In december of 1777, Washington’s army arrived at valley Forge, a small camp 18 miles from Philadelphia, in need of shelter, food, and supplies. As the encampment continues, conditions only worsened as illness and death began to plague the men leading may soldiers to secede the army. This was a time of difficult challenges for the Continental army. If you were a soldier in Washington’s army would you have left? If I were a soldier at Valley Forge I would have left the army because of the illness and death, lack of support, and hardships that would be faced
At Valley Forge many soldiers separate from illness and even death due to the poor conditions and lack of supplies. According to document A, statistics of people who had
illnesses or died at Valley Forge “3989” people had illnesses and “1800 to 2500” in total had parish. In document see a journal entry, from the account of the soldier, that there was “No Meat, No Meat!” With this evidence, the fear of becoming ill or even dying would persuade anyone that Valley Forge it’s not equipped with the proper resources to alleviate what is wrong with the soldiers. Lastly, if the illness spreading to myself then how would I be able to fight the British.
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Adding on, Valley Forge had little support from the Committee of Congress which they needed severely.
In document B the engraving by William Powell, of George Washington is in the middle greeting the committee, on the left, to the soldiers of Valley Forge, on the right, and explaining the conditions there are forced to live under. Also, with the soldiers desperate plea to better conditions the strike fear into the eyes of the committee which leads to little change in brings need resources to support the army. This engraving depicts how the Congress Stood by and did little to help aid Washington’s
army. Lastly, the soldiers had to go through countless hardships in order to survive. in document see a journal entry from soldier did injury describes the camp having “Poor Food – hard lodging – cold weather – fatigue– Nasty cloaths– Nasty cookery – vomit half my time – smoke out my senses – the devil's in’t – I can’t endure it – why are we sent here to starve and freeze” In conclusion, from all of the evidence provided many soldiers would have opted out to leave the army, headed home to a safe place where they would not have to worry about suffering. In final, if I was a soldier in the Continental Army I would have left because of the illness and death, the lack of support, and the hardships I would’ve been forced to face.
To make matters worse they had to deal with smallpox more dangerously than that is Lice because they rarely bathed or washed themselves or had laundered clothing. Another horrible things that Martin and his soldiers had to deal with was typhus a potential killer disease characterized by usually high fevers and red sports on the skin. Typhus took the lives of most of the Valley Forge Martin was under the brigade command of General James M. Varnum but his actual commander was Colonial John Durkee of the 4th Connecticut regiment, since Varnum was elsewhere. Washington’s continentals fairly well- supplied with food, but in the months preceding a major reason for so much privation at Valley Forge. Martin’s statement about Washington’s main army was misleading about them residing in the White Plains as they crossed the Hudson River and established winter quarters in Middlebrooks, New
The conditions in Valley Forge were terrible like ¨ poor food, cold weather, some of them would vomit half their time.” They really need help because soldiers were just getting sicker. Dr waldo suffered during his time at Valley Forge but stayed loyal to the continental army. He was like inspiring when i read how he stayed through all the pain at Valley Forge and he didn't quit.
In document “A” which is from various says at Valley Forge in December 23, 1777 2,898 soldiers were counted ill. Later at Valley Forge in February 1, 1778 3,989 soldiers were counted ill. Also from various sources between December and June 1,800 to 2,500 soldiers died due to illnesses. Imagine you being one of those ill soldiers in cold and snowy Philadelphia.
Valley Forge, was the toughest obstacle the Continental Army had to face during the Revolutionary War. For about nine months in the cold winter, these soldiers stayed in this area for them to"... be close enough to Philadelphia to keep an eye on the British"(Background). By the end of the war, the colonists were victorious in gaining their independence. Regardless, I would abandon my position as a soldier at Valley Forge. My reasoning are due to the multiple hardship they endure such as living in a harsh environment, sickness that lead to death and lacked numerous resources.
At Valley Forge, December 1777- June 1778. Washington and his Continental army would be staying here for 6 months and it was a very difficult place to live because it was very cold, a lot people are sick, and low on supplies but some are leaving and others are staying. Would you have quit Valley Forge? I would have stayed at Valley Forge because only 15% of people are dying, there is help on the way, and because of the inspirational words of Thomas Paine.
• Valley Forge was among the last of true hardships of humanity during the war
We have had to deal with, “poor food- hard lodging- cold weather- fatigue, “(Document B). In this diary by Dr Waldo, a doctor we have at camp, he has accurately described what life is like at camp. The factors that we undergo make us sick both physically and mentally, these factors make us lose all sense of empowerment to win this war that we once felt, these factors make us want to go home more than anything just to hear our mother’s voice just once more. The absence of encouragement from other colonists and countries, and how I have to go to bed with my stomach empty every single night pushes me over the edge to give up and just
According to Document A, there were 12,000 soldier in valley forge during December 1777. By February 1778 there were only 8,000 soldiers. From December to June 1,800 to 2,500 soldiers died. In December there were 2,898 soldiers sick and by February there were 3,989 soldiers sick. About 50% of soldiers were sick in February. They need help caring for the sick and dying. If I stayed I could help the sick and wounded instead of leaving all the fallen soldiers behind.
Thanks to them, the soldiers were so much improved in health that by the beginning of September they were able to go home. BIBLIOGRAPHY *Internet:www.montauklife.com/teddy98.html *Internet:www.smplanet.com/imperialism/splendid.html *Internet: www.lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/ roughriders.html *World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. R *Encarta 95
The picture in Document B shows George Washington introducing the Congress men to the soldiers and their living condition. This picture shows that George Washington really cares about his soldiers and that he wou...
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
Soldiers faced diseases like measles, small pox, malaria, pneumonia, camp itch, mumps, typhoid and dysentery. However, diarrhea killed more soldiers than any other illness. There were many reasons that diseases were so common for the causes of death for soldiers. Reasons include the fact that there were poor physicals before entering the army, ignorance of medical information, lack of camp hygiene, insects that carried disease, lack of clothing and shoes, troops were crowded and in close quarters and inadequate food and water.
The Confederate soldiers had a tough time living together for years with barely any food, bathing as a rarity and carrying around 40 pounds a day wherever you went.
During the Winter at Valley Forge many deadly diseases were passed through our soldiers. These diseases spread so easily because we had little medical help and not enough medicine. Fifty percent of our soldiers were contaminated with the many diseases and of these 3,989 people that were sick, 2,000 of them died. 8,000 of us were there and we were left with just a little over 5,500 people, we ended up having about 25% of us dead.(Document A) With all these illnesses being spread around by the time we get to leave, we would be so out of shape and misfortunate. If we were to get put in a fight, we would get killed. None of us are prepared, we’re not even halfway through the Pennsylvania winter, and so many lives have been lost, I don’t want to lose mine too.
One of the reasons I am not going to re-enlist at Valley is the amount of sick soldiers and astonishing death toll. By the end of the Winter at Valley Forge, about 50%, or half of the soldiers were sick and 1,800-2,500 soldiers died there (Doc A). People who