Washington marched directly to Philadelphia to refit his army and secure ammunition and provisions, and thence marched to Germantown, “for one day of rest.” His confidence was not abated. The brave soldiers who had left Philadelphia with such jubilant anticipations of victory, were conscious of having fought well against a superior force, and were never more willing to honor the confidence of their Commander-in-Chief. And Washington himself was not hurried, but systematic and constantly in motion. On the thirteenth he ordered Monsieur de Coudray to complete defensive works along the Delaware River; General Putnam, to forward fifteen hundred Continental troops; and General Armstrong, to occupy the line of the Schuylkill, as well as to throw up redoubts near its fords, in case he should find it desirable to cross that river. The left wing of General Howe’s army demonstrated toward Reading and Philadelphia. The right wing, under Generals Grant and Cornwallis, reached Chester on the thirteenth. General Howe had taken care of the wounded of both armies, but was compelled to obtain surgeons from Washington to assist in that duty. At Wilmington, he captured the governor, and considerable coin which he proposed to use for the benefit of the wounded of both armies. Inasmuch as Grant and Cornwallis were practically in the rear of the American army, he proposed to march to Philadelphia via Germantown; and both threaten the city, and cut off Washington from retreat northward or westward. But, on the fifteenth, Washington crossed the Schuylkill at Swede’s Ford; so that Howe’s halt, even of a single day, on the battlefield, rendered it useless for him to make a forced march to the city; and his opportunity was lost.