Brandywine

American Right Flank Part 2

I) Lafayette Cemetery

     Further down the hill in the modern day Lafayette Cemetery you can see a slight hollow.  Presumably it was here that the Light Infantry moved to flank the meetinghouse wall, or perhaps it was beyond the treeline on the right of the picture.


J) Stephen's Division

     On the far right you can see the walls of the Birmingham Meetinghouse cemetery where Marshall's Virginia regiment was posted in front of the main line fighting the British Light Infantry.  Stephen's division of Virginians, made of Woodford's and Scott's brigades, was deployed on the hill behind the meetinghouse.  Woodford's brigade must have been on the far left of the picture on the other side of the road.  I presume that Scott's brigade must have been on this side of the road in the general area of the modern yellow house and extending toward Stirling's division on the following hill in the distance.  Somewhere near here, there was American artillery bolstering the line.

     Distracted by the attack on the meetinghouse, Scott's brigade was caught off guard when attacked directly by the Light Infantry.  Scott fell back, leaving Woodford's brigade as the only unit still holding.  Marshall's regiment fell back presumably around the far side of hill and joined Woodford.  Eighty one of the regiment's 150 men were casualties.

     Woodford held his ground to help cover the retreat of the three divisions, but when the British brought up artillery and the Light Infantry charged, the Virginians fell back.  In the distance on the left of the picture as the road begins to disappear between the telephone poles you can see a treeline.  Here, a second line was forming.


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