Maxwell Grene wrote a letter to Mary on September 11, 1777 describing the Battle of Brandywine that he fought in. Grene and 14,600 other soldiers were led by General Howe into battle at dawn on the eleventh day of the ninth month. Though Grene feared he may not survive, by nightfall they had defeated the British and regained control of the land.

1. Dear Mary, September " 11#
As " sun has not even $sen from " dark sky behind me, I
%and, wi# " o#ers, in " b$sk wind on " eleven# day of
#e nin# mon# of " year 1777. We are ready to fight for #y
land and #y land of my fellow Ame$cans. 'e ba(le of
Brandywine began wi# a single, har) )ot. We were lead by "
pr*d General Howe, all 14,6+ of us. As " fir% )ots fired
i #*ght to myself, what if? What if I ,dn’t live to tell what I
am telling y* now in #- le(er. 'en I w*ld want y* to know
I ,ed fighting for what I believe in, what - $ght. At "
darkness of " night we have finally realized we had defeated "
B$t-h and go(en *r land back. My love, I hope to return soon
and saf/
Blessings,
Maxwell Grene