Joseph A. Seymour

The U.S. Army Campaigns of the Revolutionary War;
CMH Pub 71-46, paper; 2025.
114 pages, maps, illustrations, appendix, map symbols

GPO S/N: N/A

Description: In the spring of 1777, American leaders harbored little doubt that Philadelphia would be Lt. Gen. Sir William Howe’s objective. European generals of the time prioritized the capture of key cities as much as, or perhaps more than, the destruction or capture of armies. With a population that historians estimate numbered between 20,000 and 30,000, the city ranked as the largest in British North America. It also served as the capital of Pennsylvania and the seat of the Continental Congress, both of which General George Washington had to protect. More important to Washington, the city had long been a manufacturing center for all manner of products
that by 1777 included military stores. Should the British threaten Philadelphia, he recommended leaving them “nothing but the bare walls.” 

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