On August 25, 1777, after a month’s voyage from New York, 15,000 British troops led by Sir William Howe disembarked on the shores of the Elk River approximately two miles east of this site. The fleet of 300 vessels that transported them was under the command of the general’s brother, Admiral Richard Howe. Heavy thunderstorms subsided on the night of August 27, when the British began their cautious march toward Philadelphia along both sides of the Elk. On September 11, they engaged and defeated Washington's army in the Battle of Brandywine.