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.
Death and Empty Seats The year is February 1778, 18 miles away from Pennsylvania in Valley forge. We are dieing slowly,one by one, most of us are either sick or dead. This was intended to be the colonial army’s winter camp but instead it has turned into a graveyard. I am leaving because of the death count and illnesses,the diary of Dr.Albigence Waldo,and finally the engraving of the committee of congress. I was told that valley forge was going to be a breeze and the colonial army would be back on it’s feet in the spring,but I was wrong.
Stay or Leave at Valley Forge George Washington and his men retreat from the British after they took Philadelphia, so General Washington and his men retreat about 18 miles northwest from Philadelphia and created a camp for the winter. Even though the estimates of all the soldiers was about 12,000 men, and it was said that at the end of the winter there were only 8,000 men was all not true. Not all of the death counts were accurate. About half of those numbers could have been men that left, or men that were stricken ill, but recovered and rejoined the army. The sickness count was about 40-50%, and the death count was only 10-12%.
The limited supplies they had was only enough to sustain them for a little bit before they ran out. Their clothes were not adequate thus they often caught chills, fevers, and other illnesses. The death rate at Valley Forge was also extremely high. Of the 8,000 people enlisted in February, 3,989, half of the people enlisted, perished during encampment (Doc A). The soldiers who died due to being too sick to actually fight, died not because they were killed off, but because they were forced to endure the brutal and atrocious winter of Valley Forge.
Valley Forge Document Based Question After a detailed analysis of the documents, it is very clear that if I was a soldier in the continental army I would stay in the army for the following important reasons: first, the urgent need of healthy and strong soldiers to fight against the British (Document A and Document C), second, the visit of the Congressional committee and hope for support (Document B and External Source 1) and finally, the last reason I would stay in the army because of Paine’s great words and I wouldn’t want to be a summer soldier (Document D and External Source 2). During the American Revolution, it is very important to notice that in the town of Valley Forge the illness and death estimates increased. This resulted in a rapid decrease of the total amount of soldier in the town. According to the statistics in Document A, it is very clear that the total number of soldier enrolled in the Valley Forge camp decreased in a period of approximately three months.
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.
This shows that the camp lacks in both food and clothes which causes the soldiers to freeze and starve from hunger and lack of clothes to keep them warm. There is constantly a lack of food in the camp and when there is food is it very nasty tasting food. How can I know that after we are done at this camp I will get the supplies I need to survive if I didn’t get them now? I will quit because of the lack of supplies for soldiers at Camp Forge.
At Valley Forge I can smell the stench of the nasty cooking and hear the angry soldiers crying out that there is more meat. Members of the Congress didn’t trust in General Washington. There is a soldier that has worn out shoes, his legs are bare and half naked. Soldiers were healthy but started to grow sick. Deciding not to re-enlist is a choice I made because of the lack of trust, living conditions, illness at Valley Forge.
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.
Leaving Valley Forge The author said , “ Death estimate due to illnesses during Encampment December-Junae is about 1,800 to 2,500” (Document A). They are asking people to leave from valley forge because they know a lot of people could get sick and they could die from that one illness. To many people are dying from illness. Many people have that one illness and they want people to leave because you could get that illness from the person you 're with. The author stated,” Many people fight to get over that illness but can 't and just suffer and die”(Document A).
Sickness hangs heavy in the air with the stench of death. Soldiers walk by me in tattered clothes, some missing shoes and toes. As I lay on the ground of my hut, trying to sleep, that another poor soldier had to build, I shiver and huddle in a ball to try to keep my body heat toward me in an attempt to keep me somewhat warm. The Continental Army made their winter camp in a town called Valley Forge, located eighteen miles out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the winters of 1777 and 1778, there was freezing weather and a couple thousand of sick soldiers and dead soldiers (Busch, 147).
I picture myself in the battle called the antietam battle and we was facing the gettysburg i figure that it was going to be a great and tough one but we the antietam out number them we played smart, we dropped them one by one silently headshots , they didn’t know why there man was leaving so quickly they stopped and said wait a minute why our group is getting small ? One of the leaders said. I was a sniper man taking them out the good thing is they didn’t hear any gunshots all they saw was there man lying on the ground with blood on their skin one of their men was down the war lasted for a couple of weeks this is why the war didn’t last long like the other war did. 1(we had more men than they did) 2.
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.
I’ve already risked my life for this country; now it is someone else’s turn. In conclusion, I am happy to be leaving Valley Forge in one month. I do not want to risk getting sick and dying. I am weary of the starvation, bitter cold, and lack of decent clothing.
Cold was one problem, smoke was another. Hopefully, the soldiers will have the courage to make it through this devastating time. Lack of food, living conditions, and horrid climate are some reasons of why a soldier would quit Valley Forge. One reason a soldier would quit Valley Forge is the lack of food.
