The Valley Forge winter campsite was about a day’s march from British-occupied Philadelphia. The string of humiliating defeats had led some members of the Continental Congress to want to replace Washington, believing he was incompetent. The men were hungry and tired after a string of losing battles that had resulted in the British capture of the patriot capital, Philadelphia, earlier in the fall at the Battle of Brandywine. Washington and his weary troops occupied Valley Forge, located in eastern Pennsylvania along the banks of the Schuylkill River some 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, six days before Christmas in 1777. A few months later, Washington and thousands of his troops would arrive at the site. This minor skirmish later became known as the Battle of Valley Forge. The British succeeded in stealing supplies and burning a few buildings. Defending the site were Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. On September 18, 1777, General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led British soldiers on a raid of Valley Forge, where American troops had built a handful of storage facilities.

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