Would a soldier quit in the Continental Army in Valley Forge? Many soldiers in the Continental Army would not have quit if they were excellent soldiers. Thomas Paine wrote, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”(December 23,1776). He essentially is saying that with no pain, there is no gain. Washington read to his soldiers every day to give them motivation for them to stay. If they were exceptional soldiers in the Continental Army they wouldn’t quit because, they have help from the continental committee, they have as a fiery spirit of Alacrity, and of all the people that lost their lives to win the war. In the beginning, soldiers in the Continental Army should not quit due to, the assistance there getting from the Continental …show more content…
Dr. Albigence Waldo, a Connecticut surgeon wrote, “... no, begin to grow sickly from the continued fatigues… yet they still show a spirit of Alacrity and Contentment of the young soldiers.” (1777). This quote is from a journal from Dr. Albigence Waldo, who portrays the daily life in Valley Forge. He construes the hardship each soldier faced and how challenging it was. He furthermore, wrote, “I am sick- discontented- and out of humor. Poor food- hard, hard lodging- Cold winter- fatigue- Nasty Colaths- nasty Cookery- Vomit half my time smoked out my scenes- the Devil’s- I can’t Endure it- Why are we sent here to starve and freeze… There comes a Soldier, his bare feet are seen through’ his worn out Shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings..,” (1777). This is compelling because even though the doctor had an unfavorable involvement at Valley Forge he still continued to live there and wrote about how some soldiers stayed content and cheerful, he explained the bad condition in Valley Forge. He wrote about the sickness and how he vomits all the time. This shows the doctor's bravery to live in the poor condition of the camp. Even the soldiers who could have quit, still stayed because they had a cause to fight for. Their spirit was the reason why they were still in the army. Some of the soldiers left, but the soldiers that stayed and