Valley Forge Life

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.

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 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.

In 1777 Continental troops head toward Philadelphia to fight and take land from the British troops, but are stopped by a Tragic snow storm. Men stop and set up camp to get past the storm but sadly Men start dying from illness and weather. Some troops wanted to leave and other wanted to stay and fight. Here's is my three reasons why you should stay at valley forge. First and foremost about 12,000 men settled at valley forge and from December 1777 to February 1778 about 4,000 men died. These are tragic deaths but if you do the math you only have a ten percent of dyeing, and 90 percent of living. Also about only 50 percent of people get sick, so if you put both together you have a high chance of living. The second reason why to stay at valley

I am a Colonist and I can’t stand it here anymore so I have decided I am going to leave Valley Forge. In Estimates of Illness and Deaths at Valley Forge (DocA). Not all of the soldiers were able to survive. A lot of the soldiers got very ill at Valley Forge because of the weather. In the Diary of Dr. Waldo (Doc C). The army starts to get sick. There is very poor food for us at Valley Forge. The American Crisis by Thomas Paine (Doc D). It is a very difficult time for us to be there. It gets very cold at Valley Forge that is why it is a difficult time to be there. There is illness, poor food, and it is a difficult time that is why I would leave.

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.

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,

It’s stated by at doctor at Valley Forge that, “There comes a Soldier, his bare feet are seen through’ his worn out shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an old pair of stockings… ”(Direct quote: Document C, December 14, 1777). An example of the horrible housing is that the soldiers had to reside in mud huts with no insulation whatsoever, in the freezing cold, with a small fireplace that had to be shared between 12 people, including yourself. The huts were also tiny, and they would be the residence of the soldiers for 6 months (Background Essay). This displays just how horrible the situation truly was, and the idea of a room shared between 12 people, with a single place to gather warmth, especially when it’s the average size of a modern bedroom?

To begin, the soldiers should have left Valley Forge because there were many soldiers who began dying of death and illnesses that spread across camp. Noel F. Busch states that, “by February 1, 1778, 3,989 out of 8,000 soldiers were sick”, which was approximately 50% of the total population (Busch, 1974). According to researchers, the low estimate of soldiers who were dying in that year (1778) was 1,800 out of 8,000 people, which was roughly 1 person dead for every 2 soldiers (10%). Finally, at the end

Valley Forge, in the winter, was a harsh environment to live in. The cold air and sludgy snow were bad enough without the lack of sufficient supplies. When food rations were low, we were forced to

Isaac Duemler Mrs. Taigen, Mrs. Keithley Class Period: 6 2 December, 2016 Essay Outline for Historical Argument (Valley Forge) Introduction Paragraph: Did you know that the revolutionary war is like a parent and child fighting, the americans (the child) are fighting the british(the parent) and the british keep giving them punishments like more tax.  1800 soldiers died during December and 900 soldiers died during March.  That means a total of 2700 soldiers died overall, that is quite a bit of soldiers dying!   The colonists don’t even have good clothes or shoes and could possibly become very sick.

First off, If I were a soldier at Valley Forge, I would fight because only half of the people became ill. There is still a big chance that you can survive and support your country, you just have to have the right mentality. In Document A, there is a

Much like the conditions during World War I, soldiers faced filthy conditions: “all soldiers are lousy, at least when it’s warm enough” (54).