If I was a soldier at Valley Forge, I would quit. In “Estimates of Illness and Deaths at Valley Forge” it showed the estimated deaths and illnesses reported in Valley Forge. (Document A) According to document A, in February about 50% of the soldiers got sick. Also, about 1800 to 2500 soldiers died. In the second document it was a painting of George Washington presenting the Congressional Committee to the soldiers at Valley Forge. (Document B) In this painting if you look at the soldiers, you can see that some soldiers don’t have any shoes on. At the bottom left corner, you can also see a dead horse. This might be because of sickness, starvation, or the harsh cold weather. The last document I used was the Diary of Doctor Waldo. (Document
The Colonial army lead by George Washington set up camp in Valley Forge to keep an eye on the British. It is winter and the colonial army is ill-prepared. I think that you should leave Valley Forge. One source of information is on the sick and death rate at Valley Forge (Doc A). About 25% of the people who went to Valley Forge died of diseases. About 50% was was too sick to fight or do anything. My second piece of evidence is a picture of a painting at Valley Forge (Doc B). This picture shows that the patriots were poorly equipped evident by the lack of shoes and good clothing. Also, it shows others leaving. My third and most important piece of evidence is a diary kept by Dr. Waldo a surgeon posted at Valley Forge (Doc C). In his diary, he
Would I’ve quit at Valley Forge. I would stay at Valley Forge because only 15% of people died,there is help on its way, and the journal entry from Dr. Albigence
During the winter of 1777 - 1778 the Patriots were in Valley Forge. Tons of soldiers suffered from disease, starvation, and frostbite. Most of them even died. The conditions were horrible for the soldiers and they were dying out. So would I have quit? I probably would have quit at Valley Forge.
“Poor food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty clothes, nasty cookery, vomit… why are we sent here to starve and freeze?”-Dr. Albigence Waldo “What we know today was not known in late December 1777, victory seemed a long way off; in fact for many, it seemed unlikely.” Had I been a soldier at Valley Forge, would I of given up? If I had the choice, I would have stayed, because of loyalty to our leaders and country, to stay a powerful nation, and for the freedom of me and the people of America.
With all of these soul-shattering, life-changing conditions, it is less of a war and more of a test of strength for the soldiers, here at Valley Forge. Some men were going home and not returning. Other men just completely deserted. Even George Washington’s position was uncertain, the members of congress didn’t trust him. Life at Valley Forge was obviously horrible, and the ugly truth is that it wouldn’t get much better. 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.
The Next reason why I would leave Valley Forge is the cooking they have. The reason that I would leave because of the cooking is because the pots weren’t clean and the food was probably just gross because nothing would have got clean and there was not enough to go around to everybody and that 's why everybody was starving and that was one of the reasons most of the deaths were caused by and also the one that I will be talking about after this one right here.
Through December 1777 to June 1778, George Washington led the Continental Army through winter camp. The Continental Army was an army of Patriot soldiers who fought against Britain. The Patriots hated Britain for their taxes and laws. So they went off to war. There was just one problem, they did not know how bad the conditions were going to be. 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.
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. The decision must be made. It would be so easy to leave and not have to deal with all the death. But it also would be hard because my freedom could rely on this decision and the Continental Army needs my help. 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.
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. Other soldiers did not agree with this claim. Towards the end of camp, I started to believe the claim that our General did not care for us. On the very last days of camp, I had finally made my decision on whether to re-enlist or not. I decided that I was not going to re-enlist. It was not worth re-enlisting if George Washington could not keep his own soldiers alive.
Would you leave Valley Forge, I wouldn't. People were sick, but still those who left were cowards. There are many reasons to stay, for example, the illness and death chart, it states that only 50% of people became ill. (document A) As an estimate, 3,989 out of 8,000 people were sick in 1778. Only 1,800 died, that is not very many to die of illness. Another reason to stay would be in the essay by Thomas Paine. It calls those who quit “The summer soldier and the sunshine warrior” , this was because they could not handle the winter, they could only last the summer. It also says “Tyranny, like hell,” this is because leaving is like giving up on your country. ( document D) In the diary
In the Revolutionary War, Washington and his army are going to stay at a place called Valley Forge. In December of seventeen-seventeenth in Pennsylvania it is a terrible for Washington 's army, they need to win the war. Should I quit or should I stay. To quit is to leave after a certain amount of time. I have decided to reenlist for three reasons which are they need help, they are in terrible conditions, and the congress will help. We were eating fire cakes (Jane Rute).
One of the reasons I would have stayed in Valley Forge is a lot may have been sick but only little died. It is stated in document A that only 3,989 were sick out of 8,000. That means only 50% of the soldiers were sick, also the weather would be the same everywhere else too and you would probably be sick at home or anywhere else, some soldiers did not really realize that when they left. Also it is stated in document A that 1,800 out of 12,000 died. Which is only about 15%, and in those odds I would have definitely stayed. Also if you were smart and stayed away from the sick and be cautious there would be no way you could get sick and die.
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.
On “Feb. 1, 1778, 3989 people were sick so they are going to leave so more food for us.(Bush 154). If people leave, that mean that we get more food. We also have “huts” to live in.(background). We can be warm instead of freezing in the winter night. We also have chimneys and a fireplace in the huts.(background). We have even more warmth in the huts. We at least survived the winter, the hardest time of the year.(background). The winter is the harshest time of the year and we obviously survived through the winter. This is causing me to re-enlist because there are good conditions in the camp.There are some great conditions at the camp so that is why I am staying.