Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/221

 Rh time the action became general. Sullivan's division was driven back. Lafayette, serving as a volunteer, was wounded in the leg. Washington brought up Greene's division and two more brigades, and covered Sullivan's retreat.

On hearing the cannon of Cornwallis, Knyphausen crossed the Brandywine at Chad's Ford and attacked the American intrenchments. These were defended for a time by Wayne, but the British were already in his rear, and late in the afternoon he abandoned his position, and fell back towards Chester.

There were Hessian soldiers on this day in both columns of the British army. The chasseurs were with the advanced guard of Cornwallis's division, and had forty-six men killed and wounded. Captains Ewald and Wreden received the Hessian order pour la vertu militaire for their conduct on this occasion. This was a great honor, as they were the first officers of the rank of captain to be thus distinguished. The whole loss of the British army at the battle of the Brandywine was six hundred and twenty-two, and the American loss was about a thousand men. Among the ten or fifteen cannon taken from the Americans were two which had been captured at Trenton with Rall's brigade.

The Americans were supposed to be in full retreat, and the autumn day was drawing to a close. Two battalions of British grenadiers were sent to occupy a little village on a hill beyond Dilworth. The battalions advanced carelessly, tired by a long day's march and