Almost two and a half years after the battles of Lexington and Concord, General George Washington and the Continental Army set up camp in the small town of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The British had captured the city of Philadelphia and where the British were, the Continental Army would be close by. One of the things that most people may not know is that there were not a lot of battles that took place during the winter months between 1775 and 1783. Contrary to popular belief, Valley Forge was not a battle of the Revolutionary War.
Valley Forge can be considered one of the lowest points for morale during the war. Out of the 10,000 troops that were under Washington's command, about 2,000 died of disease, hunger, or the cold. Famous writer Thomas Paine noted that these were the "times that try men's souls." With the help of a Prussian officer named Friedrich von Steuben, the Continental regulars gained discipline and skill in order to hold their own against the better trained British regulars. Eventually the British would surrender at Yorktown, giving victory to the newly formed nation.
Bonus question: what two movies did I reference?
Source of information: The Intellectual Devotional: American History by Kidder and Oppenheim, p. 65
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