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Sunday, September 29, 2002

By George Oxford Miller

PHILADELPHIA -- At dawn Oct. 4, 1777, enemy forces attacked the military troops standing guard over Philadelphia, the capital and most important city in the Colonies. Or were the soldiers loyal Americans trying to expel invaders who occupied the nation's largest city?

Depending on your perspective, George Washington was either a patriot or traitor, and British Gen. William Howe a hero or a tyrant.

Each year on the anniversary of the Battle of Germantown, now a suburb of Philadelphia, history comes alive. From Oct. 4 to 6, troops of re-enactors don Colonial attire and re-create the time when the destiny of an independent United States seemed tenuous at best. This year marks the 225th anniversary of the battle.

The British had already routed the Continental Army a month earlier at Brandywine, then marched on Philadelphia and taken it without a shot.

As a buffer around Philadelphia, Gen. Howe stationed 9,000 soldiers in Germantown, a farming community of German Quakers and Mennonites. Another 3,000 seasoned soldiers stood ready in the city.

With the chill of autumn in the air, Washington massed 12,000 troops 15 miles from the British front lines.

The night before last year's re-enactment of the battle, we eat dinner in Cresheim Cottage, a 1748 roadhouse frequented by both Colonial and Redcoat sympathizers. The historic inn is packed -- according to "rumor," officers from both sides will drop in for refreshment and to query the diners about news of the opposing forces.

Midway through our salads, Maj. Benjamin Talmadge, Washington's chief of intelligence, slips through the door. He wears the Continental Army uniform with overcoat, sash and saber, and polished boots. When we assure him that we are loyal to the cause, he briefs us on Washington's battle strategy for the next day.

		If you go ... Germantown The re-enactment activities this year open Friday and run through the following Monday. For a calendar of events, contact the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, 1-800-441-3549, or visit www.valleyforge.org. Ask for the Day Tripper's Guide with car and bike tours to the Revolutionary sites throughout the area, a year-round calendar of the living history events, and special hotel packages. Another source of information is the Cliveden House at 1-215-848-1777 or www.cliveden.org. -- George Oxford Miller

After the crushing defeats of the last month, the rebels ache for revenge. Washington will strike at dawn with his first major offensive since the revolution began a year ago. The daring maneuver depends on precision and surprise. Four columns will march all night to be in place at 5 a.m. One column will attack each side of the British encampment, and two will charge into the middle. The stunned British will have no path of retreat.

Later in the meal, Gen. Howe and his aide take a table near us. Howe describes his victory at Brandywine, when he outmaneuvered the ragtag rebels. "Washington may be a great leader and a genius at inspiring his soldiers," Howe tells us, "but his skills as a general are less than outstanding. I'm not sure what he's up to, but I know he means to challenge us in the field soon." He paces the floor and looks us in the eyes. "Might any of you have news of his plans?" We all plead ignorance.

The soldiers gracing our meal come from the American Historical Theatre, which provides interpreters for Mount Vernon and Historical Philadelphia Inc. The troupe developed six characters to commemorate the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777. Besides this evening's performers, actors greet visitors at the historic homes that played significant roles in the battle. The re-enactment of the siege involves more than 200 soldiers and three cannons.

"Germantown is significant because we have so many of the original buildings from the Revolutionary War," park ranger Steven Sitarski, at the Deshler-Morris House, a National Historic Site, tells us. "All 20 of the historic sites in Germantown coordinate their activities for the re-enactment."

During the October event, a free shuttle runs between the various houses where the military bivouacked and the battles occurred. The houses, preserved as museums, stretch along a few miles of Germantown Avenue, making visitation easy throughout the year.

At Grumblethrope, a 1744 house built by John Wister, we meet Justinia, a servant of the family. The British General Agnew billeted a regiment of soldiers at the house. Justinia leads us through the house and describes the daily life. In the parlor she points to a stain on the pine floor. "Gen. Agnew died there," she says with an English accent. "They brought him here after he was wounded. I did all I could to save him, but it was too late."

Down the street at Wyck, a Quaker farming estate, another actor explains the Quaker heritage and the dilemma that faced the pacifists during the Revolution. "We give no support to any military activity, he says. "If soldiers confiscate our crops, we take no payment. During the Germantown battle, this house served as a field hospital."

We stop by the Deshler-Morris House, which Washington used during his presidency as a temporary White House and a summer residency, and then move on to the Cliveden House, the site of the siege that determined the outcome of the battle.

Washington's grand strategy for the battle didn't proceed as planned.

Of the four columns marching through the night, only one actually launched the attack as planned. The Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment hit the northern flank and drove the British into full retreat. For the first time, the Continental Army was winning a battle, and the main force hadn't even shown up.

About 100 fleeing British soldiers took refuge in the Cliveden House, a two-story blockhouse built with quarried stone and heavy wooden doors and shutters. With the British on the run, the Colonials rushed right past the hiding soldiers. By now the second column, led by Nathanael Greene, who had gotten lost in the dark, arrived and entered the fray. A total rout seemed imminent.

We join the onlookers who line Germantown Avenue at Cliveden House. Blasts from the musket volleys and clouds of white smoke fill the air as the American forces advance. The British dash into the stone house and fire their muskets from the upper windows.

When George Washington found the British holed up in Cliveden House, he made a fatal decision. Instead of leaving a small regiment to contain them, he decided to drive them out with his cannons. At the sound of heavy artillery behind them, the Pennsylvanians thought the British had flanked them. They stopped their advance and turned to mount a counterattack.

In the heavy ground fog and musket smoke, the Pennsylvanians met Greene's advancing column and mistook them for the enemy. After heavy causalities, they realized their mistake, but by then the British had already regrouped.

The skirmish at Cliveden wasted the American reserves so much that they were unable to reinforce the main columns. The New Jersey and Maryland militias never showed up at all and the Virginia militia surrendered en masse.

We stand in a roped-off area at Cliveden House as the Colonial militia mount their charge. The sonic booms of the cannons whip through the trees like a storm. Leaves flutter to the ground, and wounded soldiers drop as the sides trade fire. With the battle in chaos and ammunition running low, the Colonials retreat. In a matter of minutes, a sure victory turns into utter defeat.

The re-enactment, with all its color and pageantry, gives us a glimpse into the lives and times that surrounded the Revolution. We also get a feeling for the turmoil and sacrifice that our founders went through.

Walking in the steps of the soldiers who challenged the most powerful military power in the world gives us a renewed appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy today.

George Oxford Miller is a free-lance writer based in Clarksboro, N.J.