Battle of Germantown -- Medal

Omeka Two: The Battle of Germantown

Zachary Gardner

A site of industrious economic activity, a leader in emancipation, and a loyal proponent of the American cause, Germantown held an outsized influence in the prewar Revolutionary period. Moreover, as the war for American independence raged throughout the Eastern seaboard, Germantown, and the battle that took place in its city center, became a turning point in the American Army’s struggle against the professional British military and proffered a glimpse of the professionalism and values of the British Army.

 In 1777, The American Army was in retreat. They had been ignominiously defeated in the battle of Brandywine in September 1777. They had been ousted from New York, chased through the state of New Jersey, and had permitted the British Army to capture Philadelphia.[1] Furthermore, the Army was hemorrhaging troops to both death and desertion. Exhausted and humiliated, the American Army camped 26 miles outside the city of Philadelphia in the bucolic countryside around the Trap and the Perkioman creek.[2] In this enclave, it hoped to receive reinforcements from the New Jersey and Philadelphia militias. To their relief, by the end of the month of September, the depleted force received 1000 troops under General McDougal from Peeks-Kill.[3]

 The British Army, on the other hand, was in strong standing after capturing the metropolis of Philadelphia, known and revered as a haven of American independence. To safeguard the city, the British posted troops six miles north in the town of Germantown which was strategically situated on the access roads to Philadelphia and offered sightlines of the surrounding countryside.[4] The British Army, led by General Howe, was a strong and well-populated force; within Germantown, six battalions and Grenadier guards were stationed on the right side of main street under General Grant while the third and fourth Brigades extended to the left of main street under General Grey.[5]  In addition, the British Army was supplemented by a regiment of Hessian mercenaries under the command of General Knyphausen.[6] As victors in the struggle for Philadelphia, the British Army stood in a position to exact submission from the local inhabitants. On October 1st, 1777, General William Howe issued a proclamation that all citizens who swear an Oath of Allegiance to his Majesty can peacefully return to their homes under the auspices and protection of the British Royal Army. To those who refused to state their allegiance to the crown, however, William Howe warned that by the 25th of October 1777, they will be considered “persons outside of his majesty’s peace and treated accordingly.”[7]

 General Washington, outwardly equanimous despite his profound apprehensions about the American position, recognized the need for an American victory.[8] Upon hearing that General Howe had detached a segment of the British forces from Germantown to secure Belling’s Fort and the Forts of Delaware, Washington decided to strike.[9] In a letter to Congress written on October 5th outlining his intentions, Washington records that an attack was planned for the morning of October 4th. To take best advantage of the element of surprise, he ordered a pincer movement to be executed at sunrise. Washington commanded the divisions of Sullivan and Wayne to attack Germantown on the right by way of Chestnut Hill while General Armstrong and the Pennsylvania Militia would attack on the left from the Manetewany Road.[10] At seven o’clock pm on October 3rd the army began marching, wrote Washington. He recorded that at sunrise on the 4th of October, General Sullivan attacked the “picket of Mount Ring”, immediately overwhelming the British defenses.[11] The American forces, under a blanket of thick fog, pushed the British soldiers back into Chew’s house whereupon the British fortified their positions and fought back against the American soldiers through the windows. “[The British] had it in their power from the windows to give us no small annoyance”, writes Washington, “and in great measure to obstruct our advance.”[12]

Confused and disoriented by the heavy fog, the American Army dithered; it even struggled with friendly fire. After hours of fighting, which inflicted heavy casualties on both sides, the American Army retreated back to their encampment. In a letter to Richard Caswell, Governor of North Carolina, John Penn wrote that “we would have achieved complete victory had two divisions of our troops not mistaken each other for the enemy and retreated.”[13] Nevertheless, Penn proudly announced that “[he has] the pleasure to inform [] that those of our countryman that engaged behaved well.” He congratulated “his excellency [Washington] on the great and important success of the army.”[14] Although the American army suffered many casualties,[15] the Battle of Germantown strengthened American resolve and reaffirmed that American militiamen could fight against the professional British Army.[16] Henry Livingston, a soldier in the American Army, professed that he was “persuaded that our men can fight [the British] upon equal terms … and we will march toward the enemy with greater cheerfulness than they did from them.”[17] For many Americans, desperate for good news, the attack was even mistaken as a victory. A citizen wrote to Mr. Purdy in the Virginia Gazette that he had just received word that Washington “surprised and defeated the enemy stationed at Germantown.”[18]

The British recorded a different engagement – one that resulted in an unqualified British victory. The New York Gazette, published as Rivington’s New York Loyal Gazette, wrote that Washington attacked our post, under favour of thick fog, but paid very dearly for the enterprise.”[19] Scotts Magazine wrote in 1777 that had there been a “few more hours of daylight”, the British Army would have enacted a “total and ruinous defeat of the Americans.”[20] To the British, the engagement was an unequivocal success. In fact, Thomas Musgrave, commanding officer of the 40th foot regiment received a medal celebrating the defense of Chew’s storehouse. The silver medal depicts Chew’s house, clouded by thick fog, assailed by cannon and musket fire. The coin is illustrative; it depicts the scores of American men laying siege to a lone house with valiant British soldiers defending from the windows. One the backside, the medal commemorates the battle, with the engraving “Germantown, Oct 4”, encircled by a laurel wreath.

 Musgrave’s medal underscores the importance of this military engagement to the British military and highlights the values and behaviors which the British Army sought to reinforce. The medal is cast in silver, engraved with elegant detail. Marked with incredible artistry, this medal was not an impetuous gift, handed out on a whim, nor was it token of individual achievement, like the medals given to “aces” in World War II. Instead, Musgrave’s medal was purposefully commissioned by a high ranking official to commemorate an episode of incredible collective British fortitude. Like the Medal of Honor, Musgrove’s medal serves as a reflection of the values the British military strove to espouse. It suggests that the British military valued doughty soldiers, who even in the most formidable circumstances refuse to surrender. It implies that the British military valued selflessness and dedication towards a cause. Furthermore, as a gift to a general, the medal suggests that the British military was deeply hierarchical, relying upon strict standards of order and propriety. In addition, commemorative of scene not of an individual, the medal promotes an ideal of the British military as unified, indefatigable, collective, and fiercely committed to a task larger than itself. In contrast to the American soldiers, who in the Battle of Germantown were uncoordinated and rumbustious, the British soldiers, the medal intimates, demonstrated a remarkable sangfroid in the heat of battle. They were a trained, civilized and professional fighting force: an embodiment of the strength and organization of the British empire.

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