Cooch’s Bridge, located at Old Baltimore Pike

Old Baltimore Pike

Old Baltimore Pike is an unsigned highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The road, known as New Castle County Road 26, runs from the Maryland state line near Newark, Delaware east to Christiana, ending near Delaware Route 1 . The road is mainly paralleled by Interstate 95 to the north and U.S...

, Newark

Newark, Delaware

Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...

, Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

, is the site of the historic Battle of Cooch’s Bridge.

Battle of Cooch's Bridge

Fought on September 3, 1777, the Battle of Cooch's Bridge has two principal distinctions. It was the only battle of the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 fought on Delaware soil, and marked the first time that the Stars and Stripes

Flag of the United States

The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...

 was flown in battle.

The battle was fought between British and Hessian troops under Generals Cornwallis, Howe

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe

William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...

, and Knyphausen

Wilhelm von Knyphausen

Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und Knyphausen was a general from Hesse-Cassel. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, during which he led Hessian mercenaries on behalf of the British Empire.-Biography:His father was colonel in a German regiment under the Duke of Marlborough...

 and the Colonial troops under General Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

.

The engagement began August 30, about two miles (3 km) south of the bridge. The Americans harried the lead forces of the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 using guerrilla techniques learned from the Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

. However, the roughly 700 Colonials were greatly outmanned and outgunned, and were driven back by the advancing British.

By September 3, the Colonials had dropped back to Cooch’s Bridge. A handpicked regiment of 100 marksmen under General William Maxwell laid an ambush in the surrounding cover. Over the ensuing battle, several British and Hessian charges were repelled, but the Americans soon depleted their ammunition and called a retreat.

The property was taken by the British and several buildings were burned. General Cornwallis used the Cooch house as his headquarters for the next week as the British regrouped. American casualties numbered around 30.

Shortly after General Howe moved his troops out. On September 11 he defeated the Colonials in the Battle of Brandywine

Battle of Brandywine

The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...

 and subsequently captured the Colonial capital of Philadelphia.

External links

• http://www.classbrain.com/artmonument/publish/coochs_bridge_battlefield_history.shtml
• http://www.revolutionaryday.com/usroute202/coochs/default.htm