Cut off from the main force, Colonel Musgrave, of the British 40th Regiment of Foot, ordered his six companies of troops, around 120 men, to barricade and fortify the stone house of Chief Justice Chew, called Cliveden. The American troops launched a determined assault against Cliveden; however, the outnumbered defenders repulsed their attempts, inflicting heavy casualties. Washington called a council of war to decide how to deal with the fortification. Some of his subordinates favoured bypassing Clivden entirely, leaving a regiment behind to besiege it. However, Washington's artillery commander, Brigadier General Henry Knox, advised it was unwise to allow a fortified garrison to remain under enemy control in the rear of a forward advance. Washington concurred.