Battle of the Clouds | |||||||
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Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United States | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
George Washington | Sir William Howe Lord Cornwallis Wilhelm Knyphausen | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
10,000 | 18,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
100 killed or wounded | 100 killed or missing | ||||||
Designated | September 13, 2014 |
The Battle of the Clouds was a failed attempt to delay the British advance on Philadelphia during the American Revolutionary War on September 16, 1777, in the area surrounding present day Malvern, Pennsylvania. After the American defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, the British Army remained encamped near Chadds Ford. When British commander William Howe was informed that the weakened American force was less than ten miles (16 km) away, he decided to press for another decisive victory.
George Washington learned of Howe's plans and prepared for battle. Before the two armies could fully engage, a torrential downpour ensued. Significantly outnumbered, and with tens of thousands of cartridges ruined by the rain, Washington opted to retreat. Bogged down by rain and mud, the British allowed Washington and his army to withdraw.
After Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, he was intent on accomplishing two tasks. He wanted to protect Philadelphia from British forces under the command of Howe, and he needed to replenish the rapidly dwindling supplies and munitions which were stored at the Van Leer Furnace in Reading, Pennsylvania. [1] Washington withdrew across the Schuylkill River, marched through Philadelphia, and headed northwest. Since the Schuylkill was fordable only far upstream starting at Matson's Ford (present-day Conshohocken), Washington could protect both the capital and the vital supply areas to the west from behind the river barrier. Yet he reconsidered and recrossed the river to face the British, who had moved little since Brandywine, owing to a shortage of wagons to carry both their wounded and their baggage. [2]
General Howe was alerted that Washington had recrossed the Schuylkill on the afternoon of September 15, and by midnight, his troops were on the march toward the major road junction where the White Horse Tavern stood. The going was difficult because the weather had been rainy and windy, and the troops and wagons turned the roads into muddy quagmires. The next morning, Washington's 10,000 man army was moving west through the Great Valley, or The Great Central of Lee bound by the North and South Valley Hills on either side. He learned from his cavalry, led by General Pulaski, that the British were advancing on him from the south just a few miles away. Although moving to the North Valley Hills would have given Washington more time to deploy and possibly fortify, he ordered the army south directly toward the enemy to take up a defensive position on the South Valley Hills.
Washington sent an advance force under General Anthony Wayne to slow the British progress. [3] At about 2:00 pm, his men encountered the advance jäger units of the Hessian column on one road. These forces began skirmishing, and the Americans very nearly captured Colonel Carl von Donop when he became separated from his main column with a small company of jägers. [4] The main British column, led by General Charles Cornwallis, met Wayne's Pennsylvania militia on another road at around 3:00, who gave way in a panicked retreat, suffering 10 killed or wounded.[ citation needed ]
While this went on, Washington, who was trying to organize the line of battle, had a change of heart about the position and ended up withdrawing the army north of the tavern. This withdrawal was just getting underway when it began pouring rain. Hessian jäger Captain Johann Ewald described it as "an extraordinary thunderstorm, [...] combined with the heaviest downpour in this world." [5]
The British army halted its advance, although General Wilhelm von Knyphausen ordered the jägers to engage the enemy. Ewald and his men rushed forward, swords drawn since their muskets were inoperable because of the wet powder, and captured 34 men. Ewald, or Emery Edmondson, reported losing 5 killed, 7 wounded, and 3 captured in this action. [5] The storm, which historian Thomas McGuire describes as "a classic nor'easter", raged well into the next day [5] The British were forced to construct a makeshift camp (having left their tents behind that day), and Washington managed to form a battle line, but a great deal of his ammunition had been spoiled by the rain and poorly constructed cartridge boxes. [6] [7]
Washington once again withdrew beyond the Schuylkill on September 19 to cover both the capital and his supply area, but he left behind General Wayne's Pennsylvania division of 1,500 men and four guns with orders to harass the British rear. Washington temporarily based his headquarters at the Reading Furnace. [8] [9] Howe's army found it nearly impossible to follow Washington over the rutted, muddy roads. The decision was made to wait out the storm, then move toward their objective.
Wayne was to be joined by militia, and together they were to strike at the enemy baggage train as the British advanced on Washington's main army. However his force was surprised at the Battle of Paoli, and the British were free to occupy Philadelphia.
As of the 2010s, Chester County's government is working with the local municipalities at the site of the Battle of the Clouds, to preserve key areas in the dense suburban community. [10]
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The forces met near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. More troops fought at Brandywine than at any other battle of the American Revolution. It was also the second longest single-day battle of the war, after the Battle of Monmouth, with continuous fighting for 11 hours.
The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Continental Army under George Washington.
The Battle of Paoli, also known as the Battle of Paoli Tavern or the Paoli Massacre, was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on September 20, 1777, in the area surrounding present-day Malvern, Pennsylvania. Following the Continental Army's retreat in the Battle of Brandywine and the aborted Battle of the Clouds, George Washington left a force behind under the command of Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to monitor and resist the British as they prepared to attack and occupy the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia.
The Battle of Bound Brook was a surprise attack conducted by British and Hessian forces against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. The British objective of capturing the entire garrison was not met, although prisoners were taken. The U.S. commander, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, left in great haste, abandoning papers and personal effects.
The 6th Pennsylvania Regiment, first known as the 5th Pennsylvania Battalion, was a unit of the United States of America (U.S.) Army, raised December 9, 1775, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action during the New York Campaign, Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth, and Green Spring. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1783.
The 8th Pennsylvania Regiment or Mackay's Battalion was an American infantry unit that became part of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Authorized for frontier defense in July 1776, the eight-company unit was originally called Mackay's Battalion after its commander, Colonel Aeneas Mackay. Transferred to the main army in November 1776, the unit was renamed the 8th Pennsylvania Regiment on 1 January 1777. It completed an epic winter march from western Pennsylvania to New Jersey, though Mackay and his second-in-command both died soon afterward. In March 1777 Colonel Daniel Brodhead assumed command. The regiment was engaged at the Battles of Bound Brook, Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown in 1777. A body of riflemen were detached from the regiment and fought at Saratoga. Assigned to the Western Department in May 1778, the 8th Pennsylvania gained a ninth company before seeing action near Fort Laurens and in the Sullivan Expedition in 1778 and 1779. The regiment consolidated with the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment in January 1781 and ceased to exist.
The 11th Pennsylvania Regiment or Old Eleventh was authorized on 16 September 1776 for service with the Continental Army. On 25 October, Richard Humpton was named colonel. In December 1776, the regiment was assigned to George Washington's main army and was present at Assunpink Creek and fought at Princeton in January 1777. During the spring, the unit assembled at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a strength of eight companies. The soldiers were recruited from Philadelphia and four nearby counties. On 22 May 1777, the regiment became part of the 2nd Pennsylvania Brigade. The 11th was in the thick of the action at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown in 1777. It was present at White Marsh and Monmouth. On 1 July 1778, the unit was consolidated with the 10th Pennsylvania Regiment, and the 11th Regiment ceased to exist. Humpton took command of the reorganized unit.
The 3rd Maryland Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It served from 1776 to 1783, mostly in the Middle Atlantic Region of the conflict.
The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British military campaign during the American Revolutionary War designed to gain control of Philadelphia, the Revolutionary-era capital where the Second Continental Congress convened and formed the Continental Army and appointed George Washington as its commander in 1775, and authored and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year, on July 4, 1776, which formalized and escalated the war.
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed, debated, developed, and ultimately implemented many of the acts, including signing the Declaration of Independence, that inspired and launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.
The Battle of Matson's Ford was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 11, 1777 in the area surrounding Matson's Ford. In this series of minor skirmish actions, advance patrols of Pennsylvania militia encountered a British foraging expedition and were overrun. The British pushed ahead to Matson's Ford, where units of the Continental Army were making their way across the Schuylkill River. The Americans retreated to the far side, destroying their temporary bridge across the Schuylkill. The British left the area the next day to continue foraging elsewhere; the Continentals crossed the river at Swede's Ford to Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, a few miles upriver from Matson's Ford.
The Brandywine Battlefield Historic Site is a National Historical Landmark. The historic park is owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, on 52 acres (210,000 m2), near Chadds Ford, Delaware County, Pennsylvania in the United States.
The Battle of the Short Hills was a conflict between a Continental Army force commanded by Brigadier General William Alexander, and an opposing British force commanded by Lieutenant General William Howe. The battle took place on June 26, 1777, at Scotch Plains and Edison, New Jersey, during the American Revolutionary War.
The Battle of Cooch's Bridge, also known as the Battle of Iron Hill, was fought on September 3, 1777, between the Continental Army and American militia and primarily German soldiers serving alongside the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was the only significant military action during the war on the soil of Delaware, and it took place about a week before the major Battle of Brandywine. Some traditions claim this as the first battle which saw the U.S. flag.
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At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777 a colonial American army led by General George Washington fought a British-Hessian army commanded by General William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe. Washington drew up his troops in a defensive position behind Brandywine Creek. Howe sent Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen's 5,000 troops to demonstrate against the American front at Chadd's Ford. Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis took 10,000 troops on a wide flank march that crossed the creek and got in the rear of the American right wing under Major General John Sullivan. The Americans changed front but Howe's attack broke through.
Henry Monckton was the fourth son of John Monckton, 1st Viscount Galway, and the younger half-brother of the more famous Robert Monckton.
Richard Humpton was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
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