The Patriots were feeling defeated after the first 2 years of war, and the makeshift Pennsylvania winter camp didn 't add to their spirits. Valley Forge was a tough time for the American Army, and many soldiers wanted to quit because of the hardships. If I were a soldier, I would have quit Valley Forge for a multitude of reasons. The living conditions were inadequate, there was a minimal amount of supplies, and illness and death was common in the camp. In essence, the cons of staying at Valley Forge outweighed the Pros. For one, the soldier 's living quarters were lacking in quality in a variety of ways. Each hut had only "one door at the end and no windows" (Background Essay). When the fireplace was lit, smoke was a major
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%.
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.
Valley Forge Camp for the Strong People should stay at Valley Forge, because Washington wants to help (Doc B), the death rates were very low (Doc A), and you would be considered a coward for leaving (Doc D). Valley Forge is a winter camp for the continental army during the revolutionary war. Some consider it a to have bad conditions so they would leave, but this is why people should stay. First of all, George Washington tries to help the army by talking to the congressional Committee (Doc B). In the painting of Valley Forge George Washington is talking to the committee and pointing at the army.
I could feel the rough winds and cold air hit my face. In the winter of 1777, Washington set out to Valley Forge, a place just 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia where the British lay. During this winter, it brought us some life threatening hardships. Would you re-enlist? I will not re-enlist Valley Forge for the following reasons of death and illness, harsh conditions, and lack of supplies and support.
The army fell short of the ideal image the American public had created for it, as it lacked experience and professionalism. However, this would not last forever. The army gained professionalism during their time at Valley Forge, eventually resembling the institution the America public feared. Royster, defines Valley Forge as a, “test of national survival because it had been a test of the army’s survival amid hardships caused in large by fellow revolutionaries” (190). It also marked a turning point in the war, as it was the last time the revolutionaries expected to be united with the same enthusiasm as in 1775.
“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. I would have stayed in the war, because I am loyal to our leaders and to America.
I believe I would quit and not renew my enlistment in the Continental Army. My reasoning for this is that there were very bad conditions that the soldiers had to live in. One of the conditions that the soldiers in the Continental Army had to suffer through was their shelter situation. The soldiers were sleeping and living in log “huts”.
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.
He states, “the smell, snoring, and social graces…”, relating a kennel full of pugs to his tent mates. These words are attached to negative connotations since he links the habits and characteristics of a pug to his fellow soldiers. This clearly shows that this soldier does not enjoy staying in the tent. In the following paragraph, the writer explains hygiene and warmth. He states, “It gets freakin’ cold here at night.”
Valley Forge Would You Have Quit Yes I would have quit at Valley Forge and some of the reasons that I would have quit were the dirty clothes, the bad cooking, and the cold weather. These were only a few of the reasons why I didn 't want to stay at Valley Forge, there are many more than that it 's just that those were my top three reasons why I wouldn 't have stayed at Valley Forge. I will go more in depth with reasons why I wouldn’t have stayed at Valley Forge.
Third, the cold weather has caused me to freeze and the smoky air has messed up my senses. According to Document C, the air inside the huts is very smoky, but cannot be let outside because of the lack of opening and the cold air. This means that soldiers are constantly breathing in smoky air, which is not good for their health. The cold weather itself also causes a threat because without the proper clothing the freezing temperatures can cause sickness.
Because of the unsanitary camps and hospitals, diseases started spreading making soldiers sick. In hospitals, doctors and surgeons only went to school for two years. Sometimes they prescribed the wrong medicines or performed unnecessary surgery. One soldier wrote,” If a fellow has to go to the hospital you might as well say good-bye.” Ray describes that the government did not make a good decision by placing the injured people in prisons.
What led to this battle, was General Robert. E. Lee, was leading his army to Pennsylvania, to try to gain a food advantage over the North. Unbeknownst to both sides, this would be the first battle in the North. Lee had hoped that with a northern victory, external countries would view the south as an organized country, and not a group of “rag tag bandits”, as some northerner’s called the south. He also hoped that a northern victory would finally make the Union allow the South to become its own country.
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. The documents A and C prove that only 14% died of sickness. there were about 12,000 of us to start with, and only about 1,800- 2500 died from December to June. Therefore, that leaves just about 9,500 of us left. However, with all the people that abandoned the Continental Army leaves us with just about 8,000 of us.
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.