The Valley Forge encampment included 1,500 log huts and two miles of fortifications , and essentially became the fourth largest city in America at the time.
What are the facts and significance of Valley Forge?
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of George Washington and the Continental Army. The park is significant for its historical context before, during, and after the American Revolution as well as for the preservation of 3,452 acres of natural beauty.
What are some interesting facts about the Battle of Valley Forge?
- Valley Forge was not the coldest winter of the Revolution. ...
- George Washington was fighting a two-front war — against the British and his own Continental Congress. ...
- The winter at Valley Forge was the last time the United States Army was integrated until the Korean War.
What was the most important thing about Valley Forge?
Valley Forge was where the American Continental Army made camp during the winter of 1777-1778 . It was here that the American forces became a true fighting unit. Valley Forge is often called the birthplace of the American Army.
What was the main killer at Valley Forge?
The most common killers were influenza, typhus, typhoid, and dysentery . Dedicated surgeons, capable nurses, a smallpox inoculation program, and good camp sanitation helped keep the death toll low. General Washington and Lafayette visiting the army at Valley Forge, 1777.
Was there cannibalism in Valley Forge?
Bentley Little, a pretty good horror writer, suggested in the early ’90s there was cannibalism at Valley Forge , but he was nowhere near serious.
What really happened at Valley Forge?
Following British victories at the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777) and the Battle of the Clouds (September 16), on September 18 General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led British soldiers on a raid of Valley Forge, burning down several buildings and stealing supplies despite the best efforts of Lieutenant Colonel ...
How did Valley Forge get its name?
Valley Forge received its name from the iron forge that was constructed along Valley Creek, next to current PA 252 , in the 1740s. A sawmill and grist mill had been built by the time of the encampment, making the area an important supply base for the American fighters.
Why was Valley Forge a turning point?
We rightly regard Valley Forge as the turning point because it tested the nation as it would not be tested again for another fourscore and several years . ... George Washington’s small and fractious army limped into its bleak Pennsylvania encampment after defeats at Brandywine, Paoli and Germantown.
What happened at Valley Forge quizlet?
Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777-1778 during the American Revolutionary War . Starvation, disease, and exposure killed nearly 2,500 American soldiers by the end of February 1778. ...
How cold was it at Valley Forge?
The Encampment saw basically two periods of severe cold. The end of December with a low of 6 Degrees and the end of March with a low of 8 Degrees. The low in January reached 12 Degrees and February was 16 Degrees.
Who owned Valley Forge?
In the 1750’s a sawmill was added and in 1757, the entire property was purchased by a prominent Quaker ironmaster, John Potts .
Why did so many soldiers died at Valley Forge?
The soldiers who marched to Valley Forge on December 19, 1777 were not downtrodden or desperate. ... Yet cold and starvation were not the most dangerous threats to soldiers at Valley Forge: Diseases like influenza, dysentery, typhoid and typhus killed two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 soldiers who died during the encampment.
Who helped train at Valley Forge?
Baron Friedrich von Steuben , a Prussian military officer, provided important training for the American troops. As the drillmaster of Valley Forge, he taught the soldiers how to use the bayonet, and most importantly, how to re-form lines quickly in the midst of battle.
How many soldiers deserted at Valley Forge?
It was virtually a daily occurrence. From the British perspective, Donald Barr Chidsey relays in his book, Valley Forge (p. 26) that a reasonably precise figure is a Tory statement that between September 27, 1777 and March 26, 1778, that 1,134 men deserted the American Army and came into Philadelphia.
