Should I Stay or Should I Go
It was freezing, feet and hands numb, stomach growling at me like a bear. I needed to leave. It was 1777, George Washington and his troops arrived at Valley Forge. It was “1 mile away from Pennsylvania” (Background Essay) and nowhere to really go, and no one really wanted to go. If you were a soldier would you stay or would you leave? I would not reenlist to the army because of the sickness and diseases, terrible and harsh conditions, and being overworked and freezing.
The soldiers in Valley Forge had to deal with illness and disease. In Document A it says that, “in a six month span, there were more than 1,800 deaths. It also says that they lost four thousand troops because of either death or quitting in two months.” This shows how little medicine and doctors they had
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In Document C it says the soldiers had little to no food at all, they would chant, “No Meat, No Meat” (Document C)! It also says, “My skin and eyes were almost spoiled with continual smoke” (Document C). This proves just how harsh conditions and air quality these soldiers had to endure through which I definitely couldn’t. The final reason I would quit from Valley Forge because of the jealousy and overworking of the soldiers and animals. In the picture on Document B it shows a dead horse, a man going insane, and another man being helped from the ground after he fell over.. In Document B it says, “George Washington presenting Congressional Committee to soldiers at Valley Forge.” People were probably jealous of the congressman and many of them were overworked this caused them to get sick or die. Because of Because of illness, harsh conditions, and overworking and jealousy I would not stay at Valley Forge. That's like saying you would rather stay outside in the zombie apocalypse than inside a safe haven. You’d rather die than be alive. You just wouldn’t do it, and that's why I won’t
In every soldier 's heart, it’s just as cold and sad as the snow around them. General George Washington took thousands of men across the Delaware River to Valley Forge which was eighteen miles from Philadelphia, in which the men wait. But Washington needs men to fight. And winter is coming brutal and with no mercy, are you going to stay and fight? Or leave to go back to a normal life?
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.
This shows that even though they were starving, sick, and close to death, many soldiers continued to train and get stronger, which ends up paying off. Also, in the writing The American Crisis by Thomas Paine, he writes about how rough of a time the soldiers faced and how the men trained at this time.
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.
This is one of the reasons I would stay. I know this because I was able to see in Document A it said, 3989 out of 8000 soldiers ended up sick, yes that is a bunch of people, about 50%, but they never actually died because of it. Also in Document A it said Only 1800 out of 12000 people actually died. That's only about 15% which
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 key idea of my argument is to explain why I want to not re-enlist based on the three reasons. It matters to ask a soldier, whether or not they would re-enlist because if everyone were to re en-list, it wouldn’t matter if you re en-listed or not, but if no one were to re-enlist, no one would stay to fight the war. Yes, we do need more healthy men to fight in the war, but if these are the conditions soldiers have to live with, then many would die just from the brutal conditions and not even from fighting in the war. If they supplied the soldiers at Valley Forge with warm living places and warm clothes, many, including myself, would most likely re-enlist and help fight the war. But without that, I think quitting would be the best solution for me.
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. One reason a soldier would quit Valley Forge is the lack of food.
I refuse to die under these circumstances. I am going to leave Valley Forge in one
Valley Forge was a winter camp 18 miles away from Philadelphia, where George Washington took his troops during 1777 and 1778. The British army is comfortable in Philadelphia, while Valley Forge has harsh conditions with the cold weather and the lack of supplies. I will not reenlist when my 9-month enlistment is over. I will not reenlist for these reasons, diseases, lack supplies, and cold weather and smoky air.
Hook/Background Information: Valley Forge was a place for heros but many left. Soldiers died of hunger and harsh weathers. Was Valley Forge that bad? Valley Forge was a place of misery. Many soldiers abandoned the forge and others abandoned tragically.
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.
Many soldiers have “recovered from their traumatic experience with the right care” and can