On September 4-7, 1781, residents of Brandywine Village watched as thousands of American and French troops marched through their community along the King's Highway on their way to Yorktown, Virginia. The combined forces, under the commands of Generals Washington and Rochambeau, nearly quadrupled the size of Wilmington while they camped on the outskirts of the city. Thousands of horses, oxen, officer servants, and equipment and baggage trains accompanied the soldiers and filled the streets. French purchasing agents traveled in advance of the armies and boosted the local economy by paying for supplies with valuable silver coins.
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