Battle of the Clouds, September 1777
Near Wilmington, Pennsylvania
On September sixteenth, seventeen seventy-seven, General George Washington and the Continental Army fought the British here in what history calls the Battle of the Clouds. Washington was regrouping his forces after the defeat at Brandywine five days earlier and was maneuvering to block the British march toward Philadelphia.
The battle was cut short by a violent thunderstorm that soaked both armies and ruined cartridge powder, forcing Washington to withdraw without a decisive engagement. Despite the tactical setback, the army survived intact. Philadelphia fell to the British ten days later, but Washington would regroup and mount the famous surprise attack at Germantown on October fourth. The clouds that gave this skirmish its name may have ultimately saved the Continental Army from a worse defeat.
