Persuasive Essay On The Valley Forge

Everywhere I go, I see dead soldiers littered all over the ground like blocks of ice. As a soldier in the Continental army, General George Washington has led us to set up a winter camp at Valley Forge, eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia, where the British army had set up camp. I have made a decision that answers the question that haunts me: Will I quit or will I re - enlist? I have decided I will quit next month, when my nine month enlistment is over. To quit in this situation is to go home after serving as a soldier in Valley Forge and the vast number of deaths and illnesses.

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,

From the winter of 1777 to 1778 Valley Forge was in very harsh weather conditions. During this time we took command with George Washington and after a while war started. Some interesting facts are that in 1773, 310 street lights were installed. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War, and in 1782 the writing of the Constitution was in progress. I have decided not to re-enlist for these three reasons which are, sickness, conditions and clothing, and congress/ leadership.

There was a lot of sick people, but there was not a lot of people dying from the sickness. Firstly, in document A it stated there was “3,989 people sick out of the 8,000” who were there. So what that is saying there was about 50% of soldiers sick and in the Winter it is common to be sick especially in those conditions. Secondly there were only “1,800 out of the 12,000 men died in Valley Forge”(doc A). What this is saying is that there is only a 15% chance of dying and a 85% chance of living which that is pretty good odds. Also in the background essay it says “today we know that most of the army survived the winter. So, I would take those odds and stay at Valley Forge.

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).”

Valley Forge was held from December 1777 to February 1778. Most people got sick and died but some lived. If you were in Washington’s army, would you continue at Valley Forge or give up and go home?Before this there was the French and Indian War. After the colonists helped the British win the war, the king taxed the colonists in anything he could get his hands on. After fighting battles and fighting for independence, the colonists end up at Valley Forge. After all this, what would you do? If was a soldier in Washington’s army, I would leave Valley Forge because many of the soldiers got sick and died, the conditions in and outside the huts were terrible, but if I was to stay I would because Britain taxed us and I would help continue fighting

Imagine living under brutal conditions in a rundown, secluded fort, far away from home and knowing that you could die at any minute. What would you do? During the winter of 1777 to 1778, George Washington’s Continental Army set up their post at Valley Forge, a military camp 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It was not big enough to be called a village - it only had a few fieldstone houses and a mill for forging iron. The Quaker farms in the area offered good food and support for Washington’s men, so they accepted. However, as the days went by, they realized that maybe that hadn’t been such a good idea. The soldiers in the Continental Army should have left Valley Forge because of death and illness, living conditions in camp (lack of food and clothing), and resentment towards Congress. Although Thomas Paine’s words of encouragement in the American Crisis were inspirational, this didn’t change the fact that the soldiers were suffering due to the extreme conditions in the camp.

Through the course of time, there have been many conflicts with soldiers dying, getting injured, sick, or some had just decided to desert the army. Though there have been many conflicts, the motivation never left most of the minds of soldiers. No doubt, a soldier in the Continental Army would have stayed at

Soldiers exist to fight, Men exist to love. Soldiers live in the cold, Men with whom they can protect. The first two years of the American Revolution had been cruddy for America. George Washington (The general of the Continental Army) has been having trouble keep soldiers from leaving. Had you been a soldier at Valley Forge, would you have left and gone home? I would want to leave Valley Forge because I don’t want to risk my health, live in terror, and I would want to protect loved ones.

“Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have war then let it begin here.” - John Parker. In winter 1777, George Washington and his troops went to Valley Forge about 18 miles from Philadelphia, where the British were staying. Valley Forge: would you leave? I will re-enlist despite the three reasons for quitting.

When Margaree Mitchum sees the stars and stripes waving atop a flagpole, she feels more than ordinary patriotism.

A freezing cold winter, little food, horrible diseases and sickness everywhere. These are just some of the things that we have encountered here at Valley Forge. But, with the end of my enlistment coming in one month I have to make the decision of would I stay? I believe that I will stay for three reasons. Washington has been working on forming a better army. I don’t want to seem weak around other men. I will be fighting for the freedom of my country, without the guilt of quitting.

Another battle was about to being. We needed to move our troops into pennsylvania and set up camp. While we were in Valley Forge, storms began to hit. The climate was too much for us, and the nearby traders refused to sell to us, patriots. Now, illness is spreading quickly throughout our small encampment. Almost half of us stationed here are bedridden and are unable to battle. (Document A) The conditions keep getting more and more horrid as the smoke from cooking the disgusting food is starting to fill the cramped lodges. (Document C) I don’t think that I can take any more of being around the coughing, the wheezing, and the dead. (Document B)I will leave soon, for it is December and my contract is over. Good luck to anyone still in the camp,

May, 1778, it was a gruesome winter. Most of my friends die in front of me, by either freezing or by starving. I just took on the small pox, by this experiment where they cut my arm and put the small pox in me. I just barely survived, as soon as the French joined the war. Our food supply increased and our chances of living increased as well. I am really angry at the people that left the war because they are cowards. They did not fight for their independence and did not finish what they volunteered for. I am staying in Valley Forge because I believe in independence and I believe that I made a commitment so I will stick by my word. I believe that George Washington will win this war for us and that he is a great leader. He saved us from dying

This is where I came to find the british unloading hundreds of pounds on us. Then seeing friends from the start dumping and running. Running for their lives, have my life flash before my eye’s but I had also run. But is was different, i didn’t dump my gun, as i saw my friend fall, I remember the pledge we took coming into this army. “Give me liberty or give me death.” SO I fell acting like I got shot by this pile of supplies and started shooting with what little things I still had. Then I looked over and saw another friend from the start and shooting next to me. Then when washington went face to face, I was considering running, so when the british faced washington, we got up with 4 guns between the two of us and got out thinking they would shoot and we would fall. It was terrible to leave washington like that. But we wanted to leave and be alive to make a bigger