The fight for Philadelphia

In 1777 General Howe began his campaign to seize the American capital at Philadelphia. *His troops sailed from New York to the head of Chesapeake Bay, and landed near the capital in late August. *The Continental Congress fled the city but Washington’s troops unsuccessfully tried to block the redcoats at nearby Brandywine Creek. *The British captured Philadelphia, and the pleasure-loving General Howe settled in to enjoy the hospitality of the city’s grateful Loyalists.