Liveblogging the American Revolution: September 16, 1777: Battle of the Clouds
The Battle of the Clouds... was an aborted engagement of... the American Revolutionary War on September 16, 1777, in the area surrounding present day Malvern, Pennsylvania.... General Howe was alerted that Washington had recrossed the Schuylkill on the afternoon of September 15, and by midnight, his troops were on the march toward the major road junction where the White Horse Tavern stood. The going was difficult because the weather had been rainy and windy, and the troops and wagons turned the roads into muddy quagmires....
Although moving to the North Valley Hills would have given Washington more time to deploy and possibly fortify, he ordered the army south directly toward the enemy to take up a defensive position on the South Valley Hills.... Washington sent an advance force under General Anthony Wayne to slow the British progress. At about 2:00 pm, his men encountered the advance jäger units of the Hessian column on one road. These forces began skirmishing.... The main British column, led by General Charles Cornwallis, met with Wayne's Pennsylvania militia on another road at around 3:00, who gave way in a panicked retreat, suffering 10 killed or wounded.
While this went on, Washington, who was trying to organize the line of battle, had a change of heart about the position, and ended up withdrawing the army north of the tavern. This withdrawal was just getting underway when it began pouring rain. Hessian jäger captain Johann Ewald described it as 'an extraordinary thunderstorm, [...] combined with the heaviest downpour in this world.'...
The storm, which historian Thomas McGuire describes as 'a classic nor'easter', raged well into the next day. The British were forced to construct a makeshift camp (having left their tents behind that day), and Washington managed to form a battle line, but a great deal of his ammunition was spoiled by the rain and poorly constructed cartridge boxes. Washington once again withdrew beyond the Schuylkill on September 19.... Howe's army found it nearly impossible to follow Washington over the rutted, muddy roads. The decision was made to wait out the storm, then move toward their objective...
