The Philadelphia Campaign Part 2: An Active and Bloody October

A 2026 BGES Revolutionary War Field University Program

Presented by Michael C. Harris & Gary Ecelbarger

August 12–16, 2026 from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania

Perhaps no single campaign of the Revolutionary War has received as much published attention over the past several years than the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777. No fewer than a dozen books about the environs of Philadelphia during late summer and autumn of 1777 have been published this century alone, exceeded threefold by the number of journal articles and essays about the same campaign.

Since 2019, six books and as many articles have been authored by our two co-leaders of this three-part series. Together they have crafted a program that focuses upon the middle weeks of the campaign, covering the entire bloody month of October surrounding Philadelphia.

Most importantly, they have designed the program as a stand-alone experience for participants who did not attend part 1, as well as provide a continuum for those who were fortunate to participate in the tour of the first weeks of the campaign. Regardless, this four-day program scours the middle six-weeks of the campaign––replete with historic house tours and off the beaten path sites unlikely to ever be uncovered even by the most knowledgeable historians and aficionados of the Revolution.

Itinerary

Note: This program is designed for three or four days. Three-day options include the Thursday through Saturday itinerary, or Friday through Sunday itinerary.
*For a 3-day option, call our office at: 434-770-7325

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

6:00 PM: Meet at the headquarters hotel to greet all the members of the program as well as pick up your nametags and handout packets. Michael Harris and Gary Ecelbarger will present an introduction to the summer and early autumn of 1777 and follow up with an overview of the program, including a Q & A session.

Dinner is on your own.

Thursday, August 13, 2026

8:00 AM: Our program opens at the rarely visited Fatland Ford, the spot where General Howe crossed his 15,000-man army unopposed for 13 hours, completed at 1:00 P.M. on September 23, which resulted in the Crown forces capture of Philadelphia three days later. dramatically, setting the stage for a battle every. From there we will head to the bank of Perkiomen Creek where the first recorded criticism of Washington’s leadership was generated from within his military family. We then follow Washington’s retrograde movement all the way to the Frederick Antes home at Swamp Creek. Here, at George Washington’s headquarters we will view the army encampment and discuss the big and revealing Council of War, held on September 23.

After lunch, we follow the army’s September 26 route eastward to Pennypacker’s Mill on the Perkiomen, the scene of the encampment of the reinforced Continental Army at the close of September as well as the celebratory response to learning about the impressive performance of the Northern army at Freeman’s Farm near Saratoga. We will then trace the American pursuit to Philadelphia, stopping at the Peter Wentz farm, Continental HQ on the eve of the Battle of Germantown. We will end out tour day overlooking the same meadow where all the Continental commanders gathered for their open-field instructions for the overnight march to battle the British and Hessians at Germantown.

Back to our hotel.

Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.

Friday, August 14, 2026

This day we focus on the Battle of Germantown, the largest tactical offensive of the entire Revolution and the site of over 1,600 casualties incurred within four hours. We will visit the opening site of action at Mt. Airy where the elite 2nd Battalion of Light Infantry was overwhelmed by the Americans and driven back to town. After viewing the battle on the flanks we will appreciate an extended visit to the house and grounds of Cliveden, the Benjamin Chew house which lay scene to the dramatic focal and turning point of the battle. We finish our battle at Stenton, the home of William Logan, which previously was George Washington’s headquarters and was now William Howe’s quarters (sans his dog). After a unique tour of the homestead, we will follow the route of the American retreat to the banks of the Perkiomen. We will close the tour day discussing the impact of the Battle of Germantown on the Americans, on the French, and (perhaps) on William Howe.

Back to our hotel.

Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.

Saturday, August 15, 2026

8:00 AM: Our entire day will be dedicated to the October1777 movements and battles for control of the Delaware River. Mike and Gary will lead us to the New Jersey side of the river for the morning. We will begin at the rarely toured colonial ferry road (across the river from Chester), and progress to Fort Billingsport, the first American target for British control of the Delaware. From there we embark upon the Fort Mercer Campaign, beginning at the New Jersey side of Cooper’s Ferry and following the Hessian route to battle from Cooper’s Ferry through Haddonfield.

After lunch we will develop the oft-overlooked, vicious Battle of Red Bank, the October 22 contest which produced nearly 400 Hessian casualties. This unique tour comes complete with a presentation by the park historian regarding the recent archaeology at the fort discovering 15 Hessian skulls. After this, our tour guides lead us one mile downriver to a gem they discovered––the spot on the bank of the Delaware within yards of the October 23 twin explosions and sinkings of the British 64-gun Augusta and 18-gun Merlin. All of this will be within view of Fort Mifflin, across the river from us.

Back to our hotel.

Lunch is included, but dinner is on your own.

Sunday, August 16, 2026

8:00 A.M: Our final tour day takes us into Philadelphia where we view and evaluate the British perspective of this campaign by the close of October. We will begin by developing the scene where the northern British defenses were built, a string of works and redoubts covering more than two miles between the Schuylkill and Delaware River. From there we head downtown to the site of the S. 2nd Street mansion of John Cadwalader, occupied as headquarters by William Howe after he left Stenton with the completion of the defensive works north of Philadelphia. After visiting a few historic sites in town and a cheesesteak lunch we head 30 miles north of Philadelphia to finish the tour day with the American army. We start at the Towamencin Mennonite Church cemetery to visit the site of General Francis Nash’s grave––the highest-ranking American loss at Germantown––which was the scene of an October 10 ceremony attended by Washington and the top generals of the army. From there we will visit the American army encampment and headquarters site in the township. We follow the army southward from there for the rest of the month, highlighting key aspects of the campaign at each brief stop. We will end the day and this program at Whitemarsh where the army planted itself on November 2 in striking distance once again from Philadelphia.

We will provide lunch; dinner is on your own.

About the Faculty

Michael C. Harris is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and the American Military University. He has worked for the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Fort Mott State Park in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at Brandywine Battlefield. He conducted tours and staff rides of many of the east coast battlefields. Michael is certified in secondary education and currently teaches in the Philadelphia region. He is the author of four books on the Philadelphia Campaign.

Gary Ecelbarger is an award-winning author of ten books relating to 18th and 19th Century personalities and events, as well as more than three dozen monographs, essays and articles of Revolutionary War and Civil War-era topics. As a historian, symposium speaker, and tour guide (he has conducted BGES programs for the past 25 years), he has led his audiences through complex campaigns and prides himself on crafting, well-researched, thought-provoking programs which maintain an intriguing, chronological flow and feature off-the-beaten-path historical sites.

Hotel Information

The headquarters hotel is the Hampton Inn Willow Grove, 1500 Easton Road, Willow Grove, PA. Call 215-659-3535 for reservations. Ask for the Blue and Gray Education block. The rate is $129.00 plus tax. Cutoff date for the block rate is July 12, 2026.

Transportation

The servicing airport is Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). It is 37 miles (40 minutes with no traffic) to the hotel and is accessed by I-476.

Tour Pricing

Current BGES member $1175 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Non-BGES member $1250 (one-time payment, no deposit)
Deposit to reserve spot: $300
Annual membership fee: $75

*For a 3-day option, call our office at: 434-770-7325

Registration

The Philadelphia Campaign Part 2 2026-Tour

Registration includes four lunches, maps, the academic program, support of professional historian(s), tour director and transportation. We will also provide snacks and cold bottled water.

*For a 3-day option call our office at: 434-770-7325.

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