Following British victories at the Battle of Brandywine September 11, and the Battle of the Clouds September 16 , on September 18 General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led British soldiers on a raid of Valley Forge, burning down several buildings and stealing supplies despite the best efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry Lee to defend them.
Valley Forge: Overview of history and significance. National Park Service. Monmouth, American Battlefield Trust. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. By December , Washington was well aware that some members of the Continental Congress were questioning his leadership abilities. December 23, dawned cold and dank over the hills of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the scent of snow in the air.
When George Washington took command of the Continental Army in , America was fighting a war on two fronts: one for independence from the British, and a second for survival against smallpox.
Because Washington knew the ravages of the disease firsthand, he understood that the From to , the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States. The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures A member of a committee of five that also included John Adams of It was not only the cold and the hunger that plagued the encampment, but also disease.
The most common killers of the troops were typhus, dysentery, influenza, and typhoid. Although officers were ordered to check cabins twice daily for cleanliness, excavations at Valley Forge indicate that most soldiers simply threw the remains of their meals into the corners of their huts. The combination of crowded cabins, unwashed bodies, and decaying refuse greatly contributed to the unsanitary conditions at camp. The soldiers who died were often stripped of their clothing, which was then passed on to other soldiers, spreading even more disease.
An estimated 3, soldiers died, and almost 70 percent of those deaths occurred during the warmer months of spring, not winter. On June 17, only two days before departing camp for good, Washington reported that about 2, men were sick—which was over 18 percent of the troops stationed at Valley Forge.
The army at Valley Forge was not remarkable just for its spirit, but also for its diversity. The soldiers that made up the Continental Army came from a variety of different backgrounds with their own individual skills and talents.
The rich and poor, young and old, and freemen and slaves fought together side by side. The Continental Army had approximately 5, soldiers that were of African descent and many Native Americans that played a crucial role for the troops. For slaves, serving in the army was a way to earn their freedom. For the freemen, it was a way to earn money and boost their social standing in their community.
While wintering in the camp, soldiers worked together to build huts for shelter, but unsanitary conditions, and shortages of food and blankets contributed to the disease and exhaustion which continually plagued the camp. The lack of clothing alone, including shoes, socks, and coats left as many as 3, of Washington's troops unfit for service, creating the image of starving, wearied soldiers leaving bloodied footprints in the snow and ice. A Continental Army Private, Joseph Plumb Martin wrote that the army's new winter quarters left them "in a truly forlorn condition,—no clothing, no provisions, and as disheartened as need be.
Though Washington pleaded with the Continental Congress and state governors to obtain food and supplies for his suffering army, starvation, and such dieses as typhus and smallpox, and a lack of protection from the elements caused the death of more than 2, soldiers.
Washington eventually resorted to sending men, led by Nathanael Greene , on foraging missions to procure what provisions could be found in the surrounding countryside. Beyond vying with Congress for the supplies his army desperately needed, Washington had also to contend with threats to his authority that came from ordeals like the Conway Cabal and rivalries between military leaders.
Washington's steady leadership was crucial to keeping the army intact through the logistical and administrative hardships of the winter of , and it likely accounted for the fact that there was a never a mass desertion or mutiny at Valley Forge.
Despite brutal conditions, Valley Forge marked a milestone in the army's military experience. Indigenous Peoples occupied the area in and around what is now known as Valley Forge National Historical Park as early as 10,, BP before present , enjoying the abundance of food and shelter offered by the river valley environment.
The last native people to inhabit the area were the Lenape, also known as the Delaware. Europeans began to settle the region in the late 17th century pushed out the natives.
By the time of the encampment in , most of the land in the vicinity had been cleared for agriculture. Within what is now the park, 18 landowners established fairly prosperous farms on the choice agricultural soils. Along Valley Creek, an iron works named Valley Forge was established, and a small industrial village including charcoal houses, a saw mill, grist mill, and company store grew up around it. The slopes of Mounts Joy and Misery were wooded and were frequently cut over to supply wood for making charcoal to fuel the iron forge.
On arrival in December , a Continental soldier would have seen an open, rolling landscape divided into many small crop fields and pastures by fences and hedgerows; woodlands and charcoal hearths on the mountains; and the smattering of structures in the Village of Valley Forge, including the ruins of the forges themselves - burned during a raid by the British three months earlier.
A Discussion the Valley Forge Encampment 4, words. Download PDF Version. The winter encampment at Valley Forge is one of the most famous episodes of the American Revolution. The significance of the encampment lies both in its fact-based history and also its storied myth.
The mythical narrative is important in its own right for it reveals something about our character in the heroic way we wish the Revolution to be remembered. The popularity of the myth also speaks to its usefulness. Valley Forge remains a touchstone - always ready to minister to a generation in crisis. The myth often obscures the actual history of the event, however. Hardship did occur at Valley Forge, but it was not a time of exceptional misery in the context of the situation.
Likewise, patriotism did not peak during the relatively short six-month period at Valley Forge. Widespread devotion to the cause was an early war phenomenon for the most part. Steadfast patriotism found a long-term home among only a few Americans, most notably the veterans who served for the duration.
To fully appreciate the significance of what occurred at Valley Forge, the event must be placed in the context of the entire American Revolution. Few Americans appreciate the scope of the war. Many do not realize that the war lasted for eight-and-a-half years, was international in scale, or that the American army campaigned in areas as far north as Canada, as far south as Georgia, and even west of the Allegheny Mountains.
The Valley Forge encampment occurred during the third year of the war. Early successes against a smaller British army had led some Revolutionary leaders to believe that the righteousness of their cause and a militia-type force composed of citizen soldiers would be enough to force the British from America. By the time of Valley Forge, however, most Americans realized that the Revolution would be a long, drawn-out affair.
In order to put the army on firmer footing, in the Continental Congress allowed George Washington to recruit soldiers for longer enlistments. The men of this establishment formed the bulk of the professional force that would fight the rest of the war. British strategy for the third year of the American Revolution included a plan to capture the patriot capital at Philadelphia.
The expeditionary force landed at the head of the Chesapeake Bay now Elkton, Maryland. On the march south, Washington paraded the American army through Philadelphia to impress the various factions among the citizenry with the prowess of the patriot force.
Though commonly conceived of today as a rag tag bunch of inexperienced fighters, by the Continental Army was battle-tested and capable of standing up to the British. One observer of the march through the city that summer prophetically stated that. In the two key battles of the Philadelphia campaign, Brandywine and Germantown, the Americans fought with skill and courage.
Though they lost both battles, as well as the capital at Philadelphia, the Continental Army emerged from these experiences with a confidence like that of an underdog sports team that had thrown a scare into the champion:. Yet work remained to be done. The army had difficulty executing complex large- scale maneuvers such as the orderly retreat.
As a result, retreats could turn into panicked flights. As the campaign wound down through the months of November and December, Washington maintained strong offensive pressure on the British in the city.
With the British ensconced in Philadelphia, Washington and his general officers had to decide where to encamp for the winter. As he chose a site, Washington had to balance the congressional wish for a winter campaign to dislodge the British from the capital against the needs of his weary and poorly supplied army.
By December 12, Washington made his decision to encamp at Valley Forge. From this location 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Washington was close enough to maintain pressure on the enemy dwelling in the captured patriot capital, yet far enough to prevent a surprise attack on his own troops.
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