This Day in History: October 4

American intelligence reports of the divided British army dared Washington plan an assault on Germantown. Lt. Gen. Sir William Howe, obsessed with securing uninterrupted access to the Delaware River, had dispatched some troops to take Billingsport, a vulnerable river fort near Chester. He diverted another unit to escort supplies up from Head of Elk. In Philadelphia a large detachment was left under Lord Cornwallis. Howe's main body of 9,000 troops was encamped at Germantown, five miles north of the city.