Washington at Valley Forge [ushistory.org] Valley Forge Washington's army had spent the summer of 1777 fighting a string of losing battles. The Americans harassed the British army in skirmishes and minor battles for much of the fighting season. In the fall, the Americans showed pluck at the Battle of Brandywine in September and the Battle of Germantown in October. Yet the Americans were unable to keep the British out of Philadelphia. In December, Washington marched his tired, beaten, hungry and sick army to Valley Forge, a location about 20 miles northwest of British-occupied Philadelphia. From Valley Forge, Washington could keep an eye on General Howe's British army ensconced in Philadelphia. At Valley Forge, there were shortages of everything from food to clothing to medicine. Washington's men were sick from disease, hunger, and exposure. The Continental Army camped in crude log cabins and endured cold conditions while the Redcoats warmed themselves in colonial homes. The patriots went hungry while the British soldiers ate well. Terms of enlistment were ending for many soldiers in Washington's army. The General wondered if he would even have an army left when the spring thaw finally arrived. Washington under Siege Great events generate great legends.

Did an Oneida woman named Polly Cooper, really ease the suffering of Washington and his troops at Valley Forge? Historians may never know for sure, but the legend lives on. General Washington was upset that local farmers were hoarding much-needed food waiting to earn higher profits in the spring. Some farmers even sneaked grain into Philadelphia to feed the British army, who paid in gold or silver. With each passing night came more desertions. Washington grew privately disgusted at the lack of commitment of his so-called patriot fighters. Then there was the grumbling of some in Congress and among some of Washington's own officers. Washington's leadership skills were openly questioned. Many said General Horatio Gates was better-suited to leading the army. After all, hadn't he scored a major victory in October at the battle of Saratoga.? Within the environment of cold, deprivation, and rebellion, how long could Washington and his army endure?

Conditions at Valley Forge Head Quarters, Valley Forge, February 16, 1778 Dear Sir: It is with great reluctance, I trouble you on a subject, which does not fall within your province; but it is a subject that occasions me more distress, than I have felt, since the commencement of the war; and which loudly demands the most zealous exertions of every person of weight and authority, who is interested in the success of our affairs. I mean the present dreadful situation of the army for want of provisions, and the miserable prospects before us, with respect to futurity. It is more alarming than you will probably conceive, for, to form a just idea, it were necessary to be on the spot. For some days past, there has been little less, than a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week, without any kind of flesh, and the rest for three or four days. Naked and starving as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been ere this excited by their sufferings, to a general mutiny or dispersion.

Strong symptoms, however, discontent have appeared in particular instances; and nothing but the most acitive efforts every where can long avert so shocking a catastrophe. Our present sufferings are not all. There is no foundation laid for any adequate relief hereafter. All the magazines provided in the States of New Jersey, Pensylvania, Delaware and Maryland, and all the immediate additional supplies they seem capable of affording, wil not be sufficient to support the army more than a month longer, if so long. Very little been done to the Eastward, and as little to the Southward; and whatever we have a right to expect from those quarters, must necessarily be very remote; and is indeed more precarious, than could be wished. When the forementioned supplies are exhausted, what a terrible crisis must ensue, unless all the energy of the Continent is exerted to provide a timely remedy? Impressed with this idea, I am, on my part, putting every engine to work, that I can possibly think of, to prevent the fatal consequences, we have so great a reason to apprehend.

I am calling upon all those, whose stations and influence enable them to contribute their aid upons so important an occasion; and from your well known zeal, I expect every thing within the compass of your power, and that the abilities and resources of the state over which you preside, will admit. I am sensible of the disadvantages it labours under, from having been so long the scene of war, and that it must be exceedingly drained by the great demands to which it has been subject. But, tho' you may not be able to contribute materially to our relief, you can perhaps do something towards it; and any assistance, however trifling in itself, will be of great moment at so critical a juncture, and will conduce to keeping the army together till the Commissary's department can be put upon a better footing, and effectual measures concerted to secure a permanent and competent supply. What methods you can take, you will be the best judge of; but, if you can devise any means to procure a quantity of cattle, or other kind of flesh, for the use of this army, to be at camp in the course of a month, you will render a most essential service to the common cause. I have the honor etc.

– George Washington, letter to George Clinton (Feb. 16, 1778) These cabins may appear sturdy from the outside, but a closer look reveals their sparse and makeshift character. Imagine sleeping on one of those bunk beds. Help came in the form of a Prussian volunteer, Baron von Steuben . The military leader was aghast at the lack of American discipline. At Washington's urging he trained the Continental Army, Prussian-style. The troops slowly became more professional. Among the soldiers who remained, confidence grew. Over the course of the winter, the weather improved somewhat. Food trickled in from the surrounding countryside. Many wives of soldiers spent time at Valley Forge over the winter. Washington was able to quash those who questioned his leadership abilities. The Continental Army encamped at Valley Forge in the fall of 1777 with about 12,000 men in its ranks. Death claimed about a quarter of them before spring arrived. Another thousand didn't reenlist or deserted. But the army that remained was stronger. They were fewer, but more disciplined. They were weary, but firmly resolved. The next year, 1778, brought greater fortune to the American cause.

While Washington froze at Valley Forge, Benjamin Franklin was busy securing the French alliance. Now the war would be different indeed. From the Diary of Albigence Waldo, Surgeon at Valley Forge, 1777 It is not in the power of Philosophy ... to convince a man he may be happy and Contented if he will, with a Hungry Belly. Give me Food, Cloaths, Wife and Children, kind Heaven! and I'll be as contented as my Nature will permit me to be. At this American history website specializing in primary documents, read the gruesome details of the horrible winter from a surgeon who kept a diary from those desperate days. General Friedrich Wilhelm Von Steuben This Prussian drill instructor served Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was widely recognized as the greatest military genius of the era. After arriving in Valley Forge, which was filled with a pathetic and disillusioned troops, von Steuben created an army out of a ragged militia and helped turn the tide of war. The German Club presents a brief article on this important general. Historic Valley Forge Who won the Battle of Valley Forge? If you answered "the British" or "the Americans," check again. There was no Battle of Valley Forge!

This fantastic website, created by UShistory.org, is broken down into several parts covering all the basics and much, much more. Read about French help, spy tactics, and even the weather report. There are lots of great pictures and a couple of fun activities, too. Moland House Park Before Washington got to Valley Forge, one of the places he stayed was at Moland House, which served as his headquarters on August 10, 1777. Here, the Marquis de Lafayette joined the American Revolution, and the American Flag was said to have first flown over American troops. The Warwick Township Historical Society provides information about the house and the encampment as well as directions for anyone thinking of visiting. Polly Cooper — Revolutionary War Hero Oneida oral tradition tells of the corn the Oneida provided the soldiers at Valley Forge, and of Polly Cooper, an Oneida woman who served as cook to George Washington and taught the soldiers how to prepare native foods and medicines. The Oneida Indian Nation's website takes a closer look at this fascinating woman. Valley Forge National Park Although the homepage of the National Park Service's website on Valley Forge is rather lackluster the "inDEPTH" link leads to much information about this historic national site.

Of course, the park service provides all the pertinent information visitors need to take a trip to Valley Forge. Valley Forge National Historical Park Although About.com design and navigation are less than great, its information on Valley Forge is solid and complete. Several webpages are provided on the winter at Valley Forge, and a photographic exhibit of the region makes this website well worth a visit. Valley Forge Encampment: A Winter of Suffering Why did Washington choose Valley Forge? How were the soldiers trained? What was it like to live all winter in a log cabin? Who were the soldiers? These questions and more are answered at ParkNet, a website created by the National Park Service. An ongoing archaeological dig going is uncovering more and more information about this historic winter. George Washington’s Winter at Valley Forge 1777-1778‏ - Independent American Party - Official Independent American Party – Official George Washington’s Winter at Valley Forge 1777-1778‏ January 22, 2013 Posted by: Kelly Gneiting From the free course at George Washington School of Freedom, Inc.

George Washington warned the Continental Congress about conditions he faced at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778 in a letter dated December 22, 1777 as “this alarming deficiency or rather total failure of supplies:” which, if not addressed would cause the army to “dissolve.” In effect, the army was in danger of starving because Congress had created a mass of regulations for the Quartermaster . George Washington while in Boston in 1775 had asked the Continental Congress for the authority to choose a quartermaster general and on August 14th, Thomas Mifflin was chosen. Mifflin and several subordinates or assistants performed the tasks and duties of the quartermaster general. However, in the winter of 1777, the Quartermaster Office fell apart. General Mifflin had resigned as quartermaster in September of 1777, and Congress failed to replace him. In fact, they ordered him to spend his time in Philadelphia recruiting and moving stores away from the British troops that were occupying Philadelphia. As Congress was attending to general reorganization efforts, they failed to attend to feeding and clothing the soldiers for winter.

By February of 1778, deaths from illness, starvation and freezing, combined with desertions had reduced Washington’s army of 12,000 men to 8,000 men. The British Army occupying Philadelphia was not the problem. Bad weather, the lack of roads, a shortage of wagons and the lack of an executive in the Continental government were some of the many problems. Brigadier General Jedidiah Huntington of Connecticut wrote: “I received an order to hold my Brigade in readiness to march; fighting will be by far preferable to starving; my Brigade are out of provisions nor can the Brigade commissary obtain any meat. It has several times been the case before thought the failure has generally been in flour. I am exceedingly unhappy in being the bearer of complaints to Headquarters. I have used every argument my imagination could invent to make the soldiers easy, but I despair of being able to do it much longer.” It was during the depths of that winter that an event occurred which was later memorialized in paintings by several artists. The pictures are based on a story told by Isaac Potts, the owner of the stone building that Washington rented as his headquarters.

As a Quaker who believed all war was wrong, Isaac was not a supporter of the Revolution. Isaac Potts described seeing George Washington alone with his horse in the woods “at the most distressing time of the war, on his knees alone, with his sword on one side and his cocked hat on the other. He was at Prayer to the God of the Armies, beseeching to interpose with his Divine aid, as it was ye Crisis, and the cause of the country, of humanity and of the world. Such a prayer I never heard from the lips of man. I left him alone praying. I went home and told my wife. I saw a sight and heard today what I never saw or heard before, and just related to her what I had seen and heard and observed. We never thought a man could be a soldier and a Christian, but if there is one in the world, it is Washington. She also was astonished.

We thought it was the cause of God, and America could prevail.” [1] In spite of the hardships and the deaths at Valley Forge, according to Worchester Polytechnic Institute’s Military Science, it was there that, “Washington and the Continental Army endured and gained much hardiness due to both the hardships and the arrival of Friedrich Wilhem von Steuben. Steuben arrived in February of 1778 from Prussia where he had been a Captain under Frederick the Great. Washington saw the need for uniform training and organization in his command and gave von Steuben a chance to manifest those goals.” [2] It was at Valley Forge under the training of Baron von Steuben that the Continental Army truly became an army. Even to this very day, the U.S. Army Study Guide praises the “good sense and humanity” of Baron Von Steuben’s drill regulations. “Von Steuben also stressed the importance of discipline and the daily routine; he went minutely into field and company administration. He prescribed that platoons should camp by battalions. He allowed sumps (latrines) to be dug no nearer to occupied tents than 300 feet.

He charged field officers with seeing that their camps were pitched regularly and properly, especially that kitchens and sumps were put in sanitary places. He outlined methods of getting wood and water by means of an organized system of signals and formations.” [3] The Army Study Guide outlines von Steuben’s training as follows: “The lieutenant was to be zealous in regard to the ‘health and convenience’ of the soldier, and the ensign in regard to ‘neatness and cleanliness’. Von Steuben here discreetly laid emphasis on the development of self-respect and pride, qualities, which are the lading strings of success. Then he capped this by setting a check upon ill treatment, which arises through ‘pique or resentment’. Understanding how partiality and prejudice may be the ruin of discipline he closed his instructions by putting a special guard on that sort of justice. “Von Steuben spent much time in developing a keen sense of responsibility in the company officer in comparison to that of the field and general officer. He knew that if the individual soldier had affection and regard for his immediate leaders, the higher commands would take care of themselves.

He realized that the pride and bearing of the rank and file were the keynotes to achievements in the field, as was demonstrated many times in World War. Could any set of instructions more grippingly embrace the essentials of discipline?” The results of von Steuben’s training were shown almost immediately; first in the rapid reduction in sickness among the men because of the improved sanitation that prevented much illness among the troops, and second in saving the lives of men in battle because they now knew how to quickly and in unison obey orders from their battlefield commanders. [1] U.S. History.org website – Excerpt from Snowden’s Diary – #02 [2] Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Military Science -Winter at Valley Forge – [3] U.S. Army Study Guide – on Von Stueben training – Join the Discussion what was the hard ships during this mike how did George Washington contribute MEEE Im pretty sure he was the General of the Army. william nigga U mean William Raider Why do you guys care your statements are meaningless and have no reason to be on here people like you are meant to stick to youtube debbie Great For All Of You People asdfghjkl Thanks for helping me with my history test!

Pickles hi this is a great site joe you guys need to keep your comment relivent to the article. historyguide why dont they ever talk about the small pox situation?? Tags George Washington and His Troops Winter at Valley Forge | World History Project Dec 19 1777 to Jun 19 1778 George Washington and His Troops Winter at Valley Forge With the winter setting in the prospects for campaigning being greatly diminished, General George Washington sought quarters for his men. Washington and his troops had just fought what was to be the last major engagement of 1777 at the Battle of White Marsh (or Edge Hill). He devised to pull his troops from their present encampment in the White Marsh area (now Fort Washington State Park) and move to a more secure location for the coming winter. Though several locations were proposed, he selected Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Philadelphia. It proved to be an excellent choice. Named for an iron forge on Valley Creek, the area was close enough to the British to keep their raiding and foraging parties out of the interior of Pennsylvania, yet far enough away to halt the threat of British surprise attacks.

The high ground of Mount Joy and the adjoining elevated ground of Mount Misery combined with the Schuylkill River to the north, made the area easily defensible. On December 19, 1777, when Washington's poorly fed, ill-equipped army, weary from long marches, struggled into Valley Forge, winds blew as the 12,000 Continentals prepared for winter's fury. Grounds for brigade encampments were selected, and defense lines were planned and begun. Though construction of more than a thousand huts provided shelter, it did little to offset the critical shortages that continually plagued the army. The men were under cover within six weeks. The first properly constructed hut appeared in three days. One other hut, which required 80 logs, and whose timber had to be collected from miles away, went up in one week with the use of only one axe. The men described their lodgings as "cozy and comfortable quarters" and they were proud of the structures they had built. These huts provided sufficient protection from the moderately cold, but mainly wet and damp conditions of the mild, but typical Pennsylvania winter of 1777-78. Snow was limited, and small in amounts.

Alternating freezing and melting of snow and ice made it impossible to keep dry and allowed for disease to fester. Soldiers received irregular supplies of meat and bread, some getting their only nourishment from "firecake," a tasteless mixture of flour and water. Others made "soup" from burned leaves and chewed their leather boots. However, due to the talents of Baker General Christopher Ludwig, the men at Valley Forge more often than not received fresh baked soft bread, about one pound daily. So severe were conditions at times that Washington despaired "that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place ... this Army must inevitably ... Starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can." Animals fared no better. General Henry Knox, Washington's Chief of Artillery wrote that hundreds of horses either starved to death or died of exhaustion. Clothing, too, was wholly inadequate. Long marches had destroyed shoes. Blankets were scarce. Tattered garments were seldom replaced. At one point these shortages caused nearly 4,000 men to be listed as unfit for duty. Undernourished and poorly clothed, living in crowded, damp quarters, the army was ravaged by sickness and disease.

Typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, and pneumonia were among the killers that felled as many as 2,000 men that winter. Although Washington repeatedly petitioned for relief, the Congress was unable to provide it, and the soldiers continued to suffer. Women, relatives of enlisted men, alleviated some of the suffering by providing valuable services such as laundry and nursing that the army desperately needed. Upgrading military efficiency, morale, and discipline were as vital to the army's well-being as was its source of supply. The army had been handicapped in battle because unit training was administered from a variety of field manuals, making coordinated battle movements awkward and difficult. The soldiers were trained, but not uniformly. The task of developing and carrying out an effective training program fell to Baron Friedrich von Steuben. This skilled Prussian drill master, recently arrived from Europe, tirelessly drilled the soldiers. A group of people called Regimental Camp Followers also help increase the morale of the soldiers and provided necessary support to the men. Camp Followers at Valley Forge consisted of the families, wives, children, mothers, and sisters of the soldiers. These camp followers often served as laundresses, cleaning and mending the uniforms of the soldiers.

Washington understood a soldier would die quickly from disease if his uniform was dirty and threadbare. These women and children also provided the emotional support to a soldier, allowing them to remain at camp and continue on training and soldiering during the winter months. These women gained half the rations of soldiers, half the wages of a soldier as well as a half pension after the war—if they had done enough work. Children would receive quarter rations if enough work was done. Women were relegated to the back of the column when marching and were forbidden to ride on wagons. Camp followers faced the issues of disease along with the soldiers. While excellent scavengers, some women lost their lives on the battlefield trying to obtain goods from wounded or dead soldiers. At Valley Forge women averaged 1 to every 44 men, adding up to around 500 women. Soon word of the British departure from Philadelphia brought a frenzied activity to the ranks of the Continental Army. On June 19, 1778, six months after its arrival, the army marched away from Valley Forge in pursuit of the British, who were moving toward New York. The ordeal had ended.

The war would last for another five years, but for Washington, his men, and the nation to which they sought to give birth, a decisive victory had been won — a victory not of weapons but of will. No war took place here. Winter at Valley Forge in the American Revolution Updated March 16, 2016. Winter at Valley Forge - Arrival: In the fall of 1777, General George Washington 's Continental Army moved south from New Jersey to defend the capital of Philadelphia from the advancing forces of General William Howe . Clashing at Brandywine on September 11, Washington was decisively defeated, leading the Continental Congress to flee the city. Fifteen days later, after outmaneuvering Washington, Howe entered Philadelphia unopposed. Seeking to regain the initiative, Washington struck at Germantown on October 4, but was again defeated. With the campaign season ending and cold weather rapidly approaching, Washington moved his army into winter quarters. For his winter encampment, Washington selected Valley Forge on the Schuylkill River approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

With its high ground and position near the river, Valley Forge was easily defensible, but still close enough to the city for Washington to maintain pressure on the British. Despite the defeats of the fall, the 12,000 men of the Continental Army were in good spirits when they marched into Valley Forge on December 19, 1777. Winter at Valley Forge - The Winter Encampment: Under the direction of the army's engineers, the men began constructing over 2,000 log huts laid out along military streets. In addition, defensive trenches and five redoubts were built to protect the encampment. To facilitate re-supply of the army, a bridge was erected over the Schuylkill. The winter at Valley Forge generally conjures images of half-naked, starving soldiers battling the elements. This was not the case. This imagery is largely the result of early, romanticized interpretations of the encampment story which were meant to serve as a parable about American perseverance. Though far from ideal, the conditions of the encampment were on par with the Continental soldier's routine privations. During the early months of the encampment, supplies and provisions were scarce, but available.

Soldiers made due with subsistence meals such as "firecake," a mixture of water and flour. While a lack of clothing caused suffering among some the men, many were fully uniformed with the best equipped units used for foraging and patrols. During the early months at Valley Forge, Washington lobbied to improve the army's supply situation with some success. To supplement those supplies received from Congress, Washington sent Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to New Jersey in February 1778, to gather food and cattle for the men. A month later, Wayne returned with 50 head of cattle and 30 horses. With the arrival of warmer weather in March, disease began strike at the army. Over the next three months, influenza, typhus, typhoid, and dysentery all erupted within the encampment. Of the 2,000 men who died at Valley Forge , over two-thirds were killed by disease. These outbreaks were eventually contained through sanitation regulations, inoculations, and the work of surgeons. Winter at Valley Forge - Drilling with von Steuben: On February 23, 1778, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrived in the camp.

A former member of the Prussian General Staff, von Steuben had been recruited to the American cause in Paris by Benjamin Franklin . Accepted by Washington, von Steuben was put to work designing a training program for the army. Though he spoke no English, von Steuben commenced his program in March with the aid of interpreters. Beginning with a "model company" of 100 chosen men, von Steuben instructed them in drill, maneuver, and a simplified manual of arms. These 100 men were in turn sent out to other units to repeat the process and so on until the entire army was trained. In addition, von Steuben introduced a system of progressive training for recruits which educated them in the basics of soldiering. Surveying the encampment, von Steuben greatly improved sanitation by reorganizing the camp and repositioning kitchens and latrines. The results of von Steuben's training were immediately evident at Barren Hill (May 20) and the Battle of Monmouth (June 28). In both cases, the Continental soldiers stood up to and fought on equal footing with the British professionals.

Winter at Valley Forge - Departure: Though the winter at Valley Forge had been trying for both the men and the leadership, the Continental Army emerged as a stronger fighting force. Washington, having survived various intrigues, such as the Conway Cabal, to remove him from command, cemented himself as the army's military and spiritual leader, while the men, stiffened by von Steuben, were superior soldiers to those that had arrived in December 1777. On May 6, 1778, the army celebrated the announcement of the alliance with France. This change in the course of the war, prompted the British to evacuate Philadelphia and return to New York. Hearing of the British departure from the city, Washington and the army left Valley Forge in pursuit on June 19. Nine days later, the Continental Army intercepted the British at the Battle of Monmouth . Fighting through extreme heat, the army's training showed as it battled the British to a draw. At its next major encounter, the Battle of Yorktown , it would be victorious. For more on Valley Forge, take our photo tour .

Selected Sources The Story of Valley Forge Writer for the Philadelphia Daily News Written exclusively for ushistory.org The images are heartrending, dramatic and so powerful that they are embedded in the nation's historical consciousness: Bloody footprints in the snow left by bootless men. Near naked soldiers wrapped in thin blankets huddled around a smoky fire of green wood. The plaintive chant from the starving: "We want meat! We want meat!" These are the indelible images of suffering and endurance associated with Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. Valley Forge Click Here "An army of skeletons appeared before our eyes naked, starved, sick and discouraged," wrote New York's Gouverneur Morris of the Continental Congress. The Marquis de Lafayette wrote: "The unfortunate soldiers were in want of everything; they had neither coats nor hats, nor shirts, nor shoes. Their feet and their legs froze until they were black, and it was often necessary to amputate them." A bitter George Washington — whose first concern was always his soldiers — would accuse the Congress of "little feeling for the naked and distressed soldiers.

I feel superabundantly for them, and from my soul pity those miseries, which it is neither in my power to relieve or prevent." The suffering and sacrifices of the American soldiers at Valley Forge are familiar, iconic images, but there is another side of the picture. Valley Forge was where a new, confident, professional American army was born. Three months of shortage and hardship were followed by three months of relative abundance that led to wonderful changes in the morale and fighting capabilities of the Continental Army. France would enter the war on the side of the new nation. Valuable foreign volunteers and fresh replacements would trickle into camp. Most important, it was at Valley Forge that a vigorous, systematic training regime transformed ragged amateur troops into a confident 18th century military organization capable of beating the Red Coats in the open field of battle.

Continental Army enters winter camp at Valley Forge - Dec 19, 1777 - HISTORY.com Continental Army enters winter camp at Valley Forge Share this: Continental Army enters winter camp at Valley Forge Author Continental Army enters winter camp at Valley Forge URL Publisher A+E Networks With the onset of the bitter winter cold, the Continental Army under General George Washington, still in the field, enters its winter camp at Valley Forge, 22 miles from British-occupied Philadelphia. Washington chose a site on the west bank of the Schuylkill River that could be effectively defended in the event of a British attack. During 1777, Patriot forces under General Washington suffered major defeats against the British at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown; Philadelphia, the capital of the United States, fell into British hands. The particularly severe winter of 1777-1778 proved to be a great trial for the American army, and of the 11,000 soldiers stationed at Valley Forge, hundreds died from disease. However, the suffering troops were held together by loyalty to the Patriot cause and to General Washington, who stayed with his men.

As the winter stretched on, Prussian military adviser Frederick von Steuben kept the soldiers busy with drills and training in modern military strategy. When Washington’s army marched out of Valley Forge on June 19, 1778, the men were better disciplined and stronger in spirit than when they had entered. Nine days later, they won a victory against the British under Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. Related Videos Valley Forge Valley Forge Valley Forge The name of Valley Forge has come to stand, and rightly so, as a patriotic symbol of suffering, courage, and perseverance. The hard core of 6,000 Continentals who stayed with Washington during that bitter winter of 1777-78 indeed suffered much. Some men had no shoes, no pants, no blankets. Weeks passed when there was no meat and men were reduced to boiling their shoes and eating them. The wintry winds penetrated the tattered tents that were at first the only shelter. The symbolism of Valley Forge should not be allowed to obscure the fact that the suffering was largely unnecessary. While the soldiers shivered and went hungry, food rotted and clothing lay unused in depots throughout the country.

True, access to Valley Forge was difficult, but little determined effort was made to get supplies into the area. The supply and transport system broke down. In mid-1777, both the Quartermaster and Commissary Generals resigned along with numerous subordinate officials in both departments, mostly merchants who found private trade more lucrative. Congress, in refuge at York, Pennsylvania, and split into factions, found it difficult to find replacements. If there was not, as most historians now believe, an organized cabal seeking to replace Washington with Gates, there were many, both in and out of the Army, who were dissatisfied with the Commander in Chief, and much intrigue went on. Gates was made president of the new Board of War set up in 1777, and at least two of its members were enemies of Washington. In the administrative chaos at the height of the Valley Forge crisis, there was no functioning Quartermaster General at all. Morristown In January 1780, fighting in the Revolutionary War came to a standstill as Mother Nature transformed America into a frigid hell.

For the only time in recorded history, all of the saltwater inlets, harbors and sounds of the Atlantic coastal plain, from North Carolina northeastward, froze over and remained closed to navigation for a period of a month or more. Sleighs, not boats, carried cords of firewood across New York Harbor from New Jersey to Manhattan. The upper Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and the York and James rivers in Virginia turned to ice. In Philadelphia, the daily high temperature topped the freezing mark only once during the month of January, prompting Timothy Matlack, the patriot who had inscribed the official copy of the Declaration of Independence, to complain that "the ink now freezes in my pen within five feet of the fire in my parlour, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon." The weather took an especially harsh toll on the 7,460 patriot troops holed up with General George Washington in Morristown, N.J., a strategic site 30 miles west of the British command in New York City. On January 3, the encampment was engulfed by "one of the most tremendous snowstorms ever remembered," army surgeon James Thacher wrote in his journal.

"No man could endure its violence many minutes without danger of his life." When tents blew off, soldiers were "buried like sheep under the snow…almost smothered in the storm." The weather made it impossible to get supplies to the men, many of whom had no coats, shirts or shoes and were on the verge of starvation. "For a Fortnight past the Troops both Officers and Men, have been almost perishing for want," George Washington wrote in a letter to civilian officials dated January 8. The winter at Valley Forge two years earlier is a celebrated part of America's Revolutionary mythology, while its sequel at Morristown is now largely forgotten. And therein lies a paradoxical tale. The climatic conditions the Continental Army faced at Valley Forge and a year later at Middlebrook, N.J., were mild compared to those they endured at Morristown during the harshest winter in American history. "Those who have only been in Valley Forge and Middlebrook during the last two winters, but have not tasted the cruelties of this one, know not what it is to suffer," wrote Baron Johann de Kalb, a German soldier who served as a major general in the Continental Army. So why do we remember Valley Forge and not Morristown?

The answer, in a nutshell, is that Valley Forge better fits the triumphal story of the Revolution passed down from generation to generation, while Morristown is viewed as an embarrassment. At Valley Forge, the story goes, soldiers suffered quietly and patiently. They remained true to their leader. At Morristown, on the other hand, they threatened to mutiny. Nobody celebrated either Valley Forge or Morristown during the Revolution itself. The sorry plight of the poor men and teenage boys who comprised the Continental Army was a guarded secret, kept from the British, who must not know their vulnerability, and from the French, who might deny aid to a weak ally. Further, the failure of civilian governments to supply troops was just that—a failure, not to be publicized. By the early 19th century, however, writers who looked to the Revolutionary War to inspire a new wave of patriotism developed a storyline that transformed the troubled winter at Valley Forge into a source of pride. Soldiers had endured their sufferings without complaint, drilled obediently under the instructions of Baron Von Steuben, and emerged strong and ready to fight.

"How strong must have been their love of liberty?" Salma Hale asked rhetorically in a romanticized history written in 1822 for schoolchildren as well as adults. If Valley Forge was the low point of the war, the story went, it was also the turning point. After that, things got better. For the Valley Forge story to work, a climatically normal winter was transformed into one of the most severe—something akin to the one soldiers experienced at Morristown two years later. Historical memory of Morristown was conveniently suppressed, in part because it revealed that the soldiers' hardships continued throughout the war, virtually unabated. Even worse, Morristown afforded clear proof that the soldiers' suffering was not always so silent. At Morristown "we were absolutely, literally starved," Private Joseph Plumb Martin recalled after the war. "I do solemnly declare that I did not put a single morsel of victuals into my mouth for four days and as many nights, except a little black birch bark which I gnawed off a stick of wood, if that can be called victuals.

I saw several of the men roast their old shoes and eat them, and I was afterwards informed by one of the officers' waiters, that some of the officers killed and ate a favorite little dog that belonged to one of them." The prospect of mass desertions worried General Nathanael Greene. "Here we are surrounded with Snow banks, and it is well we are, for if it was good for traveling, I believe the Soldiers would take up their pack and march," he reported on January 5. The following day, Greene's fears were almost realized. "The Army is upon the eve of disbanding for want of Provisions," he wrote. Although the army did not break up as Greene feared, men deserted almost daily, about at the same rate as they had been leaving throughout the war, including the winter spent at Valley Forge. The rest toughed it out, and most of those survived. Ironically, the largest threat to the continued existence of the Continental Army came in the spring, with the passing of harsh weather. Then, soldiers hoped for better fare at their mess, and they did get some food—but not with the regularity they would have preferred. The army's supply line continued to experience periodic lapses.

When nature was to blame, soldiers found the inner strength to endure, but when human error was the cause of their discontent, they were less tolerant. So when little meat turned to no meat in the middle of May, many felt it was time to force the issue. "The men were now exasperated beyond endurance; they could not stand it any longer," Private Martin recalled. "They saw no alternative but to starve to death, or break up the army, give all up and go home. This was a hard matter for the soldiers to think upon. They were truly patriotic, they loved their country, and they had already suffered everything short of death in its cause; and now, after such extreme hardships to give up all was too much, but to starve to death was too much also. What was to be done?" Finally, on May 25, Martin and his fellow soldiers in the Connecticut line snapped.

It was a "pleasant day," Martin recalled, but as the troops paraded, they started "growling like soreheaded dogs." That evening they disregarded their officers and acted "contrary to their orders." When an officer called one of the soldiers "a mutinous rascal," the rebel defiantly pounded the ground with his musket and called out, "Who will parade with me?" Martin reported the response: "The whole regiment immediately fell in and formed" with the dissenter. Then another regiment joined in, and they both started marching to the beat of the drums—without orders. Officers who stepped in to quell the incipient mutiny found bayonets pointed at their chests. Meanwhile, the defiant troops continued parading and "venting our spleen at our country and government, then at our officers, and then at ourselves for our imbecility in staying there and starving in detail for an ungrateful people who did not care what became of us." Two days after the men had so dramatically registered their complaints, a shipment of pork and 30 head of cattle arrived in camp. The immediate crisis was over, but a series of escalating protests occurred in and around Morristown the following winter as well.

Throughout the war, American soldiers did not suffer in silence, as the Valley Forge myth suggests. They kept themselves fed and alive however they could, even when that meant speaking out. By remembering Morristown, we acknowledge the can-do, rambunctious spirit that characterized Revolutionary soldiers and helped them carry on. Washington weathered the storm and the Continental Army was to emerge from Valley Forge a more effective force than before. With his advice, Congress instituted reforms in the Quartermaster and Commissary Departments that temporarily restored the effectiveness of both agencies. Washington's ablest subordinate, General Greene, reluctantly accepted the post of Quartermaster General. Valley Forge is the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army under General George Washington. Few places evoke the spirit of patriotism and independence, represent individual and collective sacrifice, or demonstrate the resolve, tenacity and determination of the people of the United States to be free as does Valley Forge. The Valley Forge experience is fundamental to both American history and American myth, and remains a source of inspiration for Americans and the world. Ask someone to think of Valley Forge and they will nearly always envision an anonymous group of soldiers struggling against winter's fury and clothed in nothing but rags.

Certainly hardship did occur at Valley Forge, but the encampment experience could be characterized as "suffering as usual," for privation was the continental soldier's constant companion. The reason many Americans picture Valley Forge as the pinnacle of misery is that this early and romanticized version of the encampment story became an important parable to teach us about American perseverance. The portrayal of starving troops, however, has kept us from getting to know the people of the Continental Army-who they were, why they joined the army, and what they accomplished at Valley Forge. To better understand and appreciate what happened at Valley Forge it is helpful to know how the encampment fits into the context of the American Revolution (1775-1783). In 1777 British strategy included a plan to capture Philadelphia, the patriot capital.To accomplish this, the British commander in chief, Sir William Howe, landed nearly 17,000 of His Majesty's finest troops at the head of Chesapeake Bay. To oppose them, General George Washington marched his 12,000-man army from New Jersey. People often picture the Continental Army of 1777 as a ragtag bunch of inexperienced fighters.

But Washington's men fought with skill and were often on the offensive while campaigning against superior numbers of professional soldiers. Although they lost two key battles, as well as Philadelphia, to the British, Washington's soldiers emerged from these experiences with a renewed confidence in their fighting abilities. They only needed a little more training to reach their full potential. As wintry weather approached, armies often withdrew to fixed camps. Transportation problems made large-scale winter operations infeasible. In choosing a site for quarters, Washington had to balance the Continental Congress's wish for some type of winter campaign aimed at dislodging the British from the capital against the needs of his weary and poorly supplied army. By mid-December he had decided to encamp at Valley Forge. From this location, twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia, the army was close enough to maintain pressure on the British yet far enough away to prevent a surprise attack. While the soldiers who entered camp on December 19, 1777, were not well-supplied, they were not downtrodden. This is attested to by an anonymous observer who recounted his visit to Valley Forge in the New Jersey Gazette on December 25: I have just returned from spending a few days with the army.

I found them employed in building little huts for their winter quarters. It was natural to expect that they wished for more comfortable accommodations, after the hardships of a most severe campaign; but I could discover nothing like a sigh of discontent at their situation-&On the contrary, my ears were agreeably struck every evening, in riding through the camp, with a variety of military and patriotic songs and every countenance I saw, wore the appearance of cheerfulness or satisfaction. Army records and eyewitness accounts speak of a skilled and capable force in charge of its own destiny. Rather than wait for deliverance, the army located supplies, built log cabins to stay in, constructed makeshift clothing and gear, and cooked subsistence meals of their own concoction. Provisions, though never abundant in the early months of the encampment, were available. Shortages of clothing did cause severe hardship for a number of men, but many soldiers had a full uniform, and the well-equipped units patrolled, foraged, and defended the camp. The sound that would have reached your ears on approaching the camp was not that of a forlorn howling wind, but rather that of hammers, axes, saws, and shovels at work.

Under the direction of military engineers, the men built a city of 2,000-odd huts laid out in parallel lines along planned military avenues. The troops also constructed miles of trenches, five earthen forts (redoubts), and a state-of-the-art bridge over the Schuylkill River. Disease, not cold or starvation was the true scourge of the camp. Army returns reveal that two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 men who perished died during the warmer months of March, April, and May, when supplies were more abundant. The most common killers were influenza, typhus, typhoid, and dysentery. Dedicated surgeons, capable nurses, a smallpox inoculation program, and camp sanitation regulations limited the death tolls. Perhaps, the most important outcome of the encampment was the army's maturation into a more professional force. The Continental Army was primed and ready to move on to the next level just as a charismatic former Prussian army officer, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben, arrived in camp in February 1778. Von Steuben's hands-on training program helped the army become a more proficient marching machine.

The Baron inspired a "relish for the trade of soldiering" that gave the troops a new sense of purpose and helped sustain them through many trials as they stuck to the task of securing independence. On May 6, 1778, the army joyously celebrated France's alliance with and formal recognition of the United States as a sovereign power. The expected arrival of the French greatly altered British war plans and triggered their evacuation of Philadelphia in June. Washington rapidly set troops in motion to bring on a general engagement with the enemy. On June 28, at the Battle of Monmouth, N.J., Washington's men demonstrated their improved battle prowess when they forced the British from the field. By summer Washington could claim that the war effort was going well. Valley Forge was not the darkest hour of the Revolutionary War; it is a place where an already accomplished group of professionals stood their ground, honed their craft, and thwarted one of the major British offensives of the war. By the end of 1776 a series of reverses made it apparent that an army based on the militia-type system of short enlistments could not compete against the British.

In order to put the army on firmer footing, the Continental Congress allowed General Washington to recruit soldiers for three years or the duration of the war beginning in 1777. In return for such arduous service Congress offered land bounties and monetary bonuses. The men who answered this call formed the bulk of a standing army that fought for the rest of the war and represented a large slice of Revolutionary War society. The troops who came to camp included men from all 13 original states and regiments from all except South Carolina and Georgia. The encampment brought together men, women, and children of nearly all ages, from all walks of life, from different ethnic backgrounds, and from various religions. American Revolution in New Jersey The year 2001 marked the 225th anniversary of the first American crisis. America's First Crisis General George Washington and the Continental Army spent almost half the American Revolution in this small state. From 1775 to 1783, New Jersey was home to a series of decisive events in the war for independence.

Strategically located between the Continental Congress in Philadelphia and the British Army in New York, and midway between the New England colonies and the American South, New Jersey was the spot where Patriots, Tories, British and Hessians maneuvered; where Trenton, Princeton and Monmouth witnessed dramatic American victories; and where the Continental Army endured the hardest winter of the century. It was at Nassau Hall at Princeton University that the Continental Congress convened in 1783. And it was in New Jersey that General George Washington delivered his farewell orders to the Continental Army. House of Decision. The Thompson House sits just upriver from McConkey's Tavern, where George Washington and several officers ate Christmas dinner before embarking on the historic Delaware River crossing in 1776. The Thompson House served as a hospital ward for wounded soldiers, and was the scene of several war councils, including the one at which Washington decided to make the bold attempt to capture the Hessians at Trenton. The painting is the first in a series by Dan Campanelli that follows the footsteps of George Washington and the pathways of the American Revolution.

Having declared their great ambition in July of 1776, a rough assemblage, representing 13 colonies without previous history of great cooperation, faced the most powerful military force in the world. Most historians agree that, had the British army and navy vented full wrath in the war's early stages, the founding fathers might well be remembered only as a band of renegades hunted down and hung for treason. Indeed, even as the esteemed signatures graced the Declaration, British ships arrived in New York Bay during the week of July 4, and, by mid-August, 32,000 British troops resided on Staten Island. 15,000 more soldiers landed near the narrows on Long Island and forced Washington's army of 9,500 men to escape under cover of night. After a victory at Harlem Heights, Washington was forced to withdraw at the Battle of White Plains in late October. The fall of Fort Lee in November began Washington's retreat across New Jersey, through Newark, New Brunswick, Trenton, and finally across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania on December 8, 1776.

Seventeen days later, on Christmas night, 2,400 men accompanied the great General back across an ice-choked river, marched nine miles, and achieved surprise against a garrison of Hessian troops at Trenton during the desperate counter attack. The victorious army returned to Pennsylvania until December 30 when they crossed again. Richard Simon, Trustee and Vice President of the Washington Association of New Jersey, imagines the subsequent events this way. "General Washington was astride his horse, surrounded by his senior officers, holding a council of war at Kingston, New Jersey, a few miles east of Princeton on the afternoon of January 3, 1777. His army had decisively defeated two British contingents at Princeton earlier in the day. The afternoon before, he had repulsed an attack by Lord Cornwallis at the so-called Second Battle of Trenton, where the American troops were encamped on the south bank of the Assinpunk Creek. Cornwallis had planned to renew his attack the next day, allegedly stating 'we'll bag the old fox in the morning.' But Washington pulled his troops out at midnight, making a secret march up to Princeton. "Now, Washington had to decide where to take his army next.

It was tempting to proceed on to New Brunswick and attack a relatively small contingent of British soldiers stationed there. They were guarding their prize captive, General Charles Lee, ammunition, and £70,000 in specie (a commodity in short supply in the Revolutionary Army). One can't help imagining, however, that Washington pulled out his watch and calculated that his troops needed a rest, having fought two battles and without sleep and provisions for nearly 36 hours. He also knew that an outwitted and revengeful Cornwallis was on his way up from Trenton in hot pursuit. Contemplating his three recent successes, which included the overwhelming defeat of the Hessians at Trenton on December 26, we can imagine Washington saying to himself in the vernacular, 'I rolled the dice thrice and won; I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.' The decision was thus made to end the campaign, and head immediately for a winter encampment at Morristown, a strategic and naturally protected location. "Late that afternoon, the Americans marched to Somerset Courthouse (today's Millstone) and camped. The next day they proceeded to Pluckemin where the troops rested the nights of January 4 and 5.

On Monday, January 6, Washington and his troops marched triumphantly into Morristown, where the General took up his headquarters at Jacob Arnold's Tavern overlooking the Green. Washington's 'first coming' to Morristown lasted until early May of that year." Washington's army had yet to endure the legendary adversity the following winter at Valley Forge, and again at Morristown two years later in 1779-80, when the Jockey Hollow encampment made Morristown the third largest city in the Colonies. During this second winter at Morristown, General Washington lived and made his headquarters in a relatively new two-story house on the outskirts of town built by Jacob Ford, Jr. The struggles at Jockey Hollow to keep the Continental Army intact, as crucial for American independence as any other, were waged more in hearts and minds than on the battlefield. But it was, by then, an army and a General well-steeled by the first American crisis in 1776-77. Article prepared with contributions from Richard Simon, Washington Association and Leslie Bensly, Historic Morris Visitor Center New Jersey Events during the Revolutionary War 1776

Question: Where did George Washington's army endure the winter of 1777-78?
Answer: Valley Forge