Col Joseph Reed "Tastes Great" Gen Charles Grey "Less Filling"
An ugly scrap that should have been settled in Tyson's Tavern
All wisecrackery aside, the Battle of Whitemarsh, 5-8 DEC 1777, which ended the 1777 season of the 1777-1778 Philadelphia campaign, is an interesting "almost-battle". Gen. Howe did everything except make a final assault on the American positions; if he had, Whitemarsh would be as well known as Germantown.
An excellent on-line reference document about this relatively unknown "battle" is here [CLICK]. It is a driving tour of the battlefield, which is better defined as the large area over which Howe maneuvered to try and outflank Gen. Washington on Militia Hill / Camp Hill [both named for the locations of Washington's militia and main camp, respectively. Camp Hill is actually a lengthy ridge running along the southern side of the modern PA Turnpike. Fort washington State Park is there, which has a fair amount of information about this battle].
During the British maneuvering, Washington made made two probing attacks to locate Howe's forces [on the 5th] and two spoiling attacks to harass and delay their outflanking maneuver [on the 7th]. My intent is to present a scenario for all four of these attacks, beginning with the two spoiling attacks that had the most action.
The chronology is:
1) 5 DEC 1777: Gen. Potter's Pennsylvania Militia Brigade plus Ltc Isaac Sherman [and his Conn Regt, Webb's Additional Regt, most likely] probes the British pickets at Germantown Ave, near the foot of Chestnut hill [now the location of a lovely bridge and Chestnut Hill College]. They send a scouting force across Wissahickon Creek and are countered by the Hessian Jagers supported by Hessian troops. They decide discretion is the better part of valor and withdraw.
2) 5 DEC 1777: Irvine's Militia probes the northeast base of Chestnut hill [now the location of Phil-Mont Christian Academy and Enfield Elementary]. They cross a bridge over Paper Mill Run and get a a fistful of the British Lights to the face while getting organized. They take about 70 casualties including Gen. Irvine who loses a horse, some fingers, and his dignity.
* Break *
6 DEC 1777: Howe rests his forces, forages, and reconnoiters Washington's position, mostly in the area of Hope Lodge and St. Thomas' Episcopal Church. Deciding that Washington's position here - his right - is too strong to assault [quite correctly - the hill is very steep and overlooks Hope Lodge and Bethlehem Pike, the only way to approach it], Howe decides to move East to turn Washington's left flank, which is hanging out in the air. During the night, he organizes his army into a vanguard [Cornwallis] main body [Knyphausen] and a rearguard [Grey].
Howe's lengthy late night / early morning march was well South, so Washington lost contact with Howe and wanted to regain it. He sent Potter and Sherman towards Chestnut Hill, and Morgan and Gist towards Edgehill. Meanwhile, the three British forces took up positions along three roads all heading North / Northwest: Susquehanna Rd [East], Jenkintown Rd [center] and Limekiln Pike [West].
* Resume Action *
3) 7 DEC 1777: Waverly Heights.
The rearguard under Gen. Charles "No Flints" Grey was supposed to await word from Howe that it was time for him to advance to Tyson's Tavern and demonstrate against the American center on the Camp Hill ridgeline. However, he became impatient when no word had come to him and around 1130 began his march up Limekiln Rd. After crossing the Tacony Creek, Grey was ambushed by the same American force under Potter and Sherman that had probed the Wissahickon Creek at Chestnut Hill and run into the Hessians.
4) 7 DEC 1777: Edgehill ridge between Jenkintown Rd. and Susquehanna Rd.
Gen. Knyphausen's main body advanced to the pass [saddle] between two steep portions of Edgehill ridge where Jenkintown Rd. crosses it. Cornwallis' force does the same at another saddle in the ridge where Susquehanna Rd. crosses. At this point, along the general line of modern Easton Rd at the foot of the ridge, they deployed their forces in a long line and advanced up the steep slope of the ridge. Unfortunately, Gen. Daniel Morgan's riflemen and Mordecai Gist's Marylanders had already occupied it, so were waiting at the top of the steep, heavily wooded slope. A lengthy fight ensued, with the British eventually forcing them off the ridge but requiring several battalions and some artillery to do so.
So the next post will be about this heavier fighting along Edgehill ridge, East of Waverly Heights.
Returning to Howe's flanking movement, outlined above, he had decided to maneuver against and outflank Washington's left [somewhere on the hill above the modern Fairway Shopping Center]. This was a sound decision as the Camp Hill ridge is lengthy and it was definitely possible to find a portion uncontested by Washington and then advance along the ridge, rolling up the American line. Camp Hill Ridge levels out near modern Welsh Road, in the Willow Manor neighborhood by Willow Grove Baptist Church.
To pin the Americans in place, he sent Gen. Grey "up the middle" along Limekiln Pike, straight at the center of Washington's force. Meanwhile, his main effort under Knyphausen and Cornwallis went farther east to Jenkintown and Susquehanna Roads, as shown below with the three red forces all heading North / Northwest:
As their march took longer than planned, Grey got impatient and decided to advance north up Limekiln Rd before noon on the 7th.
His column was spotted from the westernmost portion of Edgehill [a long ridge about a mile south of Camp Hill / ridge] by Gen James Potter , Col Isaac Sherman, and Col Joseph Reed. They decided to perform a spoiling attack against the marching British [so really, an ambush] in a heavily wooded and hilly section of Limekiln Rd. They moved their forces over Edgehill South to the best landmark, "Twickenham", the estate of Thomas Wharton Jr. [which is still partially extant today as two now separated houses!] and began forming up.
They apparently sent some forces ahead while they formed the main body and then advanced Southeast, parallel to the line of Church Rd., and over the Waverly Heights hill, just North of the Tacony Creek. This road was mostly likely bridged as it was [and is] a major highway between Philadelphia and the northern farm and quarry lands. Grey's force was crossing the Creek when they came under Fire from lurking Americans in the woods.
Below, I've blown up the portion that shows Waverly Heights and the Twickenham estate. It doesn't mark Tacony Creek which is below where the crossed sabers are.
Pages 31-33 of the Battlefield Tour are all about the Waverly Heights fight. Suffice it to say that Grey opposed the Americans in the woods then moved around their left flank [so farther up the road] towards the Heights themselves, pushing the Americans back in some confusion. A wild brawl ensued in the area of Waverly Heights between the advancing PA Militia and 2nd Connecticut / Webb's Additional Regt [it's unclear if Webb's is the 2nd Conn or they are separate units and both were present]. The Connecticut Continentals regrouped, likely on or past the Heights, while the Militia was in the process of retreating to Edge Hill.
In an interesting command problem, Col Reed intervened and began issuing orders much to the chagrin of Col Sherman, the commander of Webb's Additional Regt. Sherman later stated that Reed's orders caused more confusion as they contradicted his. Later, there was much acrimonious ink spilled over this. Col Joseph Reed was an Aide-de-Camp of Gen. Washington's, and not actually in the chain of command [nor was he ordered to take command]. However, it can be argued that he was intervening to bring some order to the disorder, altho this happy result doesn't seem to have happened.
Reed's horse was shot and he was nearly captured / killed, but was rescued by some dragoons under Cpt. Allen McLane an enterprising Scottish emigrant from Philadelphia. The entire force retreated over Edgehill, and eventually back to Camp Hill, being pursued by some of the British forces most of the way.
All the piss'n vinegar wasn't taken out of those Rebels, however! An hour later, the same force made a foray against the Guards Light Infantry. They were repelled with the help of the Jagers and Queen's Rangers.
Interestingly, a lot of the adjectives used to describe these actions are suspiciously vague and sometimes ill-suited. It does make one wonder not only what really happened, except for the final result of "they went back to their camp" or something that is more definite. The good news is that it leaves plenty of space for gamers to shape a scenario that is based upon the history but suits their available resources and their temperament.
Grey continued moving the 3rd Brigade up Limekiln Pike until he made contact with and formed upon Gen. Knyphausen's main body near Jenkintown Rd. The fight then broke out to the East, along Edge Hill.
WAVERLY HEIGHTS FORCES INVOLVED
[all from Greg Novak's AWI Guide vol1 - now reprinted by Old Glory Miniatures]:
British - 3rd Brigade under Brigadier General Charles Grey.
15th [280], 17th 250], 42nd [600] and 44th Foot [300].
Attached and in the Lead:
Guards Light Inf Cos [?], Queen's Rangers [300], Hessian Jagers [360].
2 x 12Lb Guns.
Total 2100+ men, two guns, 60 mounted Jagers.
Generally, all the British Line should be regulars. All the rest - Lights, Rangers, Jagers, Artillerists - should be veteran, perhaps Elite for the Guard Lights.
American - forces from Major General John Sullivan's Right Wing.
Pennsylvania Militia Brigade - Brigadier Gen. James Potter [2173]
Webb's Additional Conn. Regt [320]
Total 2493 men.
The Battle as Wargame.
Hopefully, I've provided enough direct information and enough additional information to look up, that you can make your own scenario about this fight. It's important to turn the history into a game, and this is where many well-intentioned hosts fail. Scenario balance is tough, and players always manage to think of things to do on the table that you didn't consider.
Because of this, I like to start with a scenario that I've played before as a starting point. I chose my ever-useful tome One-Hour Wargames to give a likely scenario. If you have the book, you can likely pick 2-3 scenarios that all make sense given what we know about the battle, and any might be true to history.
I chose #26 "Triple Line". The scenario demands that the advancing Blue army attack successive lines of Red army units, in the style of "The Cowpens".
The scenario is not based on Cowpens but the somewhat pathetic battle of Bladensburg in the war of 1812. Actually, I think The Cowpens is a better representation of this scenario than Bladensburg... but what do "I" know??
Additional reasons why this scenario was chosen out of several:
- Defenders are outnumbered by Units 6-4 [but in my game they had 84-64 figs].
- Defenders are restricted to relatively immobile lines. I feel this takes into account the leadership problems of Reed, Sherman and Potter without complicated rules.
- Bridge is the crossing point [altho Tacony Creek is certainly fordable, having the men get their feet wet in December is a bad idea; plus there are the two 12lb guns].
- Victory condition: take the hill, which clears the route of the road, also.
Victory Conditions [at present] are:
- 6 Points for possession of the hill,
- 1 point for each British Unit that exits off the North side on the road.
Thus, if the British just march all six units off the road North, the best they can get is a draw. If they take the hill, and exit even one unit, they win with 7/12 points. I'd say that a decisive win would be 10/12 points, or exiting four Units North, the minimum needed to make a credible demonstration against Washington's Center.
Setup and Entry
To save time with player puzzlement, start the game with the jagers and gun on the road, the Queen's Rangers to the left of the road and the Guards Light Infantry companies to the right of the road - they should all be past the bridge. The "ambush" should then be set up openly, at around maximum musket range to the Rangers or the Jagers, whichever target the American player prefers.
The Americans have one Unit forwards in Ambush, a main line of two, and a final unit on the hill, representing their approach. Distance from the hill is 12" to the main line, and another 12" or so to the Ambush line. This could easily vary with table dimensions. Perhaps the best way to say it is the distance between lines is 100yards, or effective musket fire distance. The American front unit should be about 8-10" from the bridge, again, just within effective musket range.
As there is no clear account of who is where, use an American force that has two low-quality, large Militia units, a medium sized Green unit, and a medium sized Regular quality unit. Then let the Americans put one unit out as the ambush, two concealed units in the second line, and another concealed unit on the hill.
Reinforcements
British may enter one unit in column on the road during the move phase of their turn, per turn.
Game Length
With a table that is around 6 x 4', I'd have the British enter in the center of a wide side. They have four feet to cross and exit the board. It should be about 6 turns of movement, or 4 distances of effective musket fire, across from the bridge to the north road exit.
In my Zeal & Bayonets, a unit can typically move 10" in column and Fire 12" effectively. Thus it is 4 Moves across the table. My time length is 12 Turns.
Below is the table as I've constructed it. It has a lot of terrain I've been meaning to use for a while! As a nod to Twickenham, I put some snowy walls up. No proof that he had walled or fenced enclosures at any edge of his property, or that his property bordered the road, just an "historical flourish" at this point but I feel they are likely to have been there. As they help either the attacker or the defender they are "scenario neutral" overall, with the main effect of reducing speed and casualties as they're Cover, and count as an Obstacle to cross in "Zeal & Bayonets".
Below, the "Grand Parade" of troops before the game.
All Patriots are in position in three successive lines 45 degrees to the left: first line is one Unit of Militia [12 Raw] in the woods near the bridge; second line is two Units at the wall - a large Militia [24 Raw] and Col Samuel Webb's additional Regt [12 Veteran]; the third line is one Unit of the First Pennsylvania [16 Green] on the Hill.
View from the Patriot's side of the field.
All British will either be entering at the Road by the South bridge or alongside it. Entering along the road in column are the Line Units: 105th Irish Volunteers [16], the 63rd Foot [12], the 3rd Foot "The Buffs" [16], and the 40th Foot [16], all rated average. Entering alongside the road are the Hessian Jagers [9] and the Lights [12] both rated as Veterans.
I'm ignoring the guns as they weren't mentioned in the fighting. My guess is that the dense terrain resulted in the British quickly becoming intermingled with the Americans, so there weren't any targets
.
These Units are from a collection kindly donated to the cause a few years ago [click]. The Line units are not the historical units above. But I prefer to use my units and their names.
I hope this reorganizing and editing of the original post makes the scenario adaptation more clear, and inspires you to make up your own.
How does this scenario play out? We'll see in the next post!
