General William Howe's dog became famous for having lost her way at the Battle of Germantown.
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| British General Sir William Howe |
On October 4, 1777, before the sun rose, General George Washington and his troops did a surprise attack on the British at Germantown. Heavy fog helped cover their approach and caused the first wave of British troops to retreat, but only after they had set fire to a field. The mix of fog and smoke made it hard to see who was friend and foe. In just three hours General Howe and his troops were routed. 152 Americans were killed, 521 were wounded and 438 were captured. 71 British were killed, 448 were wounded and 14 missing.
During the attack, General Howe's fox terrier named Lila became lost in the commotion and ended up joining the American troops as they made there way back to camp. The dog wore a collar identifying herself as General Howe's dog. When George Washington found out who the terrier belonged to, he ordered that the dog be returned to the General with a note. The note, believed to have been penned by Washington's aide-de-camp Alexander Hamilton, reads "General Washington’s compliments to General Howe. He does himself the pleasure to return [to] him a dog, which accidentally fell into his hands, and by the inscription on the Collar appears to belong to General Howe." Before returning the dog, Washington had the dog fed, cleaned and brushed.
George Washington was an avid dog lover, so some may think this is why he returned his foe's dog. Others may think he returned Lila because of his honesty (the legendary anecdote of the cherry tree - "I cannot tell a lie"). However, according to Dr. Francis Spring Ronalds, an authority on the American Revolution, "G. W. [George Washington] never missed a chance to gain knowledge of the enemy, and what a splendid opportunity this was to spy on British Headquarters! The British could not refuse a flag returning the General’s dog."
If General Howe had responded to Washington's note, his reply has been lost.
