Valley Forge Essay

665 Words3 Pages

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. As much as I want to stay and help out the army, I’ve chosen to come back home. I have been homesick and don’t want to be so cold all the time. As good as it sounds to have freedom, I rather have a warm place to stay at and nicer clothes than I have now. Lots of sickness, too much death, and terrible conditions are the reasons why I am not going to re-enlist. One reason I am choosing to leave is that there is too much sickness. I have a very large of dying from the sicknesses getting passed around. I overheard General George Washington say that around 3,989 soldiers have gotten sick by February (Busch 147). And that 2,500 deaths have come from sickness (Busch 147). Frostbite and Smallpox have played a big part here at Valley Forge. Frostbite has gotten many people’s limb taken off. Because of this, a lot of soldiers have gotten sent home because they aren’t gonna be able to fight in battle. …show more content…

It has been freezing cold and I am starving to death(Powell 149). We came to Valley Forge thinking we had enough food. But have ended up barely having enough food to last us a few days. Having no food has been very tough because we are all exhausted and in pain all the time. Even when we do get food, we get small portions that will last for about a day. When it comes night time, all of us soldiers sleep in huts that are very small. We have a fireplace to keep us warm, but it leaves a lot of smoke in the room. Many men here have little to no clothes and have ragged, old shoes to wear. If I did re-enlist, I would still be in these terrible conditions which I do not