Washington eventually resorted to sending men, led by Nathanael Greene , on foraging missions to procure what provisions could be found in the surrounding countryside.
Beyond vying with Congress for the supplies his army desperately needed, Washington had also to contend with threats to his authority that came from ordeals like the Conway Cabal and rivalries between military leaders. Washington's steady leadership was crucial to keeping the army intact through the logistical and administrative hardships of the winter of , and it likely accounted for the fact that there was a never a mass desertion or mutiny at Valley Forge.
Despite brutal conditions, Valley Forge marked a milestone in the army's military experience. Baron von Steuben worked to bring uniformity to the continental soldiers, who had seen combat, but lacked the martial training to pose an effective threat to the British. He developed a system of drill for the entire army and taught the men combat maneuvers that equipped them to rival the well-trained British regulars. Lafayette arrived at the camp with the army in December, Like Steuben, Lafayette engaged directly with his soldiers and became well known for enduring the same hardships as his men while working to ensure they were provided with as many resources as possible.
Esteemed for his bravery, Lafayette became popular among the Continentals and well known for his dedication both to General Washington and the American cause. Revitalized, reorganized, and uniformly trained, the army would forge ahead and display their newfound professionalism and discipline at the Battle of Monmouth in June, Rev War Article.
The soldiers lived in huts built on the plateau and continued training on the parade ground at its center. Secondly, Valley Forge was far enough away from the rich farmland north of Philadelphia to prevent the army from becoming a burden on the local population. Lastly, Valley Forge was close enough to the occupied capital of Philadelphia for the Continental Army to keep an eye on the British and prevent any surprise attacks on settlements in the countryside.
As Washington explained, if the army was farther away, then "many of our friends would be exposed to all the miseries of the most insulting and wanton depredation. As his army marched into Valley Forge on December 19, Washington hoped that his officers and soldiers, with "one heart" and "one mind," would surmount the troubles that lay ahead of them.
While Washington knew most of his men were fit for duty, he calculated that at least a third of them had no shoes. Many did not have a decent coat to protect against the constant rain that plagued the camp. Campaign piece on Valley Forge produced in partnership with Mount Vernon. Washington ordered his soldiers to build wooden huts for themselves, twelve by twelve feet each, and then search the countryside for straw to use as bedding.
He hoped this would keep them warm since there were not enough blankets for everyone. Even worse, his quartermaster reported that he had just twenty-five barrels of flour and only a little salt pork to feed the entire army. As Washington explained in a letter to Henry Laurens, the President of the Continental Congress, unless something was done quickly, "this Army might dissolve. Promising to "share in the hardship" and "partake of every inconvenience," Washington moved with his closest aides into a two-story stone house near Valley Forge Creek.
He complained of a "malignant faction," led by Horatio Gates , the hero of Saratoga , Thomas Mifflin, the nation's former Quartermaster General, and Thomas Conway, a French soldier of Irish descent, who had recently been named to the Board of War by Congress. Washington railed against the threesome, dubbed the "Conway Cabal" by later historians. Washington was able to shore up his support in Congress by his gracious reception of delegates who visited the camp in January and February.
They realized that Washington respected them as the leaders of the nation and had no intention of launching a coup. They in turn listened to his suggestions for improving recruitment, reorganizing state regiments, and keeping the best officers in the army.
As he fought to maintain his position as the Commander-in-Chief, Washington received key support from several officers. The encampment brought together men, women, and children of nearly all ages, from all walks of life, of every occupation, from different ethnic backgrounds, and of various religions.
Although most soldiers came from a Protestant background, Catholic and Jewish personnel also were among those in camp. Civilians played a key role in the encampment. The local community was largely Quaker. Most of the nearby prominent farm and industrial families were members of the Religious Society of Friends. These persons and their Scottish, Irish, and German neighbors assisted the army to varying extents as their sentiments ranged in degree from staunch patriot to fervent Tory.
Distressed and haughty New England officers in camp leveled their most impassioned complaints at the locals who did not appear to support the cause.
In spite of the resentment leveled at them, it was often the Quakers and other religious societies such as the Bethlehem and Lititz Moravians and the Ephrata Cloister members who rendered valuable assistance to sick soldiers while many citizens stood aside.
Within this civilian climate, the army was able to stabilize its situation and concentrate on a much-needed training program. Valley Forge was demographically, militarily, and politically an important crossroads in the Revolutionary War. Recent scholarship shows that a mix of motives was at play, particularly in the minds of men who enlisted in early Some of these men served out of patriotism, but many served for profit or individual liberty as in the case of enslaved, indentured, and apprenticed peoples , and many more were coerced, as most colonies, on the advice of Congress and pressure from General Washington, introduced conscription in As well, the participants had different values, and especially different ideas about what words such as liberty, equality, slavery, and freedom actually meant in practice.
Valley Forge provides a site for exploring this complicated story and examining the multiple perspectives of those involved there — from soldiers to citizens, officers to enslaved Americans, from women to American Indians — the encampment was a microcosm of a revolutionary society at war.
Also important, the ideas and ideals held dear by Americans today were not forged at Valley Forge, but rather contested — not just between patriots and the British — but also among different Americans. Valley Forge and the Revolution put the United States on a long road to defining those ideals in ways satisfactory to all — a process still in the making. Despite the difficulties, there were a number of significant accomplishments and events during the encampment.
Because of its far-reaching consequences, the single most noteworthy achievement was the maturation of the Continental Army into a professional force under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben.
At the same time he realized that American soldiers would not submit to harsh European-style regulation. Von Steuben did not try to introduce the entire system of drill, evolutions, maneuvers, discipline, tactics, and Prussian formation into the American army:. I should have been pelted had I attempted it, and should inevitably have failed. The genius of this nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French. Instead, von Steuben demonstrated to the men the positive results that would come from retraining.
He provided hands-on lessons, and Washington's independent-minded combat veterans were willing to learn new military skills when they saw immediate results. As spring wore on, whole brigades marched with newfound precision and crisply executed commands under the watchful eye of the baron. The Inspector General also spelled out directives for officers and eventually wrote a complete military handbook.
The army hereafter would be more cohesive, healthier, and highly efficient. A new professionalism was born. The proponents of this movement, which became known as the Conway Cabal, suggested that General Gates, the victorious leader at the Battle of Saratoga, was perhaps more fit for the top command position. This splinter group of officers and congressmen blamed Washington for having lost the capital to the British and argued that he put the war effort in jeopardy. As winter wore on, the so-called cabal dissolved, bringing disgrace to and ending the careers of several of its leaders.
The general lobbied Congress to confer with him in person in order to resolve some of the supply and organizational difficulties that had plagued the army during the campaign. The reorganization of represented a compromise between civilian and military ideals.
Realizing that the army existed at only a portion of its authorized strength, Congress consolidated regiments and created a more streamlined force. European recognition augmented congressional reforms. French assistance was crucial to the success of the Revolution. Starting in , vital French aid in the form of military materiel flowed to America.
The efforts of American agents in France and the strong performance of the continentals at the Battles of Saratoga and Germantown convinced the French to do more than provide covert aid.
At Valley Forge in the spring of , the army joyously celebrated the formal French recognition of the United States as a sovereign power and valuable alliance with this leading European nation. Though it would take years to bear fruit at Yorktown in , the alliance provided Washington with assistance from the formidable French navy as well as additional troops he needed to counter British marine superiority. The commander in chief rapidly set troops in motion: a small force marched in and took possession of the city.
The majority of the army swiftly advanced from staging areas on the north side of the Schuylkill River and southeast of camp toward the Delaware River and New Jersey in order to bring on a general engagement. Monmouth hurt the British in the short term and provided the Americans with a long-term boost in confidence. In the summer of , Washington could claim that the war effort was going well. Thanks to the contributions of von Steuben and others, the Continental Army was more unified than ever before.
The expected arrival of the French greatly altered British war plans. Philadelphia was back under patriot control. Washington knew that for every year the war dragged on the Americans held the advantage. The British withdrawal from Pennsylvania protracted the war and played into his plans.
The success of Valley Forge also can be measured in longer-term gains. Many regard Valley Forge as the birthplace of the American army. The Continental Army forced the British to retreat at the battle of Monmouth, New Jersey, in June , and fought with skill in the southern campaigns that led to the victory at Yorktown in The symbolic importance that Americans have attached to Valley Forge since the 19th century both complicates and enriches its authentic history.
The desire to commemorate began to shape the history of this place soon after the army marched out. The scale and intensity of the encampment devastated the landscape of the Valley Forge area. The land itself was pockmarked with entrenchments, muddy military roads and paths, some 2, huts, offal and other refuse pits, and work areas. Farmers quickly recovered, and within the decade the huts were largely gone, fields replanted, and woodlots re-sprouted.
On both sides of the river, farms were improved, farmhouses enlarged, and large barns and other outbuildings added, changing the scale of what had been modest farms at the time of the encampment.
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