Section Two
A Chronology of the Philadelphia Campaign 1777-1778
July 23, 1777
Count Casimir Pulaski, Polish nobleman and military leader, arrives in America
Upon his arrival in Marblehead, Massachusetts, Pulaski wrote to Washington, “I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.” In August, Pulaski joins Washington at the Moland House.
Casimir Pulaski, Father of the U.S. Cavalry
”It was in the drudgery of forging a disciplined American cavalry that could shadow and report on British movements, in the long distance forage raids to feed and clothe the troops at Valley Forge, and the bitter hit and run rearguard actions that covered retreating American armies that slowed British pursuit, that gave Pulaski the title of ‘Father of the American cavalry.’ ” – Richard Lysiak.
August 3-5, 1777
Washington and Aides-de-Camp Quarter at City Tavern
City Tavern
138 South 2nd St., Philadelphia
https://nps.gov/places/city-tavern.htm
https://citytavern.com/city-tavern-timeline/
General Washington and his Aides-de-Camp share table and quarters at City Tavern, making the Tavern the official headquarters of the Continental Army for three days.
August 5, 1777
Marquis de Lafayette first meets General Washington at City Tavern
August 10-23, 1777
Encampment at the Moland House
Moland House
1641 Old York Road, Warminster, PA 18974
When word came that a large British fleet had been sighted off of Delaware Bay, the Continental Army was nearby and decided to camp in the area. The Moland House became Washington’s Headquarters. During this time the Marquis de Lafayette first met General George Washington at the City Tavern in Philadelphia and came to join his army as a Major General. Here at Moland Count Casimir Pulaski met Washington for the first time. Later, in September, Count Pulaski also joined the Army, as a General, and the U.S. Cavalry was then born. An historic Council of War was conducted on August 21st that included thirteen men of note from the history of our nation.
August 23-24, 1777
Stenton
4601 N. 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
Built by James Logan, colonial secretary to William Penn, Stenton was used in the Battle of Germantown as headquarters of both General George Washington and British General William Howe.
September 11, 1777
Battle of the Brandywine
Brandywine Battlefield Park & Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates
1491 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford PA 19317
http://brandywinebattlefield.org/The Battle of Brandywine was the largest single day engagement of the American Revolution where nearly 30,000 soldiers (not including civilians, teamsters, servants, and other members of the army) squared off on a ten square mile area of roughly 35,000 acres. Today’s battlefield landscape encompasses nearly fifteen different municipalities with the main gateway of interpretation being Brandywine Battlefield Park, a 52-acre park that was the epicenter of George Washington’s continental encampment.
September 16, 1777
Battle of the Clouds
(Also known as the Battle of White Horse Tavern, Battle of Goshen, or the Battle of Warren)
Battle of the Clouds Technical Report
https://chescoplanning.org/Historic/Campaign1777/Clouds-TechReport.pdf
This report provides a narrative for the Battle of the Clouds based on primary accounts and examines the battle in the context of an Eighteenth Century cultural landscape inventory. County of Chester, Pennsylvania, 2013.
Campaign of 1777: Battle of the Clouds
Battle of the White Horse Tavern (Battle of the Clouds)
707 East Lancaster Avenue, Frazer, PA 19355
https://www.whitehorsetavern.org/
https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1777/battle-of-the-clouds/
Battle of White Horse Tavern–The Gamble of Washington and Howe
By drawing Howe into battle, Washington delayed the capture of Philadelphia by 10 days, allowing members of the Continental Congress to escape. The rain saved Washington’s Army from a full-scale battle, allowing them to regroup in Valley Forge and build the force that would ultimately defeat the British.
September 16, 1777
Repairing Muskets and Other Military Equipment
Warwick Furnace
191 County Park Rd, Pottstown
https://www.chesco.org/4628/Warwick-Park
Warwick served as an important source of supplies for the Continental Army. On September 16, 1777, after the so-called “Battle of the Clouds,” General Washington retreated to Warwick to have the army’s muskets repaired.
September 20, 1777
Paoli Massacre
Paoli Battlefield Historical Park
1st Ave and Wayne Ave, Malvern, PA 19355
https://www.facebook.com/Paoli-Battlefield-Historical-Park-139034536140048/
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/paoli
Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund
September 27, 1777
British Occupation of Philadelphia
https://npshistory.com/publications/vafo/philadelphia-campaign.pdf
October 4, 1777
Battle of Germantown
The Wambold log farmhouse built circa 1755, used as General Washington’s headquarters was rebuilt in 1880 as seen here.
October 22, 1777
Battle of Red Bank
Red Bank Battlefield Park
100 Hessian Avenue, National Park, NJ 08063
November 11 – December 11, 1777
Whitemarsh Encampment
Fort Washington State Park
https://www.valleyforge.org/revolution/the-places/fort-washington-state-park/
What is now Fort Washington State Park was the site of the Whitemarsh Encampment of 1777. The Continental Army encamped here after the Battle of Germantown, from November 11 to December 11, before moving camp to Valley Forge. The park takes its name from the temporary fort built by Washington’s troops in the fall of 1777, before heading to Valley Forge.
1777 Whitemarsh Encampment slideshow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrfJH9_G4S4
Hope Lodge and the Whitemarsh Encampment
553 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, PA 19034
https://www.historichopelodge.org/
https://www.historichopelodge.org/history
https://www.valleyforge.org/revolution/the-places/hope-lodge/
Whitemarsh Encampment, a six-week period of the American Revolution when the Continental Army camped in the surrounding fields after the Battle of Germantown and before encamping at Valley Forge
December 5-8, 1777
Battle of Whitemarsh
https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1777/battle-white-marsh/
https://www.ushistory.org/march/phila/whitemarsh.htm
The battle was in reality a series of skirmish actions. It was the last major engagement of 1777 between British and American forces.
December 11, 1777
Battle of Matson’s Ford
https://revolutionarywar.us/year-1777/battle-matsons-ford/
In preparation for the crossing (of Matson’s Ford), Washington ordered the Pennsylvania militia…to establish three advance pickets west of the river to warn of British troop movements… Unbeknownst to the Americans, General Charles Cornwallis led a sizable British force out of the city on a foraging expedition early that morning…and had planned to forage in the area just south of Matson’s Ford.
December 13-19, 1777
Gulph Mills Encampment
https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/11/valley-forges-threshold-the-encampment-at-gulph-mills/
December 13-19, 1777
Encampment at the Overhanging Rock at Gulph Mills
South Gulph Road (PA 320)
just north of Old Gulph Road, Gulph Mills, PA
https://www.kophistory.org/hanging-rock/
https://hsmcpa.org/hanging-rock/
On December 19, 1924, the anniversary of the Continental Army’s march to the Valley Forge Encampment, J. Aubrey Anderson, Esq. spoke at the Presentation of the Overhanging Rock in Gulph Mills to the Valley Forge Historical Society. To protect this historic rock from removal, Mrs. J. Aubrey Anderson had purchased the famous “hanging rock” along with the adjoining ground and conveyed it to the Valley Forge Historical Society, specifically for its “perpetual preservation.”
December 18, 1777
First National Thanksgiving Observed by the Continental Army at the Overhanging Rock
https://allthingsliberty.com/2019/11/valley-forges-threshold-the-encampment-at-gulph-mills/
https://morethanthecurve.com/the-freedom-valley-chronicles-the-first-thanksgiving/
General Washington postponed for a day the march to the Valley Forge, the chosen site for the winter encampment, so that the army, as difficult and challenging as their circumstances were, might join with their countrymen in celebration of the first national Thanksgiving.
December 19, 1777
Continental Army Marches from Gulph Mills to the Valley Forge Encampment
December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778
Winter Encampment at Valley Forge
Valley Forge National Historical Park
1400 North Outer Line Drive, King of Prussia, PA 19406
https://www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/historyculture/valley-forge-history-and-significance.htm
Valley Forge Park Alliance
https://www.vfparkalliance.org/
Valley Forge Muster Roll Project
“The Encampment”
https://valleyforgemusterroll.org/the-encampment/
American Battlefield Trust – Valley Forge
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/winter-valley-forge
January 3, 1778
Yellow Springs Hospital
Chester Springs, PA
https://allthingsliberty.com/2016/11/abigail-hartman-rice-revolutionary-war-nurse/
General Washington authorized the construction of the first Revolutionary War military hospital at Yellow Springs, and the only hospital commissioned by the Continental Congress to be built during the war. This article has a most interesting account of Abigail Hartman who helped nurse the soldiers at the hospital and her husband Zachariah Rice who helped in its construction.
Historic Yellow Springs, Chester Springs, PA
https://ironandsteelheritage.org/SE/historic_yellow_springs.cfm
https://yellowsprings.org/historic-yellow-springs/yellow-springs-village/#hospital-ruins-herb-garden
https://news.chescoplanning.org/historic-yellow-springs-provides-glimpse-into-the-past/
https://www.hsaphiladelphia.org/history-of-historic-yellow-springs
Yellow Springs Hospital was known as Washington Hall. A Revolutionary War chaplain wrote about the hospital, “ ‘Tis airy and new” and the “people seemed serious and attentive. A great deal of goodness of heart takes place here.”
January 5, 1778
Spring 1778
Pulaski’s Legion, Organized in Spring 1778
https://allthingsliberty.com/2017/08/casimir-pulaskis-difficulties-recruiting-legion/
May 20, 1778
Battle of Barren Hill and Lafayette
https://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/780520-barren-hill/
June 19, 1778
Continental Army Marches Out of the Valley Forge Encampment
June 28, 1778
Battle of Monmouth
Monmouth Battlefield State Park
16 State Route 33, Manalapan, NJ 07726
https://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/monbat.html
Friends of Monmouth Battlefield
https://www.friendsofmonmouth.org/
American Battlefield Trust – Monmouth
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/monmouth