Battle of Matson's Ford

The Battle of Matson's Ford was a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War fought on December 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 of Pennsylvania militia encountered a British foraging expedition and were overrun. The British pushed ahead to Matson's Ford, where units of the Continental Army were making their way across the Schuylkill River. The Americans retreated to the far side, destroying their temporary bridge across the Schuylkill. The British left the area the next day to continue foraging elsewhere; the Continentals crossed the river at Swede's Ford (present-day Norristown) to Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, a few miles upriver from Matson's Ford.