During the Battle of Brandywine, Major General John Sullivan sent George Washington word that reports of a British crossing north of the Continental Army were false after meeting Major Joseph Spear of the militia, who had come from Martin’s Tavern on the forks of the Brandywine and rode to what is today Longwood Gardens without seeing the roughly 9,000 British who would soon pass south of Marshallton. This mistaken report led Washington to recall orders that may have changed the course of the battle. British General Sir William Howe benefited from Joseph Galloway’s spy map, his presence at the battle, and his knowledge of the region around Martin’s Tavern, especially the key fords crossing each branch of the Brandywine, which gave Howe the opportunity to nearly surround the Continental Army. Galloway had been speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembly and leader of Pennsylvania’s Loyalists. Washington also had local intelligence available through militia commander John Hannum and was eventually warned of Howe’s plan by Squire Thomas Cheyney, both of whom had spent the previous night at Martin’s Tavern. The first drawing to record the exact location of Martin’s Tavern places it along the Strasburg Road.