Excerpt from History of the War of the Independence of the United States of America, Vol. 2 of 2 Early in the morning of the eleventh of September, the British army marched to the enemy. Howe had formed his army in two columns; the right commanded by general Knyphausen, the left by lord Cornwallis. His plan was, that while the first should make repea-ted feints to attempt the passage of Chadsford, in order to occupy the attention of the republicans, the second should take a long circuit to the upper part of the river, and cross at a place where it is divided into two shallow streams. The English marksmen fell in with those of Maxwell, and a smart skirmish was immediately engaged. The latter were at first repulsed; but being re-inforced from the camp, they compelled the English to retire in their turn. But at length, they also were re-inforced, and Maxwell was con strained to withdraw his detachment behind the river. Meanwhile, Knyphausen advanced with his column, and commenced a furious cannonade upon the passage of Chadsford, making all his dispositions as if he intended to force it. The Americans defended themselves with gallantry, and even passed several detachments of light troops to the other side, in order to. Harass the enemy's flanks. But after a. Course of skirmishes, sometimes advancing, and at others obliged to retire, they were finally, with an eager pursuit, driven over the river. Knyphausen then appeared more than ever determined to pass the ford; he stormed, and kept up an incredible noise. In this manner the attention of the Americans was fully occupied in the neighbor hood of Chadsford. Meanwhile, lord Cornwallis, at the head of the second column, took a circuitous march to the left, and gained un perceived the forks of the Brandywine. By this rapid movement, he passed both branches of the river at Trimble's and at J efl'ery's: Fords, without opposition, about two o'clock in the afternoon, and. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.