When some one mentioned to Dr. Franklin, that General Howe had taken Philadelphia, he replied; "You are mistaken; Philadelphia has taken General Howe." And so it turned out, for the British were shut up in that city during eight months, and were at last obliged to retreat from it precipitately, without having derived any advantage from their conquest.
Mr. Bache and his family retired into the country when the enemy approached, and Dr. Franklin's house was occupied by British officers. After the evacuation, Mr. Bache wrote; "I found your house and furniture, upon my return to town, in much better order than I had reason to expect. They carried off some of your musical instruments, a Welch harp, a bell harp, the set of tuned bells which were in a box, a viola a gamba, all the spare Armonica glasses, and one or two of the spare cases. Your Armonica is safe. They took likewise the few books that were left behind. Some of your electrical apparatus is also missing. A Captain Andre took with him the picture of you, which hung in the dining-room The rest of the pictures are safe." —July 14th, 1778
