George Washington Valley Forge

Valley Forge December year of 1777 Washington and his army arrived at Valley Forge. Valley Forge was used for a winter camp for Washington and his army. Valley Forge was a cold place to live, not a lot of food, and not a lot of clothes, bad housing all these things are bad but soldiers stay with their army. Valley Forge would you have quit me I would not quit because There were a lot of people sick but not a lot of dying, Washington is getting help, and I’m not a summer soldier freedom is worth fighting for.

Things are terrible at Valley Forge for the past couple months. I don’t think I can stand it any longer! Right now it is winter in 1777. I have served my time as a soldier in Valley Forge, but now I have to decide if I will quit or not. In this case, quit means to not re-enlist. A lot of soldiers are considering not to re-enlist. I have decided not to re-enlist for three reasons which are, the bad conditions, half of the soldiers are sick, and very cold/snowing.

He goes on to explain the living conditions he had to endure and his lack of sleep. “It was utterly impossible to lie down and to get any rest or sleep on account of the mud” Martin recalls, “and can say in sincerity that I never lay down to sleep a minute in all that time” (Martin 77). The fighting at Fort Mifflin allowed Washington and his troops to withdraw to winter quarters at Valley Forge. It was too late in the season for the British to follow them.

Valley Forge atop such a high plateau was near completely cut off from supply routes making food, clothing, and weaponry very scarce. Soldiers were treated to the worst conditions possible at Valley Forge. Many were near naked and many were starving to death. Also dieses such as Dysentery and Typhus ran rampant at Valley Forge. These conditions alone accounted for the lives of hundreds of American soldiers that winter.

December 1777 at Valley Forge. Valley Forge is George Washington’s winter camp. Valley Forge is a difficult place to live. The continental army is who stays in the camp. The army is not doing so good at this time but there is still a chance of winning. If you were a soldier would you quit? If I was a soldier I would not quit because there are a lot of sick people but not dying people, the conditions are bad but brave soldiers stuck with it, and I do not want to be a summer solder because freedom is worth fighting for.

We have to sleep in 16’ by 14’ hut. There is twelve people per hut. We are all squished and uncomfortable. I don’t think a day has gone by that it has not been snowing here. My feet are frozen and cold. I am missing one of my fingers and cry myself to sleep wanting to be with my family. So now I have the choice to leave and through all of this in the end I get to go home. There is also frostbite, many of the men are having their feet, arms, and fingers being cut off. This is only a few of the awful thing happening here at Valley Forge.

Valley Forge is a winter camp for soldiers. It was about 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia that had the not so clean items. If I had a choice to quit or stay at Valley Forge I would choose to quit. Showing the amount of estimates of illness and deaths is one of the main reasons why I would quit. During February 1778 the estimated amount of soldiers is 8,000. The estimated amount of illness during the encampment was 3,989 which is about 50% of the people get sick. (Doc A). Also, 1,800- 2,500 is the estimated number of people who die due to illness. (Doc A). The diary of Dr. Waldo wrote about the conditions of the troop and huts. Many reasons why soldiers are dying because of the harsh conditions such as sickness, poor food, cold weather, fatigue,

I am a soldier at Valley Forge, sacrificing myself for my suffering country so that we all can be free from Britain's control. I am in tatter'd clothes and have barely enough food to survive, but I’ll go through this just so my country doesn't have to suffer any more. “The war started on December 1777, me along with the rest of the army camped out at Valley Forge (Roden 141).” “A few young women developed “scarlet fever,” a fascination with British soldiers and their bright red coats (Roden 141).”

The cold, harsh winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania dejects the soldiers who continue to starve, freeze, and remain ill. The Continental Army doesn’t even know whether they will survive due to these bad conditions, and most of the soldiers start to lose their hope, strength, and willingness. It all started when George Washington was granted the general of the American army by the Continental Congress in 1775. His soldiers have been struggling day and night to fight for their independence and freedom. However, Washington’s troops were forced to retreat to Pennsylvania by the British army, and are now stuck in the winter camp at Valley Forge. It is cold, the air is smokey, and there is no supplies or goods left for the soldiers. Also, there is a disease spreading around the camp like a virus that continues to infect the Continental Army. How will they ever

With several thousand soldiers to feed and provide for, supplies ran out quickly. In the “Diary of Dr. Albigence Waldo, a Connecticut surgeon, 1777” (Document C), Waldo records that by December 21st, the army had already run out of meat. Washington’s army arrived to Valley Forge in December, so it took them less than a month to exhaust their main food source. Even though this was unanticipated, it was also very dangerous and caused many to die of starvation.

Soldiers fight for their lives against the harsh cold in Valley Forge. Many of them catch sickness and pass away. (Doc A) To be precise, nearly 4,000 catch an illness and 1,800 to 2,500 die. Originally, there were 12,000 soldiers staying at Valley Forge. One of the doctors stationed there, Dr. Waldo, wrote a diary about the general state of the encampment. (Doc C)He wrote how he felt and how the soldiers must have felt. He states it is easy to get sick and most, if not all, soldiers are already ill. William Henry Powell painted George Washington presenting the Congressional Committee to soldiers at Valley Forge. (Doc B) The soldiers at Valley Forge are very sickly and have ripped up clothes. The Congressional Committee looks fine. If soldiers

The soldiers also lacked nutritious food that contained no meat. Dr. Waldo, a surgeon at Valley Forge described the food as “poor” and “nasty cookery”. He also described a small protest among the men due to the lack of meat in their food. Finally, during this cold winter, many of the soldiers

Cold winters, nasty cookery, worn out shoes, and lack of support was the definition of valley forge. My winter at valley forge was a difficult time, not just for me, but as well as my fellow soldiers due to many factors. The question “ would you have re-enlisted?” determined many soldiers futures. I did not re-enlist due to three main reasons, deaths due to illness, harsh conditions, and lack of support.

April 6-7, 1862 Southwestern Tennessee. Once in the ranks of military life, I discover life turned out different than what I expected a soldier’s duty would be. I did not know the hardships that came with my signature. I saw the battlefield as a great challenge upon which I will either “secure my liberty” or “save the Union.” While I acknowledge that humans will die and losses will come around, I never envisioned the daily struggles to be in military camps, never thought in my wildest dreams, that twice as many soldiers would succumb to death from disease in military camps as from bullets, shells, and bayonets in battle.

This quote shows that the fighters, Washington, and leaders were sick and tired but still carried on. Not satisfying was explained saying that their camps were not comfortable (Roden 141). This information shows that though their cabin was unfortable but they still trudged on. This reason is causing me to re-enlist because the helpless soldiers are in need of aid. In conclusion, help in Valley Forge is a