Valley Forge: Would You Have Quit?
If I were in Valley Forge and I was going through this and had to deal with it
because i had no other choice, i would have stayed because i had no other choice. But if
i had the choice to stay or quit, I would have quit the battle of Valley Forge. I would of
quit because it 's just absolutely awful. It 's awful because People are extremely sick,
disconnected, out of humor, poor food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty clothes, and so
on and so forth.
“The Army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow
sickly from the continental fatigues they have suffered this Campaign” (Document C).
This explains all of what i was talking about right here. This saying
For many, we stay, since if we leave, where would we go? For us, there is no warm food made when you get home, no wife or children. Maybe, you won 't come back from the field alive, which might just be a small mercy. Many have much clothing, “ There comes a soldier, his bare feet are seen thro’ his worn out shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tatter’d remains of an only pair of stockings…” ( Doc C)
Almost half the men at Valley Forge were sick, and after a while even more men would get sick. Constantly being surrounded by sick men and living in bad condition, is not a good combination. It would make it extremely easy for someone to get sick, and with no help or means of cure, could lead to death. About 20% of the men at Valley Forge died while enlisted, and while the other had survived, they didn’t live easily. They still had to deal with sickness, bad conditions, and fighting in the war.
The soldiers also slept in small canvas that was weak and didn 't, provide any protection from the snow. This resulted in them having diarrhea, dysentery, and fevers. With so many sicknesses going around about 2,000 out of 12,000 people died. George Washington tried to encourage the farmers to sell some of their food to the soldiers because they were short on supplies. He even gave out flyers of lists of
Quitting Valley Forge I want to quit Valley Forge. Valley Forge is near Philadelphia and was a campsite for Washington’s Continental Army. They fought off the cold, harsh winter, poor food, hard lodging, fatigue, nasty cloaths, and nasty cookery waiting it out. I would want to quit Valley Forge because of all the illnesses and deaths that were there. (document A)
151 Young troops were very happy and cheerful to be there (paraphrase). This reason is causing me to re-enlist because the spirit in Washington’s army keeps me from leaving. Having everyone around me staying in good spirit did not let me go One of the reason my fellow soldiers would decide to not re-enlist is because the sickness. The estimated death of sickness or encampment stated in DOC A: “december-june 1,800 to 2,500”.
I could feel the rough winds and cold air hit my face. In the winter of 1777, Washington set out to Valley Forge, a place just 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia where the British lay. During this winter, it brought us some life threatening hardships. Would you re-enlist? I will not re-enlist Valley Forge for the following reasons of death and illness, harsh conditions, and lack of supplies and support.
“Poor food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty clothes, nasty cookery, vomit… why are we sent here to starve and freeze?”-Dr. Albigence Waldo “What we know today was not known in late December 1777, victory seemed a long way off; in fact for many, it seemed unlikely.” Had I been a soldier at Valley Forge, would I of given up? If I had the choice, I would have stayed, because of loyalty to our leaders and country, to stay a powerful nation, and for the freedom of me and the people of America. I would have stayed in the war, because I am loyal to our leaders and to America.
The army was malnourished, poorly clothed, and living in crowded and dark quarters, which is what caused most men to get sick. Some the diseases that stuck the men that winter was typhoid, typhus, smallpox, dysentery, and pneumonia. These diseases were responsible for the death of about 2500 soldiers by the end of the war, along with malnutrition and exposure to freezing temperatures and the snow. Washington repeatedly petitioned supplies and relief, but the Continental Congress was unable to provide it. The Continental Congress has little to no money and didn’t know how terrible the situation was, so in return, the soldiers continued to suffer.
The climate at Valley Forge is horrible. The soldiers are constantly freezing. They have a choice between freezing cold, or smoke. The huts that the soldiers stay in have a fireplace but they don’t have a chimney so all of the smoke is trapped in the hut and they can barely breath. The soldiers get smoke in their lungs and it is horrible.
Things have become so atrocious that George Washington had to ask the Congressional Committee for more money. I doubt they have any to give, for they are more focused on the bigger picture, rather than a few deteriorated soldiers (Doc B). Dr.Waldo wrote in his journal, “A general cry thro’ the camp this evening among the soldiers, “No meat! No meat!” -The distant vales echoed back the melancholy sound- “No meat!
Some hardships the 49ers faced were diseases that were sometimes produced by the lack of food and water. Others were caused by difficulty in crossing lands and seas. Some of the miners would even commit acts of violence, or commit suicide because of the struggle and stress of not finding gold. When the miners arrived to California they were subjects of diseases like Cholera,Dysentery and Pneumonia.
Valley Forge was a winter camp 18 miles away from Philadelphia, where George Washington took his troops during 1777 and 1778. The British army is comfortable in Philadelphia, while Valley Forge has harsh conditions with the cold weather and the lack of supplies. I will not reenlist when my 9-month enlistment is over. I will not reenlist for these reasons, diseases, lack supplies, and cold weather and smoky air.
Therefore, I choose to stay at Valley Forge, for there is a chance for me to not die of sickness because of the medical care, there is also patriotism, and people are willing to fight for our freedom. The documents A and C prove that only 14% died of sickness. there were about 12,000 of us to start with, and only about 1,800- 2500 died from December to June. Therefore, that leaves just about 9,500 of us left. However, with all the people that abandoned the Continental Army leaves us with just about 8,000 of us.
In the winter, Washington took his troops to Valley Forge, which was 18 miles from Philadelphia. At this time, Valley Forge was a difficult place to live for the Patriots. It was a struggle but if I were a Patriot in Valley Forge fighting for Washington’s Army, I wouldn’t quit. I won’t quit for three big reasons; yes I know there were a lot of sick soldiers but not as much as dying soldiers, another thing is the conditions were horrible, but there were many brave soldiers who stuck with it, and stayed with Washington, lastly I do not want to be a “summer soldier” because freedom is valuable so it is worth fighting for.
The war is something no one wants to go through. Soldiers train to fight for their country and for their very lives. In doing so, the war isn’t a pretty place to be in. Many soldiers have returned with diseases, missing limbs, and mental trauma. After fighting the war, numerous soldiers return home injured or has contracted some type of health condition or disease.