Valley Forge: Why I Want To Die

Why I Didn’t Stay At Valley Forge Ayush Zalawadia 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?

The question is: Do I re-enlist or do I quit? Do I stay and fight with the army or do I go home to my aging mother and my family that I miss dearly? I am choosing to re-enlist, because the Army needs as much help as possible, things were beginning to get better, and there is George Washington

I’m standing in the center of our camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The British are 20 miles away in Philadelphia. Men surround me, shivering, starving, and covered in their own vomit. I know I do not want to be a part of this madness. The winter of 1777-1778 has been rough enough already. I’ve been here for 8 months, and in 1 more month I can choose to re-enlist, or go home. My decision has already been made. Although George Washington is trying his best, his monotonous words will not be enough to keep me in this graveyard. I refuse to risk my health and in all likelihood die from the sickness and disease going around camp. I refuse to starve, be frigid, live in smolder-filled huts, and remain unclothed and unhealthy. I refuse to die under these circumstances. I am going to leave Valley Forge in one

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.

Valley Forge: Would I Stay or Would I Quit 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.

Smoke, sickness, and no shelter are all things that a soldier would not want to see; Valley Forge is something no one would have ever wanted to see. I have been fighting for nine months and my mother is dying; I will not be re-enlisting. Would you have re-enlisted or quit fighting for yourself and/or others. The reasons I am not going to re-enlist are because of death and illness, harsh conditions, and lack of support and supplies. First of all, I am not going to re-enlist because of death and illness.

Time to grow up and stay Reasons to stay at Valley Forge 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.

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.

Valley Forge: Would you have quit? 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.

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.

There are so many soldiers getting sick with smallpox (Root) and other illnesses, there is a high chance I will get sick too. I overheard General Washington speaking to one of the surgeons concerning the health of our troop. 49% of all of the soldiers are sick. 1800 to 2500 of these die (Busch, 147) including one of my dear childhood friends that came with me to fight the war. I walk by my fellow soldiers and cringe at the sight of some with missing toes or worse (Powell, 149).

Some Patriots are staying but others are leaving. I would stay at Valley Forge because only 15% of people died, there is help on it's way, and the journal entry from Dr.Albigence Waldo a connecticut surgeon. Only 15% of people at Valley Forge died. Only 1,800 of 12,000 died. Which was around 15% of people or in other words not a lot of people died you had a 85% chance to survive.

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.

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.

These were my top three reasons to why I wouldn’t stay in Valley Forge. The cooking the clothes and also the freezing my butt off during all of that happening I don’t understand how these people made it through the times that I couldn’t even make it through a day out at Valley Forge. I most likely wouldn’t have been able to stay there the whole time at Valley Forge. This will conclude my essay on Valley Forge would you have