At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 a colonial American army led by General George Washington fought a British-Hessian army commanded by General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe. Washington drew up his troops in a defensive position behind Brandywine Creek. Howe sent Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen's 5,000 troops to demonstrate against the American front at Chadd's Ford. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis took 10,000 troops on a wide flank march that crossed the creek and got in the rear of the American right wing under Major General John Sullivan. The Americans changed front but Howe's attack broke through.