How To Quit Dbq Essay

Sickness hangs heavy in the air with the stench of death. Soldiers walk by me in tattered clothes, some missing shoes and toes. As I lay on the ground of my hut, trying to sleep, that another poor soldier had to build, I shiver and huddle in a ball to try to keep my body heat toward me in an attempt to keep me somewhat warm. The Continental Army made their winter camp in a town called Valley Forge, located eighteen miles out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the winters of 1777 and 1778, there was freezing weather and a couple thousand of sick soldiers and dead soldiers (Busch, 147). Many soldiers are not re-enlisting or are deserting before their nine-month re-enlistment has ended. General Washington, desperate to keep an army together to fight the war against Britain has asked us soldiers look into our hearts and ask ourselves the following question: Will you quit? To quit would be to not re-enlist. I have decided to not re-enlist for three reasons which are high chances of illness, horrible lodging and weather, and sparse food and clothing.

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). If I die in our winter camp, won’t it have been in vain? I came here to fight a war for independence from Britain and a country of our own where we can make the laws and taxes, not to die from the bitter cold of our living