Battle of Edge Hill: The Week Before Valley Forge

The hillside near this marker was the site of the last major confrontation between Washington's army and the British before the famous winter at Valley Forge. In early December of seventeen seventy-seven, British General Sir William Howe marched out of occupied Philadelphia with a force of British regulars and Hessian mercenaries, determined to destroy the Continental Army once and for all before winter set in.

For four days, from December fifth through the eighth, the two forces skirmished along Edge Hill, with Howe attempting to break or flank the American defensive positions. He could not do it. The Continental Army held. With winter arriving and his objective unmet, Howe withdrew back to Philadelphia. Washington's forces then marched to Valley Forge, where the hard months of rebuilding began. Washington's army came through the campaign intact and went on to fight another year.