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%. (Doc A) The Committee of congress didn’t believe in George Washington and though that he was leading a great retreat.
Why should people fight for their independence when there is an extremely high rate of dying which means there’s a good chance they won’t even be alive to experience their freedom? If they won that is. So, now we’re back in time at Valley Forge where conditions are far from good. General Washington had the troops there and many of the men were not looking good. That is why I would leave Valley Forge.
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.
It told me that half of the soldiers on February 1778 were unable to report for duty due to illness. That to me is surprising. Then there were 2,500 dead soldiers after that. They didn't even have a battle and that many soldiers died. So I would have left if that much people died or got ill.
Valley Forge is where George Washington came to a winter camp next to Pennsylvania and tried to help because of the harsh weather and poor amount of food, water, and clothing they were provided with. They thought they could make an army and be get strong to be powerful to be ready to fight the enemies. They call this Valley Forge. I would quit Valley Forge because research shows that about 50% of people died because of the harsh weather and the many illnesses that went around. In December to June 1,800 to 2,500 people died due to illness during the encampment.
Staying at Valley Forge During the winter of 1777 and 1778 Valley Forge winter camp is where George Washington and his troops were located. Valley Forge was very cold and many soldiers got sick or died at Valley Forge. I would stay at Valley Forge. In an essay written by Thomas Paine(Doc. D) in his essay he explains that those who left Valley Forge were made fun of and were called things like summer soldier because they could not handle the cold weather.
They knew little besides drinking, whoring, and carousing about. Few would leave unofficially to help families with crops, living conditions, or to simply roam about. Those who stayed had left trails of diseases and dishevelment in their wake from defecation and dirty clothing all through the thinking that cleaning was women's work. With facing all these hardships George Washington was also facing a crisis of low ammunition. Washington had implemented ways of gaining order within the troops he had.
Would anyone really want to go back to a place where there is barely any food, the living conditions are horrible, the risk of getting sick so great, and a high probability of dying even without the war beginning? This is the question that many faced during the terrible winters of 1777 and 1778. George Washington’s army was camped at Valley Forge, eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the British were camped in warm quarters and ate good and plentiful food. In contrast, American revolutionary soldiers had to battle disease, starvation, and the freezing cold even before they had to fight their enemy. If you were a revolutionary soldier facing these conditions, and your time to re-enlist came up, would you re-enlist or stay on, or would
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.
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.
In the winter of 1777 and 1778, George Washington and thousands of soldiers were in Valley Forge, a winter camp outside of Philadelphia. Where there was disease and terrible living conditions. I would stay because even though soldiers were sick, not a lot were dying, Washington was getting help from the congressional committee, and I would definitely not be a summer soldier, because freedom is actually worth fighting for. One of the reasons I would have stayed in Valley Forge is a lot may have been sick but only little died.
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.
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.
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. On December 19, 1777, General George Washington, the Commander of the U.S. Continental Army led the troops to Valley Forge in Pennsylvania for a few different reasons.
The United States won its independence for Great Britain during the Revolutionary War. America struggled to get the advantage, but eventually was able to win the war. In the beginning it proved difficult to even acquire the troops necessary to fight a war. The troops they got had no adeptness for fighting. They struggled throughout the war and at times their chances for success looked bleak.