Recreation of a cabin in which soldiers would have lived at Valley Forge

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, was the site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War. This was a time of great suffering for George Washington's Army, but it was also a time of retraining and rejuvenation. Valley Forge can refer to: Valley Forge, a pivotal winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. ... Download high resolution version (3008x2000, 5423 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Valley Forge Categories: U.S. history images ... Download high resolution version (3008x2000, 5423 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Valley Forge Categories: U.S. history images ... Illustration depicting uniforms and weapons used during the 1779 to 1783 period of the American Revolution by showing four soldiers standing in an informal group General George Washington, was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on June 15, 1775. ... Year 1777 (MDCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Year 1778 (MDCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about military actions only. ... George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)[1] led Americas Continental Army to victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and in 1789 was elected the first President of the United States of America. ...

History

Revolutionary War cannon overlooking the site of the Valley Forge encampment

Washington at Valley Forge

National Memorial Arch inscription:
Naked and starving as they are
We cannot enough admire
The incomparable Patience and Fidelity
of the Soldiery             –George Washington

 Late in the 18th century America waged a war against it’s mother country, Great Britain. This war for independence would soon be characterized as “The Revolutionary War.” This “Continental Army” was a group of farmers and traders who had joined the cause to fight for freedom from the toils of England. From December 19th 1777, to June 19th, 1778, the Continental Army stayed in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Washington and his men had just won at Trenton and news of Gates’ victory at Saratoga against Burgoyne’s forces also served as a morale booster, but the chances of actually winning the war were still bleak. Washington and the army moved toward Philadelphia, but were pushed back by British General Howe and his forces who had recently captured the city. Washington decided to take up camp in Valley Forge because of it’s strategic advantages as well as it’s close vicinity to Philadelphia. The harsh winter conditions, as well as new drilling techniques from Baron von Stueben, marked a turning point for the soldiers and the nation in the American Revolutionary War. 

General Howe had just taken Philadelphia, and Washington could not find a weak point in his defenses in which to attack, so he waited. Howe advanced toward the small camp once, but pulled back at the last moment avoiding battle. In Early December Howe advanced again, and after a small fray he pulled out once again.1 Shortly thereafter Washington decided to move his army 18 miles from the border of the city, where the Schulykill River and Valley Creek intercepted.2 The small, but strategically advantaged campsite was called Valley Forge. Other generals suggested camping in Wilmington, Delaware, or communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but Washington made the quick decision to set up camp in Valley Forge. On December 12th, 1777, Washington and his army bustled across the Schulykill River on into Valley Forge. At the time, it was only small village, consisting of a scarce number of houses and thousands of trees. One officer referred to it as a “wooded wilderness, a desert.”3 Washington felt that the trees would provide good wood for fires and log cabins during the cold winter. The fourteen thousand men set off to build an entire city out of log huts, usually sixteen by fourteen feet. Only days after the men arrived, a snow storm plagued the camp, freezing the Schulykill solid and layering 6 inches of snow over the grass, making it almost impossible for wagon transport of supplies. The irregular transport of food left many soldiers malnourished, and some without food at all. Most of the soldiers food intake came from “fire-cake,” an unappetizing combination of water and flour. Cattle suffered more than the soldiers, with hundreds of horses dying of starvation during the winter months. The long marches and rough terrain completely ruined most of the soldiers shoes, and war torn clothing almost never was replaced. Many soldiers suffered through the winter completely naked, and as many as four thousand soldiers were at one point labeled as “unfit for duty” due to clothing shortages. In the frigid cold of the winter, many men suffered from extreme frostbite and had to have body parts amputated. In the damp, cluttered, and overcrowded cabins of the Valley many men suffered from fatal diseases and infections. Pneumonia, smallpox and typhus were the leading killers that winter, causing as many as two thousand deaths among the continental soldiers. Many wives of enlisted soldiers attempted to help the sick and barren by nursing them and providing laundry services. During the suffering, Washington petitioned many times to Congress for help, but they provided nothing. Washington wrote that Congress had "little feeling for the naked and distressed soldiers.”4 He expressed his grief for them in the same entry, “I feel superabundantly for them, and from my soul pity those miseries, which it is neither in my power to relieve or prevent."5 Many men spoke of mutiny and desertion, and as many as one thousand men deserted to the British, some others fleeing to nearby towns. The soldiers that stayed, and died where the ones that truly felt for the patriot cause. For they gave the men something to fight for, and something to keep on going for. The frigid cold and shortage of supplies where truly the hands that molded the Continental Army into what it was. Through the hardships, new men would walk out of the shoddy log cabins the coming year. As the new year of 1778 emerged, the camp started to succeed. One soldier who had survived the winter said “I am alive. I am well. Huts go on briskly, and our camp begins to appear like a spacious city.”6 In early February a new man arrived at the this “spacious city,” who called himself Frederick Willhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, better known as Baron von Steuben. He made a great many claims to his success over the years, telling stories about how he had served a great many loyal years under the Prussian general Frederick the Great as a Lieutenant General. Unfortunately, his title and reputable rank and title were no short of fiction, in order to make him stand out amongst the crowd. And that he did, but not specifically for that, for the fact that he wanted to help with the war, in return he demanded no large salary like the other officers, nor a distinguished rank. And even though he spoke no English, Washington and him became friends. He decided to help where the army needed it most; training. The army was full of soldiers who had “picked up” the techniques while in the field, and therefore where only half trained. They needed drilling, and practice, and the skills to utilize their weapons and battle formations. Steuben gladly accepted the burden and started things off by making a model company of only one hundred men, drilling them hard to prove his worth to the rest of the army. Besides his lack of English, one thing made it almost impossible for a man of Steuben’s stature to train the soldiers, their lifestyle. Equality, the one thing the US stands for today, was holding the army back. Steuben was used to the old hierarchical society that he had known his entire military career, and life. But the soldiers of the Revolution were different. The army was no longer held together by a system of bullying and fear, but by a common goal. Steuben wrote “You say to your soldier, ‘Do this,’ and he doeth it, but I am obliged to say. ‘This is the reason why you ought to do that,’ and he does it.”7 He cleverly designed his training into a competition of sorts between regiments, and many times tensions between soldiers of other regiments would arise. By the end of the stay at Valley Forge, many regiments were seen drilling each other, without the aid of a leading officer, in order to surpass other regiments. Baron von Steuben also took up the challenge of writing an infantry manual, he called, Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States Army, and it remained in use for the next twenty five years. Steuben’s training, in many ways, made the group of soldiers a well trained army that could could stand up to the likes of any british force. A middle aged man, with a witty sense of humor, and a prestigious, but nonetheless fictional past, had turned the weak and hungry at Valley Forge into a new fighting force. The army was no longer a “body of determined veterans, but a highly trained proffessional force.”8 May 6th, 1778, the camp was once again given a large boost of confidence, when they received word of a new French alliance. King Louis XVI was planning a large shipment of muskets and cannons, along with sending thousands of men and a large portion of the French fleet to help with the American war effort. A huge celebration was held all across the camp, including the Fue de Joy, where every man shot his musket three times in succession, filling the area with the glorious sound of thirty thousand muskets fired off into the crisp May morning. Two receptions were held, one for the enlisted men, and one for the officers.9 Washington joined the officers and mingled, then joined his thousands of enlisted soldiers for a hearty celebration, some food, and of course drink. Later, Washington made his way out of the celebration, mounted his horse then reared it in front of the men, took off his hat and waved a salute.10 The eleven thousand or so men all took off their hats and cheered as loudly as they could while General Washington rode away.11 This attitude was becoming the driving force behind the army. They still supported Washington and entrusted their care and success in him, even though he was partially to blame for the armies terrible winter stay. Washington had grown, from a foolhardy general whose good manners seemed to be the only secret to his success, into a general deserved of more respect than most men could give. His leadership skills had increased tenfold at Valley Forge, and he had delivered thousands upon thousands of men through the worst conditions most of them had ever seen. Not only his skills, but most important his confidence as a leader and general had also grown greatly, as demonstrated by his magnificent horse ride during the celebration. On May 20th, a small test was put upon the soldiers. In order to try to stop the American-French alliance, the British army attempted to capture the Marquis de Lafayette, who had been sent across Schulykill River with roughly two thousand soldiers to defend the encampment. The soldiers successfully held back the British and Lafayette was able to escape capture from the British. While only being a small skirmish, the soldiers had successfully held off the enemy, while suffering very few casualties, unlike a battle such as Breed’s Hill. The young Marquis de Lafayette was a powerful symbol for the soldiers during Valley Forge, for he served as material proof that France and America had a strong alliance, that would help carry the men through the war. The army’s training was boasted at the battle of Monmouth in June, 1778 shortly after the Valley Forge encampment. Henry Clinton had replaced Howe in Philadelphia, and since Philadelphia's strategic position was no longer necessary, Clinton abandoned it and set off towards New York. Washington decided to engage in an open field. and sent six thousand men into a classic piecemeal engagement. The temperatures reached over a hundred degrees as the soldiers continuously fired at each other for hours. In the heat, Washington’s second in command, Charles Lee, who had been sent around to attack the rear of the army, lost track of his men, causing a massive amount of confusion and retreat among the soldiers. Even though the casualties were about even, three hundred or so men on each side, the patriots had proved their skill and proficiency in combat by withstanding British charges and holding down their field position successfully throughout the battle12 Clinton and his men narrowly escaped to New York, and the Americans viewed the British retreat as a success, and gave the new nation a large moral boost. The soldiers had proved their bravery, and showed that they had drawn in the winter’s training with much success. A stronger, more confidant Washington reprimanded Lee for his inconsistency in the field. Lee later sent Washington a letter that was “much less than polite,”13 demanding that he have a chance to defend his actions. Lee was arrogant, and disagreed with Washington on too many matters, so Washington had him removed form duty by ordering a court-marshall. This action taken by Washington proved that he had grown into a more assertive leader, one that would soon be fit to be the nation’s first president. The army that crossed the Schulykill into Valley Forge was the first army, but the group of significantly less men that crossed the Schulykill for the second time, this time on the way out, was a second army, a new army. They were better trained, and now seasoned veterans from the sufferings of war, and Washington himself had a greater sense of his own skills as a general. The harsh winter conditions, as well as the new drilling techniques of Baron von Steuben, marked a turning point for the army in the American Revolutionary War. The soldiers had many victories and morale boosts during their conquest for freedom during the revolution, but the greatest victory was not a battle won by using weapons or battle formations, but by using a common goal of freedom in the battle against the worst of conditions at Valley Forge. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixelsFull resolution (1150 × 802 pixel, file size: 224 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixelsFull resolution (1150 × 802 pixel, file size: 224 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1150 × 1750 pixel, file size: 321 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 394 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1150 × 1750 pixel, file size: 321 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ...

Valley Forge Park

Main article: Valley Forge National Historical Park

The site of the encampment became a Pennsylvania State Park in 1893 and, on the 4th of July, 1976, it became Valley Forge National Historical Park. The modern park features historical and recreated buildings and structures; memorials; and a newly renovated visitor center, which shows a short film and has several exhibits. A chapel was built in 1903 as a memorial to George Washington. An adjoining carillon of 58 bells represents all U.S. states and territories. It resides in a tower built by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Other park amenities include walking and bicycle trails. This article is about the National Historical Park. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... State park is a term used in the United States and in Mexico for an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreation, or other reason, and under the administration of the government of a U.S. state or one of the states of Mexico. ... Year 1893 (MDCCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The United States Bicentennial was celebrated on Sunday, July 4, 1976, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. ...

See also

• Valley Forge Pilgrimage
• Bodo Otto

Pilgrimage patch The Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment is the oldest annual Scouting event in the United States. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Valley Forge

• Valley Forge Muster Roll website
• US History page
• Valley Forge National Historical Park official site

• Valley Forge is at coordinates 40°05′49″N 75°26′21″W / 40.096944, -75.439167 (Valley Forge)Coordinates: 40°05′49″N 75°26′21″W / 40.096944, -75.439167 (Valley Forge)

Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

References

v • d • e Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War
1774	First Continental Congress · Articles of Association
1775	Independence Hall · Second Continental Congress
1776	United States Declaration of Independence · Pennsylvania Constitution · Washington's crossing of the Delaware
1777	Articles of Confederation · Philadelphia campaign · Battle of Brandywine · Battle of the Clouds · Liberty Bell moved to Allentown · Battle of Paoli · Battle of Germantown · Siege of Fort Mifflin · Battle of White Marsh · Battle of Matson's Ford · Valley Forge
1778	Battle of Crooked Billet · Battle of Barren Hill · British occupation of Philadelphia ends · Wyoming Valley battle and massacre
1781	Congress of the Confederation