Valley Forge

Here's the brain dump. Valley Forge held a forge before it was occupied by 12,000 soldiers in 1777, hence the place name. The British burnt out Mr. Ewes' forge before turning on him and his men as he fled with what was left of the equipment. At the same time, Philadelphia had been occupied by the British and soon enough George Washington selected Valley Forge, a day's march from Philly (today, a 20 minute car ride) as the place to assemble his makeshift soldiers and wait out the winter.

They arrived in December 1777, after harvest, but in time to create a muddy mess everywhere. Washington stayed in a tent until his men (with accompanying wives and children in the rear), built 1,500 log "hutts," denuding the nearby forests and pulling up all the neighboring fences. Washington offered $100 to the soldier who could devise the best roof, and they went up in a uniform fashion, regiment by regiment.

Inside is a fireplace at one end, no windows, and bunkbeds against the wall, stacked three high. Officers' "hutts" were bigger, for just one to two officers, with real beds and some furniture. I tried my luck getting into the lower bunk of the enlisted. It was a pretzel maneuver. Younger Samuel managed the middle and top bunks. But they were all just wood planks. Sanitation was a problem. Smallpox, diptheria, influenza, and other nasty diseases, were rampant. Before Spring, 2,000 of the 12,000 had died. Food supplies were low. Soldiers often lived off of 500 calories a day, mostly consisting of "bread" smoked over a fire. Washington was a well respected leader and worked to improve the conditions of his soldiers. This included the first immunization campaign in America, against smallpox. This proved a lifesaver then and in the future.

With the "hutts" built, Washington rented a house as his headquarters. (Washington, by the way, did not accept any pay for himself, only that his expenses be met, for which he provided an exacting account.) He sheltered up to 25 people in this modest house, in the end building a separate wing in the back. He brought in young men to assist him, of good character, strong education and excellent handwriting. They include teenage Marquis de Lafayette, lately of France. Meanwhile Baron Von Steuben of Prussia joined the leadership, teaching farmers how to be soldiers. He developed a drill book, "The Blue Book" still used by the U.S. Army today. By Spring, farmers and merchants had become a unit of disciplined, trained soldiers. That was really the triumph of Valley Forge. Was the winter the harshest ever? No. Were any battles fought at Valley Forge? No. But it was the making of the Continental Army.

As Washington's headquarters were closed for renovations, we walked around the grounds and came upon a most excellent statue of Washington, crafted in 1788 and based on a face cast of Washington. His family declared it the most realistic of any portraits of the man. He is shown with a sword at his feet, a farmer's cane in his hand. He had finished the business of making a new nation and only wanted to return to private life. At this statue, an anonymous modern patriot had left a bouquet of flowers.