After the Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in 1776, British and Continental Armies met in a series of crucial battles throughout the Philadelphia Region. Washington's daring crossing of the Delaware River to defeat British and Hessian forces and his troops' rugged determination to survive their difficult winter at Valley Forge rallied the spirit of the American people at a critical moment in their struggle for independence.
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1776 |
British win major victory over Washington's Continental Army at the Battle of Long Island |
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1776 |
Driven out of New York and New Jersey by Howe's forces, George Washington establishes temporary headquarters at Summerseat in Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
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1776 |
Reacting to a threatened British invasion of Pennsylvania, Congress leaves Philadelphia for Baltimore |
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1776 |
Washington's forces cross the Delaware River, surprising Hessian soldiers guarding Trenton, New Jersey |
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1777 |
Outnumbered Continental troops meet Royal forces at Trenton for the second time but escape and the next morning win another surprising victory in a skirmish at Princeton |
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1777 |
General Howe begins sailing over 14,000 troops from New York toward the South in a campaign to capture Philadelphia |
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1777 |
Howe decides against landing his troops in Delaware and proceeds to the head of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland |
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1777 |
Washington's troops march through Philadelphia on their way to meet the British forces then passing through the Chesapeake |
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1777 |
British forces land at Head of Elk (Elkton, Maryland) |
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1777 |
Battle of Brandywine. The two sides engage along Brandywine Creek, which crosses the Nottingham Road (Baltimore Pike), the main route into Philadelphia. Howe's troops secure victory |
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1777 |
Paoli Massacre. British troops surprise forces led by Gen. Anthony Wayne using fixed bayonets in a brutal late night assault |
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1777 |
British enter the city of Philadelphia
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1777 |
Battle of Germantown. Washington's ambitious plan to break the British occupation of Philadelphia fails principally as the result of stubborn British resistance at Cliveden or the Chew Mansion |
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1777 |
Battle of Saratoga (New York). British General John Burgoyne surrenders over 9,000 Royal troops to Continental commander Horatio Gates in the war's most decisive early battle. The victory at Saratoga, coupled with Washington's continued aggressiveness in Pennsylvania, helps secure an American alliance with the French. |
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1777 |
Fall of Fort Mifflin, one of the last remaining American strongholds on the Delaware River, guarantees British access to sea routes for re-supply efforts to uphold their occupation of Philadelphia |
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1777 |
General Howe begins a final two-day campaign to oust the American forces at Whitemarsh on the outskirts of Philadelphia. After several attempts, he orders British troops back to winter encampment in the city. |
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1777 |
American troops arrive for winter encampment at Valley Forge |
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1778 |
Franco-American Treaties of Commerce and Alliance signed in Paris |
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1778 |
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge and soon begins improved drill instruction for infantry soldiers |
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1778 |
General Henry Clinton replaces William Howe as commander in chief of the British forces in the American colonies |
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1778 |
Pennsylvania militia forces under Brig. Gen. John Lacey defeated by British troops at Crooked Billet, on the outskirts of Philadelphia |
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1778 |
American forces begin to break camp at Valley Forge |
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1778 |
British forces evacuate Philadelphia |
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1778 |
Last American troops leave Valley Forge
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Historical Markers In the Story
Original Documents