VALLEY FORGE

VALLEY FORGE, Continental army encampment during the winter and spring of 1777–1778, is situated on the west bank of the Schuylkill River, in Chester County, Pa., about twenty-five miles northwest of Philadelphia.

After the American defeats at BRANDYWINE, Paoli, and GERMANTOWN and after the British had occupied Philadelphia (then the national capital), Gen. George Washington led 11,000 regular troops to Valley Forge to take up winter quarters. The site provided convenient access to key roads, nearby military supplies, local farmlands, and a nearby health resort that could serve as a hospital for troops. Some officers also thought that the sloping hills, flanked by the Schuylkill and supported in the rear by the high, winding, wooded gorge of Valley Creek, could be made impregnable against attack. As a further safeguard, picket parties were detached to watch the movement of the British.

The encampment at Valley Forge was plagued by bad weather and poor conditions. An unexpectedly early winter, with heavy snows and abnormally freezing weather during Christmas week, prevented the delivery of regular supplies. A January thaw brought mud so deep on the roads that hundreds of army wagons had to be abandoned. Even when transport was available, the Continental Congress's neglect of the army and the commisary officers' failure to forward food, clothing, and supplies by the most available routes added to the troops' sufferings. At one point Washington reported that he had almost 3,000 men who were unfit for duty because they were barefoot "and otherwise naked." On several occasions, he expressed his fears that only extraordinary efforts could prevent the army from disbanding. Many soldiers deserted; the civilian governor of Philadelphia, Joseph Galloway, stated that more than 2,000 deserters had asked for his help. Camp fever—probably typhus—and smallpox were epidemic during the army's stay at Valley Forge, and medical supplies were lacking. About 2,500 men died and were buried in unmarked graves.

Despite the difficulties, however, the encampment at Valley Forge proved an important turning point for the Continental Army. Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat who embraced the American cause, suggested new practices in training and command that helped boost the troops' morale. At the same time, Baron Friedrich von Steuben introduced efficient drilling techniques that improved military discipline. The formal Franco-American alliance, news of which reached Valley Forge in May 1778, resulted in improved equipment and supplies for the soldiers. All told, efforts like these helped reduce desertions and solidify a core military force in the Continental Army.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bill, Alfred Hoyt. Valley Forge: The Making of an Army. New York: Harper, 1952.

Boyle, Joseph Lee. Writings from the Valley Forge Encampment of the Continental Army. Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 2000.

Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: the American Revolution, 1763–1789. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.