Episode 27:  The British Occupy Philadelphia

The British occupied Philadelphia from September 26, 1777 to June 1778  capturing the American capital but gaining little strategic advantage.

The occupation was part of the Philadelphia Campaign led by British General William Howe, aimed at seizing the revolutionary capital where the Second Continental Congress convened and the Declaration of Independence had been adopted in 1776 

Howe initially attempted to draw George Washington’s Continental Army into battle in New Jersey but failed. He then transported his forces by sea to the northern Chesapeake Bay, in August 1777, landing about fifty miles from Philadelphia.

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