American Revolution: Valley Forge
Mr. K
The Patriots won some key victories in the early war years, such as Trenton, Princeton, and Saratoga. However,
in the winter of 1776-7, the American side was near collapse, being short of both supplies and troops. Death and
desertion had taken a great toll. Patriot troops lacked decent food, clothing, and shelter. Most of the troops were
without blankets, shoes, and shirts. Joseph Martin, a young Patriot, wrote that “We had a hard duty to perform and little
or no strength to perform it with.” He made a rough pair of moccasins for himself out of a scrap of cowhide. Though
the moccasins hurt his feet, they were better than going barefoot in the snow, he wrote, like “hundreds of my
companions had to do, till they might be tracked by their bloods upon the rough, frozen ground.” General George
Washington wrote that without additional troops, “I think the game is pretty near up.” One of his biggest challenges
was keeping the American forces together. Another challenge faced by American leaders was a lack of funds. They had
no authority to raise money to finance the war though taxes, and money was desperately needed to supply the troops.
To help boost Americans’ lagging spirits, the Patriot writer and activist Thomas Paine wrote: “These are the
times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of
their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
The winter of 1778 was no better. Bitter cold took its toll, as did illness. Out of the 12,000 soldiers at Valley
Forge, Pennsylvania, more than 2,000 soldiers died from diseases such as dysentery, pneumonia, typhus, and typhoid.