Valley Forge: Would You Have Quit?

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

December 1777, at a winter camp in Valley Forge with General George Washington, about 18 miles northwest from Philadelphia. I will stay and go through whatever it takes to gain our freedom with George Washington, to separate from Britain and start our own nation. Illness is spreading throughout the camp rapidly, and there are men dieing due to disease. There is a 20 percent chance of death. (Doc A) There are 1,800 men dead. Several men and I are still hope that we will gain our freedom and defeat the British. The congressional Committee has come to talk and debate with General George Washington about supplies. (Doc B) We are very low on supplies, bad clothes and harsh cold weather that won’t set us back. Some men are training with George Washington

There were farms and small stores in the area, but there was not enough food to feed all of the soldiers and many became desperate and attempted to steal food from the farmers and food stores. Washington ended up writing to Congress, saying subsistence in the best manner they can ...“I am now convinced, beyond a doubt that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place… this army must inevitably be reduced to one or other of these three things. Starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain …” After letting Congress know this, General Washington received a message saying a large British group of troops was nearby (Allen 27). Washington’s men prepared to march, but because of the worsening winter weather conditions and the fact they had no boots or shoes and very little clothing, they thought it would be too dangerous to march (Allen

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 document C which is a passage from a doctor’s diary. He was one of the army’s doctors. His name was Dr. Albigence Waldo. Therefore, that proves that there was medical care.

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

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.

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).

In document B it clearly shows George Washington asking the powerful and well dressed men for help, also you know they can help because they are a part of congress. It was kind of pathetic they are grown men and are in tattered clothes with holes and some sick with no shoes or anything but it wasn’t like that for long. Still the Patriots had willingness to fight for their country which held them together. Also it was quoted in the caption in document B that “The committee of five congressmen stayed several weeks and was helpful in getting more food and clothing to the soldiers. So George Washington and the congressmen could help, which only the smart ones figured