Hessian Raid on the Valley Forge Supply Magazine

Following British victories at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, and the Battle of the Clouds five days later, several hundred Hessian soldiers under General Wilhelm von Knyphausen raided the supply magazine at Valley Forge on September 18. Despite the efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry Lee III, the Continental officers tasked with evacuating the supplies, von Knyphausen's troops captured and burnt the magazine, taking or destroying all supplies within. This loss preceded the army's December arrival at a site stripped of its stored provisions.