Cornwallis entered Philadelphia at the head of two
English and two Hessian battalions of grenadiers, and
proceeded to fortify the town. The main army en-
camped at Germantown. The Hessians here formed
the left wing, with the chasseurs in advance on the
Lancaster road.
On the 3d of October, 1777, about noon, Captain Ewald was visited by a man (“by no means a Tory,” says he), whose property he had, on a previous occasion, protected from pillage. On going away the American said to him: “My friend, be on your guard to-night and to-morrow.” Ewald took the hint, and reported the remark to his colonel, who passed it on to headquarters. The generals took no notice of it; but we shall see from the following account that the chasseurs were ready for the attack.”[1]
“October 4th. It was probably the fact that General Howe had sent many detachments to Philadelphia and into Jersey, to besiege Mud Island and occupy the city, and especially the fact that he had himself received reinforcements, which moved General Washington to attack the royal army. With this intention he
- ↑ Knyphausen does not mention Ewald's warning in his report to the landgrave, but says: “We knew nothing of all these movements of the enemy, on account of the thick fog, until after daybreak, when a patrol of Hessian chasseurs, on the left wing, a mile beyond the outposts, which stood on the other side of the bridge over the Wissahickon, fell in with, about three hundred of the enemy's troops; and at the same time the outposts of the second battalion of light infantry, which stood in front of Germantown on the road to Beggarstown, were driven in.”—Knyphausen to the Landgrave, Oct. 17th, 1777. See, however, Stedman's “History of the American War,” vol. i. p. 300. Ewald says that patrols were sent out, by orders of Colonel von Wurmb, in consequence of the warning above mentioned.—“Belehrungen,” vol. ii. p. 32.
