Harsh Winter At Valley Forge

War can kill in the typical ways such as gunshot or canonfire, but it can also kill in ways that one may not expect, as it did at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. In December of 1777, George Washington and his troops made camp at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania with the British army stationed comfortably nearby in Philadelphia. The winter was not kind to the American soldiers, as they suffered from frostbite, starvation, and many other things that negatively impacted their health. Despite the condition of his men, Washington still wanted them to keep fighting for another 9 months. If you were suffering through the harsh winter at Valley Forge, would you have re-enlisted? I certainly would not re-enlist for another 9 months in the army because of the amount of deaths and illnesses, the extremely harsh conditions, and the lack of supplies and support for the American cause.
Firstly, there were many illnesses and deaths during the winter at Valley Forge. About 15% of the original amount of soldiers were dead by the end of the winter, and about 50% had become …show more content…
As seen in the painting, Committee of Congress at Valley Forge by William Henry Powell, the Congressional Committee has an abundance of nice clothing and shoes, while the soldiers have only what is left of what they came with: tattered uniforms, torn socks and no shoes (Document B). Although the Committee should be helping the soldiers and donating these things to them, they have little faith in the Continental Army which causes them to hesitate in doing so. Dr. Waldo (Document C) also explains that they had very little food at the encampment, and how that resulted in deaths and lack of morale amongst the soldiers. Based on this information, I definitely would not have re-enlisted because I would have lost hope that the army would receive any support or supplies that would aid in their