Before the winter encampment, Alexander Hamilton and Henry Lee fought enemy troops at Valley Forge.

Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755, or 1757 – July 12, 1804) was an American revolutionary, statesman, and Founding Father of the United States. He was an influential interpreter and promoter of the U.S. Constitution, and was the founder of the Federalist Party, the nation's financial system, the United States Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper. Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the American Revolution as a cavalry officer in the Continental Army earned him the nickname by which he is best known, "Light-Horse Harry". Both Alexander Hamilton and Henry Lee III contributed greatly to the American Revolutionary War.

After the engagement at Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Hessian General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led a British contingent on a strike toward Valley Forge. The goal was to capture the supplies stored there. Alexander Hamilton and “Light Horse Harry” Lee led the American forces that tried to intervene and were tasked with destroying the supplies there before they fell into British hands. The British burned a few buildings, obtained the supplies, and withstood the interference of Hamilton and Lee. This small action was dubbed “The Battle of Valley Forge.” This was one of many importance events that took place in Valley Forge before the winter encampment.