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Congress At Valley Forge Essay

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If you were a soldier at Valley Forge, would you have quit? After the defeat at Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, George Washington decided to build a winter camp at Valley Forge, 18 miles away from Philadelphia. Running low on supplies, George Washington repeatedly asked for more money and supplies for the army. As a soldier in the continental army, staying would be the best option because the congress is supporting us, Thomas Paine’s pamphlet inspires us, and you have a 90% chance of survival at Valley Forge. To begin, the Continental Congress is supporting us.William Henry Powell portrays “committee of Congress at Valley Forge which is a portrait of congress, George Washington, and soldiers(1866) “The committee of 5 Congressmen stayed several weeks and was helpful in getting more food and clothing to the soldiers.”(Powell,1866) This quote shows that …show more content…

Low on morale, Thomas Paine wrote 18 pamphlets in a series called The American Crisis that tries to inspire the soldiers to stay and fight. These pamphlets highlight key points that inspired the Americans to fight the British. “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriots will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country.”(Paine, 1776) “Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right(not only too Tax but ‘ to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER,’ as if being bound in the manner, is not slavery, than there not such a thing as slavery upon earth.”(Paine, 1776) This quote shows that Thomas Paine is saying that those who leave do not deserve recognition. The second quote is Thomas Paine calling Britain out for tyranny. This was important because the soldiers would read it, and realize how unjust it was for Britain to fight to keep the colonies under their control. This is important because it inspired the soldiers to fight with a stronger reason, making them fight

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The Patriots were feeling defeated after the first 2 years of war, and the makeshift Pennsylvania winter camp didn 't add to their spirits. Valley Forge was a tough time for the American Army, and many soldiers wanted to quit because of the hardships. If I were a soldier, I would have quit Valley Forge for a multitude of reasons. The living conditions were inadequate, there was a minimal amount of supplies, and illness and death was common in the camp. In essence, the cons of staying at Valley Forge outweighed the Pros.

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In December of 1777, American General George Washington and his men took shelter at Valley Forge for the winter. It was 18 miles northwest of the British camp in Philadelphia, and Washington thought it was a perfect spot. But that was not the case for the soldiers. The soldiers had it rough, and many did not want to enlist for the army after. Today, many people wonder if they would stay with George Washington, or not enlist and go home back to their families.

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Plus, out of them, only a portion died. Another reason is because they had some support(Doc B). George Washington showed his troops the Congressional Committee. This showed that they had some outside support. Lastly, if I left, I would be considered a coward (Doc D).

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(Doc. A) Some other reasons that I would leave is because in the painting of the Committee of Congress at Valley Forge all of the people look very ill and poor. Some of them don’t have

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Soldiers that are living at Valley forge are tempted to pack up their things and leave because of the deaths and illnesses spreading through the “camp”. George Washington is the leader and he is urging people to stay and fight, having men say motivational speeches to the people. I would stay and fight at Valley Forge. The deaths and illnesses were never over 50% and the people who got sick only half of them died, I’d rather die for my freedom than die without a cause. Only about 6,887 illness records were recorded out of 20,000 people.

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Another key factor as to why the soldiers in the Continental army should have left after their term was up because the help they should have received was not being given to them. The Committee of Congress came to Valley Forge to discuss with George Washington on what the soldiers need. However, once there, in the engraving by William Henry Powell, the Committee of Congress seems to be contemplating on helping the soldiers thus causing the soldiers to look angry. The soldiers in the picture were barefoot and had little clothing on than the Committee of Congress (Doc B). The soldiers at Valley Forge were starving, had little clothes, and they had very little help which is why they should have ended fighting in the war completely after their term was

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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.

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“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…. ” This is a quote from the diary of a man named Dr. Waldo. He stayed at a terrible place. The Continental Army came there with Washington during the winter of 1777.

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The winter of 1777-78 was terribly cold, bitter, and harsh. These conditions made things very difficult for General Washington’s military unit. The unit’s morale and physical strengths were severely tested throughout this challenging and historical time. On December 19, 1777, General George Washington, the Commander of the U.S. Continental Army led the troops to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania for a few different reasons.

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Thomas Paine said in The American Crisis, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” (153). He was right. It is the winter of 1777-1778 in Valley Forge, 18 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and conditions are awful. We have little to no food, there are many diseases such as smallpox and dysentery, and frostbite is taking many limbs.

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The soldiers were inadequately trained and lacked ammunition, food, and other provisions. They sometimes even went without clothing and went barefoot in the winter. However, General Washington was able to give them direction and encourage them to persevere. The common soldier would prove important.

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Being in the snow isn’t always fun. It is January 1, 1778 and I have been serving my term at Valley Forge. I have been very miserable which has made my experience here dreadful. I’ve finished my time as a soldier but I have the option to re-enlist or come back home.

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Thomas Paine’s The Crisis does an excellent job of exemplifying the usage of the colonist’s feelings prominently in the content. One of Paine’s purposes in writing such a pamphlet is to convince the colonial Americans that they must not be cowardly by supporting British rule. Throughout his pamphlet, this ideal is displayed in an extremely pronounced manner, with a considerable example in the first paragraph: “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will… shrink from the service of this country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of every man and woman.” (Paine 331).

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Would anyone really want to go back to a place where there is barely any food, the living conditions are horrible, the risk of getting sick so great, and a high probability of dying even without the war beginning? This is the question that many faced during the terrible winters of 1777 and 1778. George Washington’s army was camped at Valley Forge, eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the British were camped in warm quarters and ate good and plentiful food. In contrast, American revolutionary soldiers had to battle disease, starvation, and the freezing cold even before they had to fight their enemy. If you were a revolutionary soldier facing these conditions, and your time to re-enlist came up, would you re-enlist or stay on, or would

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Before this many Colonists did not know of the harsh injustices done by the British. They also did not believe that the cause for revolution was urgent. Thomas Paine showed them that the cause was urgent by explaining the wrongs the British had committed and why King George was a tyrant. He also showed them that America did not need the British Empire 's protection. This quote shows his reasoning “Small islands, not capable of protecting themselves, are the proper objects for kingdoms to take under their care; but there is something absurd, in supposing a continent to be perpetually governed by an island.”

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