Weedon's Foray Historical Marker

The Weedon's Foray Historical Marker

This past July (2023), an exciting historical event took place in Mill Creek Hundred. Nestled down in the Mill Creek valley, off of Stoney Batter Road down at the bottom of the hill, a brand new historical sign was unveiled! It memorializes an event from the days of our country's founding, and the marker was largely the result of one man's tireless work (no, not me). The event is known as Weedon's Foray, and it was (until recently) a largely forgotten event that really does deserve more recognition.

Weedon's Foray was a small skirmish that took place between two other, more well-known engagements, but which did end up having an importance of its own. The date was September 8, 1777, and just 5 days earlier British and American forces had clashed at the Battle of Cooch's Bridge, south of Newark. The Redcoats had disembarked a few days earlier at the Head of Elk in Maryland, and everyone knew their ultimate destination was Philadelphia -- the only questions was, by what route would they go?

After the engagement at Cooch's Bridge, convinced British General Howe would take the most direct route through Wilmington, Gen. Washington moved his army back to take up positions where the road crossed Red Clay Creek, at Stanton. They camped between Marshallton and Newport, waiting for the enemy to arrive. Howe, however, had other plans. He intended to take a slightly more circuitous, northerly route. The Americans, though, had not yet figured this out.