesting, because the maps reflect what was known at the time.
The other bit of oddity is that the author has not changed the language, spelling, or punctuation in the snippets. Reading 18th century spelling, language, and punctuation may totally turn many readers off. I found it sometimes humorous and occasionally found it creeping into my own writing.
The book contains a glossary of 18th century military terminology in the back. Many readers will find this helpful as meanings of some words have changed since the 18th century. It also provided some interesting factoids that I was unaware of.
The book did suffer in the introduction. Though it did a very good job of covering the “Forage War” in New Jersey in the winter and spring of 1777, it provided no background to the choices and strategies taken in this “Year of the Hangman”. It therefore is a great help if you already know why the choices were made and what the overall plan and intent of the various forces, especially the British, was. I must admit that I have been to virtually all of the sites associated with the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 so I have an interest and an advantage of being able to visualize the terrain.
There are two things though which this book brings out very well. The first is all of the small engagements which occurred in the larger campaigns. Many of these fights had 100 or 200 participants and have been mostly forgotten. Here they are told, and we are better for this.
The second aspect regards the British forces. General Howe and General Cornwallis actually seem better at their jobs then history tends to give them credit for. Their use of light infantry tactics and forces went along way to making this war almost winnable for the crown forces. Had they not used light infantry tactics, even with their guards and grenadiers or large amounts of light forces, British losses may have been much higher and the war over much sooner. The notion that the British always fought European style in straight up posture, compact formations etc simply does not hold up. They fought almost as much with a bulk of their forces in the same way as the Americans did.
The British proved adaptable and capable to a larger degree then they often get credit for. An incident from The Brandywine Battle; Americans had reported seeing really large British losses when in fact the losses though heavy were not as heavy as the Americans thought. A key answer is that the British forces in the van were using light infantry tactics. They were advancing in rushes, and by crawling. To the American observer then … he sees a large British force advancing, guns fire and the British all fall down, he assumes of course that they were felled by musketry etc. He then sees some get up and rush forward, but only a small group here and there. Understanding this makes reading period documents even more interesting.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews