To Stay, or Not to Stay? You’re in a white, smokey room that you call your home, shivering in cold, and hearing your stomach growl of starvation. You sit here for six brutal months, just to go out and fight in a battle after. These were the conditions for George Washington and his army when they arrived at Valley Forge in December 1777. Washington and his army were there for six months, many sick or on the verge of dying. If you were a soldier at Valley Forge, would you have abandoned your army, or would you have re-enlisted? If I was in this situation, I would have re-enlisted, because Thomas Paine wrote to persuade the soldiers to stay, George washington and the Congressional Committee were supporting us, and healthy soldiers were desperately needed. …show more content…
From the engraved painting in document B, you can see that George Washington is introducing the men of the Congressional Committee to his soldiers. This also shows that Washington is putting in the effort for his army, and plans on staying with them (Document B). Having Washington, the soldiers’ leader, put in the effort to help his men through these hard times would make me, as his soldier, want to be more loyal to him. This would result in me staying with him throughout the rest of the war, after Valley Forge. The final reason I would re-enlist is that if you were a healthy soldier, you were desperately needed in the war. When reading the information provided in document A, you can see that during Valley Forge, around 1,800 - 2,500 soldiers died due to illness. Also, in the month of December, about one-fourth of the soldiers became sick, and in February, about one-half of the soldiers were sick. This would cause less and less soldiers to come back since they were in poor conditions. This means that if I happened to be one of the healthy, or less sick, soldiers, I would re-enlist in the war to keep
Since the soldiers are dying, a spot in a high rank could open up. Higher rank means better supplies. Obviously, since Washington is a general and has better supplies than everyone must mean he gets things easier for him. I have heard that by February the weather eased somewhat moving from brutal to merely miserable. Since the weather seems to be getting better, it gives me a better chance of surviving and it gives me time to rank up. (Us History) The reason that ranking up means so much to me is linked with reason one. I want to help out but I do not want to die. The best ways to survive is by ranking up. Last time I saw General Washington he was wearing a furry coat, furnished pants, and shiny boots. (William Henry Powell) If I had those items there’s barely any ways of me dying at Valley
Valley Forge is a place where Washington trained the colonists to fight with the British soldiers, even though it is cold, disease spreads, lack of food, bad equipments, and people dying, but for our better future we have to stay and train to become a better and confident soldier. According to The American Crisis by Thomas Paine, he told us that Although things are bad in Valley Forge we still have to fight for our country and break away from the horrible king that charges us a lot of money. According to the text Thomas Paine wrote that “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” This shows that King George is treating them badly and they have
When a person is in a stressful situation on instinct they have two options, fight or flight. In war the same is true. War is not always bayonets and bullets, it’s the decisions you make during times of hardship. A soldier has to make the decision whether to keep fighting for what they believe in no matter what the stakes or to flee. In December of 1777, George Washington and his troops arrived at Valley Forge. Since the summer of 1775, all has gone well for the Continental Army. More recently Washington was presumably unable to stop General Howe and his British soldiers from claiming the national capital of Philadelphia. With Howe and his army of approximately 18,000 comfortably quartered in Philadelphia,
One of the reasons I wouldn't quit Valley Forge is because 50% of the people were sick but only 15% died. In document A it says “3989 (about 4000) out of 8000 were sick or unable to report for duty.” By February 1st, about 50% of soldiers were sick. But sickness is common around this time. For example, in our classroom about half of our students were sick. (Doc A) “1800 out of 12000 died”. 1800 out of 12000 soldiers may sound like a lot but it is actually only 15%. That's only 15% of all the soldiers dying. That's pretty good for being the “UnderDogs” in a war. This still gives you an 85% chance of living. So I would stay.
The stench of sweat, vomit, feces, and blood was almost to much to bear. Although times were difficult at Valley Forge, I would have stayed as a soldier because I believed George Washington was a amazing leader, most of the fellow soldiers didn't lose their spirit, and I would be willing to die for freedom. To begin, I would have stayed because George Washington was on our side and he is a natural born leader. In Document B it showed George Washington taking his soldiers side, which means that he was helping them; he wasn't just doing what Congress told him to do. Washington had fought in the French and Indian war, so he was trained by the British, meaning he knew there battle strategies well, as Sun Tzu once said "know thy enemy" and he did.
“Every thought is a battle, every breath is a war and I don’t think we are winning anymore”. The depressing thoughts in which were made up of dying and not surviving were going through the minds of all the soldiers at Valley Forge as well as mine. The need of food, clothes, and weapons were needed. The wanting to win and return home to our families were mutual between all of us as well. Since the summer of 1775, George Washington has withdrawn from Boston and retreated to New York City after the American Revolution. Recently, he had been unable to stop the British when Howe marched his army into the capital of Philadelphia. Washington had a very hard time trying to keep us in his army. Some of them had signed on for one year or two, but others left or simply deserted us. The question is simple, whether or not you would stay and fight for your country or leave with honor and your dignity. My choice was obvious, staying to fight for my country. There are many reasons surrounding my choice, including the fact that the supplies were provided for us in order to live and fight through the terrible seasons, the encouragement we needed, and the conditions we faced.
The first reason I will not re-enlist is because the sickness in 1777 to 1778 is a very easy disease to spread. The quote “ Sent here to starve and freeze” (Waldo 151) is harsh, especially for the people that are fighting for their country. As well as for the quote “ However, the most frequent time of re-enlistment was nine months… Others just simply deserted” (Roden 141) shows that they knew how hard the living was and that they needed to leave. In Document A it talks about the average people at Valley Forge in the beginning and the average after the sickness spread. So by looking at the chart I would have a 25% chance of living, and a 75% chance of dying.These reasons are causing me to not re-enlist because I would rather not die of a sickness but of old age. This whole paragraph is talking about how you can catch a sickness and may not survive.
Valley Forge, which was a difficult place to live, is where Washington and his Continental Army lived. During the harsh Revolutionary of December 1777-June 1778, many soldiers left, and many stayed loyal. If I had been a soldier in Washington’s army, would I have quit? No I wouldn’t have quit because only 15% of people died, there are people who show willingness, and because of the inspirational words of Thomas Paine.
It is the middle of the in 1778, there are men everywhere, cots full of ill soldiers, and smoke filled huts. Half of the population is sick and the soldiers have almost no fight left in them. There are few men with spirit left in the camps at Valley Forge. Thomas Paine states, “These are the times that try men's souls”, and as the men walk around injured, bleeding, frozen, and starving you do not only see hunger and pain, you would see what looked like poverty. Tattered clothing draped on the backs of the worn out soldiers, and starved, skeleton resembling bodies. Even though these harsh times will show the true colors of man, some are boasting with the red, white, and blue of patriotism. While innumerable people believe that there is almost no fight or spirit left, the soldiers that stay have hope to win this war. If I was a soldier at Valley Forge, I would stay. I would continue to
Though trouble and doubt we will prevail. This happened in the winter between 1777-1778. Valley Forge is a place about eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia. A lot of soldiers are leaving when we need them to fight. Victory seemed a long way off; in fact for many, it seemed unlikely. Even though that has happened I have decided to not re-enlist for three reasons which are: conditions, health, and results of war.
There is no food, I am cold, and have little humor, I want to go home. This is only some of the horrible things happening. It is 1777 and George Washington has several 1,000 troops settled at Valley Forge. We are here to fight for are freedom from the british. It is winter here and us men are not doing well. The real question is: Will I Quit? I have served my time.Things have been so bad, I am deciding to quit and not re-enlist. The 3 reasons I want to leave are so many are sick, awful living conditions, and I don’t want to die.
George Washington once said, “To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.” George Washington had to prepare his soldiers at the winter camp at Valley Forge. The winter of 1777 was great for Washington, because he could keep an eye on the General Howe’s British soldiers. Washington had a major problem. Some men were signing up for one to two year enlistment, but the most common was nine months.The living conditions were a horrid situation. Many had no shoes and little clothing, which is not a good combination for a frigid Pennsylvania winter. The winter was not pleasant, and most soldiers had diseases, like smallpox, and dysentery. Men are dying, running away, or deserting their post. My term is almost up. I am concerned about my family, and my aging mother. I could desert and leave for home, or stay and fight. The question has come down to this; If you were a soldier at Valley Forge, would you have quit. In this situation, to quit is to not re-enlist. I have decided to re-enlist because our great leaders, the doctors and sickness treatment, and respect.
During the six months that the 11,000 men were at Valley Forge, many left due to the horrible conditions that they experienced. Even then, the majority of the soldiers remained loyal to there companions and did not want to leave them (Doc D). The main reason why many soldiers decided to stay at Valley Forge was because George Washington was there with them for the whole six months. The thing that they admired about him was that he was humble and did not treat himself as superior to his soldiers. He always cared for them and that inspired them to do the same (Doc B). Even though desertion was very common among soldiers and commanding officers, many of them maintained there loyalty to their companions and there commander, George
If someone was to lay their life on the line for something that had little to no survival rate, little to no people would do it. Very few men had the courage. Washington is a well-known historical figure for leading the way through the revolutionary war. As Washington states before the Battle of Long Island, “The fate of the unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the
My first reason for re-enlisting would be because of the sickness of men(soldiers). In document A, the chart shows that only about 50% of the soldiers on February 1, 1778 were sick, and only about 45% at the most were killed due to illness. Also, about ⅓ of the soldiers died from December 1777 through February 1778. The chart in document A leads us to believe that quite a few soldiers are sick and have died. Therefore, healthy men, like me, should help the sick soldiers get better.