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.
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%.
Valley Forge, The Winter Camp of Death and Illness I would quit and leave Valley Forge. Valley Forge is a winter camp that soldiers had to stay at. I have many evidences that I would quit Valley Forge. One evidence that I would quit is from Doc A. It is the research estimate of illness and death at Valley Forge.
I did not re-enlist because of brutal conditions, sickness, and very little food. I could not re-enlist because those three factors were essential to surviving a harsh winter during a very hard war. “ The devil is in it,” ( Waldo 151). Valley Forge was a brutal, sick, and starving winter camp. Some soldiers told me at camp that George Washington did not care for his soldiers.
In the harsh, dreaded winter at Valley Forge, your enlistment has finally retired. But now there is a decision to be made. Will I stay and be loyal to the Continental Army. Or will I abandon and never look back at the Continental Army.
Valley Forge was a winter camp for Washington’s soldiers. During this time many died and got sick, but they also trained and got stronger as an army. Even though the colonists had a rough time at Valley Forge, I would have stayed. First off, in the engraving by William Henry Powell, Washington presented his soldiers to the Congressional Committee. Washington is telling the Committee about how he trained the colonists while at Valley Forge.
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.
The colonists didn’t have any experience with keeping things sanitary due to this lack of experience they contributed to the disease and death going around Jamestown. In document A it said, “ colonists dug shallow wells to supply themselves with sources of drinking water.” This shows that they were uneducated in keeping things sanitary and safe, because if they were educated in starting a new colony they would have known that digging a shallow well would only bring in salt water which is deadly when ingested abundantly. Another example of the colonists not keeping things sanitary due to their lack of experience is “ 110 colonists from famine and disease’’ (document E) This is proof that the colonists didn’t have any background experience when
Hook/Background Information: Valley Forge was a place for heros but many left. Soldiers died of hunger and harsh weathers. Was Valley Forge that bad? Valley Forge was a place of misery. Many soldiers abandoned the forge and others abandoned tragically.
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.
Stay, fight, win at Valley Forge The Continental Army, which are people fighting in the Revolutionary war for U.S., are staying at Valley Forge in 1777. They were staying at Valley Forge because they are keeping an eye on the British army. I will stay at Valley Forge because not many people are staying so they need more people now more than ever. In The American Crisis by Thomas Paine (Document D) it shows that people want to win. Thomas Paine says that if it’s hard work then it’s worth more, than if it’s a easy win you wouldn’t care as much.
The war the colonists had been fighting against Britain has gone to a slow; they were waiting for winter to be over to fight in the warm rays of the sun in summer. They stayed in a camp in called,”Valley Forge” Most soldiers left because of the bad treating and don’t know what to do. The ones that stayed got sick or died. Quitting Valley Forge for most wasn’t much of a thought of leaving or staying. Most left because of sickness and death that swept throughout the camp of valley forge.
I was only a young boy when I was forced to be one of the Continental soldiers, this was one of the coldest winter I’ve ever experienced…… It was on December 9th, 1777, when General Washington and we, the Continental Army, had to build a winter camp at a place that in the future, killed thousands of soldiers, and the name of this place is Valley forge. This place is about 20 mis away from Philadelphia. But here’s the problem, my enlistment is up in one month, my friends wants me to stay so we can fight for liberty and freedom, but I don’t think I’m able to afford the cost of dying,I thought long about this, but I choose to leave….. (Waldo 141) Starting from the first day we arrived at Valley Forge, my life never had been better, instead, it’s
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.
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.
