Valley Forge Dbq

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.

Did you know that ten roads led into Gettysburg? Which is the main reason that the battle was fought there. ("Battle of Gettysburg Facts." Battle of Gettysburg Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.) The Battle of Gettysburg was a significant battle in the Civil War. On July 3rd, 1863 in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, the Battle of Gettysburg began. The battle was between the Confederacy and the Union, they were fighting North against South. The South left the states because they felt that the government was too powerful and that the states didn't have enough power. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war because of the geography, casualties, and the Gettysburg Address.

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,

George Washington and his continental army were staying at a winter camp in Valley Forge in very bad conditions from December 1777 to June 1778. These “summer soldiers” are leaving, but some are staying loyal. If you had been at Valley Forge would you quit? I would quit because only 15% of people are dying, there is help on the way and because of the inspirational words of Thomas Paine from the “American Crisis”.

Valley Forge is where George Washington and his troops sent camp for the winter. During camp the colonists trained hard and gained the confidence they needed to win the war. Unfortunately the lack of food and spread of disease caused many deaths during this harsh winter. If I had the choice to leave or stay at Valley Forge I would leave. I would not want to risk my life or have to suffer through the cold and sickness. According to Estimates of Illness and Deaths at Valley Forge (Doc A), during the encampment about 2,500 soldiers died. That is about ⅓ of the colonists fighting in the war. About 49% of the soldiers get sick. “I am sick-discontented-and out of humour. Poor food - hard lodging - Cold Weather - fatigue - Nasty Clothes - nasty

The first reason I am staying in Valley Forge is, with so many soldiers dead or too sick to get out of bed, they need as many people as they can get. By this time, February 1, 1778, about half of the soldiers at Valley Forge are too sick to work. Another 1,800 to 2,500 are already dead. (Document A) This means that they are severely short on troops. If the British were to attack at this time and everyone was leaving, we wouldn’t fare very well.

The soldier’s time to serve would be up in just ten days, the British continued to win battles, all hope of winning the war was fading and everyone was ready to put down their weapons and surrender to Great Britain. However, George Washington was not settling with anything less than trying their best. He kept that little flicker of hope that was still left, alive. The Continental Congress did not see much hope in the war either and turned the responsibility of the war to General George Washington. Washington received a message from Congress saying,

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.

Would you fight for independence in the harsh conditions or stay home and hope for independence. During December 1777 George Washington led an army called the Continental Army of 12,000 men to take base at Valley Forge, PA which was 18 miles Northwest of Philadelphia. The question that I have to answer is; Valley Forge: Would you have quit?. This basically means that if you had to make a choice to not re-enlist or stay, which one would you choose. I am not re-enlisting or quitting valley forge because of the shortage of food, the terrible illness and dreadful accommodations.

“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.

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.

Have you ever heard of Valley Forge? Well , through the horrific events of Valley Forge , would you rather quit or stay? The Continental Army, has had several successes such as, Trenton and Princeton. They have gone through struggles depending on the length of their enlistment. Most were enlisted for 9 months. If I was a soldier I would have quit because I would not want to die from a illness, have poor food, lodging , and weather, and I would not want to suffer from the smoke in my hut.

That meant leaving as soon as their enlistments were finished and leaving Washington with fewer troops. Washington felt that he needed to have another battle while he still had many men and before the British troops retired for the season of winter until spring (McCullough 267). Since the battle happened towards the end of their session, the results of the battle highly affected the soldier’s decision to stay or leave. If it wasn’t for Trenton, there would never have been a reason to stay in the army and that would have affected the war in a negative way for the colonies. “Our only dependence now is upon the speedy enlistments of the army. If this fails, the game is pretty near up,” (McCullough 269). This quote by Lund Washington explains that the colonies needed as many soldiers and troops as possible to make their chances of succeeding better. Without the amount of troops that decided to stay because of the Battle of Trenton, Washington’s troops would have been significantly smaller and would have caused losses in battles.

People say i'm not smart by still being here but i say it's loyalty and hardship. A week before christmas of 1777, about 18 miles north of Philadelphia, General George Washington and his troops trudged in the snow all the way up, to where they now call it Valley Forge, to get a better view of the British and General Howe. They then set up camp and started making huts to live. Some soldiers are getting sick, and some are getting ready to leave.

The committee of five congressmen stayed several weeks and was helpful in getting more food and clothing to the soldiers but the way they got that help was when George Washington called a meeting with the congressmen and the soldier and said we all need help this is from (Document B) .