- Battle of Matson's Ford
The Battle of Matson's Ford was a battle in the
Philadelphia campaign of theAmerican Revolutionary War fought onDecember 11 ,1777 in the area surrounding Matson's Ford (present-day Conshohocken and West Conshohocken,Pennsylvania ). In this series of minor skirmish actions, advance patrols ofPennsylvania militia encountered a British foraging expedition, and were overrun. The British pushed ahead and engaged units of theContinental Army making their way across theSchuylkill River . The Americans retreated, destroying their temporary bridge across the Schuylkill behind them, and were forced to march north to Swede's Ford (present-day Norristown) to make the crossing to the west side of the Schyulkill.Prelude
In early December,
1777 , British commander General William Howe led a sizable contingent of troops out of British-occupiedPhiladelphia in one last attempt to destroyGeorge Washington and the Continental Army before the onset of winter. At theBattle of White Marsh (December 5 -December 8 ), Washington successfully repelled the British attacks, and Howe returned to Philadelphia without engaging Washington in a decisive conflict. After the battle, Washington and his troops remained encamped at White Marsh.On
December 10 , it was determined that the Continental Army would move to winter quarters somewhere west of the Schuylkill River. The army struck camp the morning ofDecember 11 , and proceeded to march through Plymouth Meeting, across Ridge Road, and down to the river crossing at Matson's Ford (following the route of present-day Butler Pike).In preparation for the crossing, Washington ordered the Pennsylvania militia, under the command of General
James Potter , to establish three advance pickets west of the river to warn of British troop movements: one at Middle Ferry (where Market Street crosses the Schuylkill River), another at Black Horse Inn at City Line and Old Lancaster Road, and the third atHarriton House (the home ofCharles Thomson , secretary of theContinental Congress ) on Old Gulph Road.Battle
Early in the morning of December 11, the picket at Middle Ferry fired upon a British foraging expedition leaving Philadelphia. Soon after, the militia stationed at the Black Horse Inn fired on British troops. Reports were delivered to Potter, who was with the contingent located at Harriton House, indicating that the British were "advancing in force" up Gulph Road and towards his location.
Potter stationed five regiments of militia between the British forces and Harriton House. However, the militia were quickly overrun and they hastily retreated back through Gulph Mills to Swede's Ford (present-day Norristown). The retreat was so chaotic that militiamen literally threw away their muskets and ammunition as they ran (an offense for which they would later be fined or publicly whipped). With the militia in retreat, the British discontinued pursuit and took position on the heights overlooking Matson's Ford.
At the river, two Continental Army divisions under the command of General
John Sullivan had almost completed crossing using a temporary bridge made from lashed together wagons. Sullivan, determining his position to be untenable, ordered a retreat back across the river, and destroyed the makeshift bridge behind him.Aftermath
The
Continental Army spentDecember 11 -12 in the hills above Swede's Ford. On the evening ofDecember 12 , the army crossed the Schuylkill River using makeshift wagon bridges and proceeded down Swedeland Road to Gulph Mills, where they remained fromDecember 13 tillDecember 19 . In recognition of the American victory at Saratoga,December 18 was celebrated as day of "Thanksgiving and Praise" (and was, in fact, the first national holiday for thethirteen colonies ). [ [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel04.html Religion and the Congress of the Confederation, 1774-89 (Religion and the Founding of the American Republic, Library of Congress Exhibition) ] ] OnDecember 19 , the army marched convert|7|mi|km|sing=off west on Gulph Road to their winter quarters at Valley Forge.References
Further reading
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