Here At Valley Forge Essay

Soldiers that are living at Valley forge are tempted to pack up their things and leave because of the deaths and illnesses spreading through the “camp”. George Washington is the leader and he is urging people to stay and fight, having men say motivational speeches to the people. I would stay and fight at Valley Forge. The deaths and illnesses were never over 50% and the people who got sick only half of them died, I’d rather die for my freedom than die without a cause. Only about 6,887 illness records were recorded out of 20,000 people. From December to June it is estimated that about 1800 to 2500 people died (document a). In Dr. Waldo’s diary it says that even though it was a hard and miserable 9 months, everyone was still cheerful and

War is not hanging out and eating ice cream. It is fighting for what is right and survival. It is December 15th, 1777 in Pennsylvania. I am in Valley Forge and it’s either freedom or death. It’s very cold and I can hardly stand it. Getting food is hard. It’s very hard to survive. It has come to the soldiers to decide whether to stay or re-enlist and fight or quit (not re-enlist) and helplessly die from freezing to death or smallpox. After thinking long and hard… I have decided to re-enlist, because General Washington needs healthy men, the people need my help, and I want my freedom.

The Battle of Valley Forge was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. Although no actual military battle was waged here, George Washington’s Continental Army faced some physical and mental battles of their own in this Pennsylvania town. It was here at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where the Continental Army Soldiers of the Revolutionary War chose to go after being defeated in the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. During this winter, Washington’s troops came to this encampment to recuperate and train for future battles with the British. The winter of 1777-78 was terribly cold, bitter, and harsh. These conditions made things very difficult for General Washington’s military unit. The unit’s morale and physical strengths were severely tested throughout this challenging and historical time.

At Valley Forge, there were shortages of supplies. This was everything from food to clothing to medication. Washington's soldiers were sick from disease, hunger, and exposure. The Continental Army slept in small log cabins and has to suffer cold weather while the british warmed themselves in homes originally occupied by the british. The patriots went nearly starving while the redcoats soldiers were on the verge of being fat.

“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.

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.

Winter of 1777, Valley Forge was a refuge for many soldiers like me. After retreating from Howe’s army, General Washington along with the half the Continental army had set up base for three months. The small camp with few necessities was 18 miles away from Pennsylvania. The camp was a snow covered area, with small wood lodges that were not ventilated, no meat, low food supply, tattered clothes and shoes, and injuries from walking. Consider being surrounded with all of theses atrocious circumstances, then ask yourself, would you stay at Valley Forge? My decision was not to stay because of the illness and death rate, the harsh weather and living conditions, and major lack of vital supplies.

Our men our dying off and I don’t know if we can bare these conditions much longer. It is the winter of 1777, and General Washington has quartered us at Valley Forge. Many of our men are deserting us or their re-enlistment point is arriving shortly. My decision point of March 1st is approaching quickly too and many of my fellow soldiers are asking me if I am going to re-enlist for another 9 months. I was a tough decision, but I have decided to reenlist. I want to re-enlist because the my country, General Washington and the Army need help, we have shelter, and I, like almost everyone else, want freedom from Britain.

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).

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.

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). Many soldiers are not re-enlisting or are deserting before their nine-month re-enlistment has ended. General Washington, desperate to keep an army together to fight the war against Britain has asked us soldiers look into our hearts and ask ourselves the following question: Will you quit? To quit would be to not re-enlist. I have decided to not re-enlist for three reasons which are high chances of illness, horrible lodging and weather, and sparse food and clothing.