Section Two

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.

https://www.plav.org/pulaski.htm

August 3-5, 1777

City Tavern, Philadelphia, Wikimedia Commons photo

Washington and Aides-de-Camp Quarter at City Tavern

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

August 10-23, 1777

Encampment at the Moland House

Moland House

1641 Old York Road, Warminster, PA 18974

https://moland.org

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, 177

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.

https://www.stenton.org/

September 11, 1777

Battle of the Brandywine

Brandywine Battlefield Park

1491 Baltimore Pike, Chadds Ford PA 19317  

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.

American Battlefield Trust – Brandywine

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/brandywine

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://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/17453/CloudsTechReport?bidId=

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.

 “Battle of the Clouds” East Goshen Township

https://eastgoshen.org/2020/04/27/battle-of-white-horse-tavern-the-gamble-of-washington-and-howe/

Battle of the White Horse Tavern (Battle of the Clouds)

707 East Lancaster Avenue, Frazer, PA 19355

https://www.whitehorsetavernandwinebar.com/

Battle of White Horse Tavern–The Gamble of Washington and Howe

https://www.whitehorsetavern.org/2020/04/27/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.

https://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=1-A-2AC

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/visit/battlefields/paoli-battlefield

Paoli Battlefield Preservation Fund

https://pbpfinc.org/

September 27, 1777

October 4, 1777

October 22, 1777

Battle of Red Bank

Red Bank Battlefield Park

100 Hessian Avenue, National Park, NJ 08063

November 11 – December 11, 2020

Whitemarsh Encampment

Fort Washington State Park

https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/FortWashingtonStatePark/Pages/default.aspx

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

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://westernheritagemapping.org/RevWar/Whitemarsh/PhilCampDec.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_White_Marsh

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://military.wikia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Matson%27s_Ford

Article on Matson’s Ford posted on December 11, 2019

https://www.facebook.com/Paoli-Battlefield-Historical-Park-139034536140048/

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

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.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/rock.html

On December 19, 1924, J. Aubrey Anderson, Esq. spoke at the Presentation of the Overhanging Rock in Gulph Mills to the Valley Forge Historical Society.  His remarks give insight to the significance of this historic rock and the brief encampment there. After efforts had been made  to have the Rock removed to “improve” the thoroughfare, Mrs. J. Aubrey Anderson purchased the famous “hanging rock” along with the adjoining ground and conveyed to the Valley Forge Historical Society, specifically for its “perpetual preservation.”

[ https://www.kophistory.org/history-of-anderson-road-namesake/ ]

December 18, 1777

First National Thanksgiving Observed by the Continental Army at the Overhanging Rock

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.html

Valley Forge Park Alliance

https://www.vfparkalliance.org/

Valley Forge Muster Roll Project

            “The Encampment”

https://valleyforgemusterroll.org/encampment.asp

American Battlefield Trust – Valley Forge

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/winter-valley-forge

January 3, 1778

Yellow Springs Hospital

Chester Springs, PA

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/about/virtual-village-tour/hospital-ruins-herb-garden/

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

May 20, 1778

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