Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. It is approximately 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Starvation, disease, and exposure killed nearly 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778. With winter almost setting in, and with the prospects for campaigning greatly diminishing, General George Washington sought quarters for his men. Washington and his troops had fought what was to be the last major engagement of 1777 at the Battle of White Marsh (or Edge Hill) in early December. He devised to pull his troops from their present encampment in the White Marsh area (now Fort Washington State Park) and move to a more secure location for the coming winter. On December 19, 1777, when Washingtons poorly fed, ill-equipped army, weary from long marches, staggered into Valley Forge, winds blew as the 12,000 Continentals prepared for winters fury. Only about one in three of them had shoes, and many of their feet had left bloody footprints from the marching. Grounds for brigade encampments were selected, and defense lines were planned and begun. The first properly constructed hut appeared in three days. One other hut, which required 80 logs, and whose timber had to be collected from miles away, went up in one week with the use of only one axe. These huts provided sufficient protection from the moderately cold, but mainly wet and damp conditions of a typical Pennsylvania winter of 1777–1778. By the beginning of February, construction of 2,000 huts were completed. They provided shelter, but did little to offset the critical shortages that continually plagued the army. During the springtime, as the climate grew considerably warmer, Washington ordered the cutting of two windows into each hut. Mud was also chipped between the logs to improve ventilation.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 23:15:05 +0000
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