You’re freezing, hungry, and very low on resources. You are doing everything you can to survive. But you are asked to stay there and fight for your country for another couple of months, what would you do? In December, 1777 our captain, George Washington, took us, the Continental army, to Valley Forge to go to war with the British for independence. George Washington chose this spot because it was near the Quakers who George thought would provide supplies to us, and it was also 18 miles away from the British who were not expecting an attack so he chose this spot to be able to keep, an eye on them too. If you were them, would you have re-enlisted to fight for your country or go home to see your family? If you were asking me this question I would not re-enlisted because of these reasons… …show more content…
Sickness and even death is a good place to start off why I wouldn’t stay.
According to document A there was an estimated amount of deaths that ranged from 1800 to 2500 deaths! If you do the math that means that 1 out of every 10 men are going to die due to sickness or other causes. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to die. I don’t even want to think about dying. And I know I would only have a 90% chance at surviving so that’s why I wouldn’t re-enlist.
We were also extremely short on supplies, In document B, George Washington had to beg the committee to donate some resources while we men sat there without any nice hats or boots. Some of our men even lost their toes because our shoes were destroyed and our feet were exposed to the harsh snow. We barely even had any food for us, since it was the winter time it was extremely hard to find any meat lying around.I would have left because we were very low on supplies and that cause people to suffer tremendously. And the committee wasn’t about to help us out even though we were also fighting for
them. The snow was freezing, and the wind was violent. We were forced to stay in our tiny huts built to stay warm but every time we set a fire we would smoke ourselves out in there. In document C the letter talks about how to soldiers were losing their toes and were having to smoke themselves out in order to stay warm. Our huts had no ventilation so the cold wouldn’t come into the huts, which means that the smoke stayed in the huts all the time. Which was extremely bad for our health, and that led to illness and sometimes death. I would not have stayed in Valley Forge because i’m a sunshine soldier and only like to fight when it’s bright outside and it feels good on your skin, and you are able to find food easier with no animals hibernating to avoid the cold.
In the winter of 1777 and 1778 George Washington and the Continental Army had a rough time at Valley Forge. Valley Forge was 18 miles outside of Philadelphia . Some of the soldiers left because all they did was work it was cold and they had bad clothing like worn out shoes and they were getting sick but not all left some stayed loyal and times got even harder but they were so devoted to stay and fight for their freedom. So I would not have quit because…..
Imagine yourself in these three scenarios. You are fighting with the Continental Army, and you only have 6 days worth of food at Valley Forge, you're having financial issues at home plus your mom is giving 2 weeks to live, and you happen to get sick at Valley Forge along with everyone else. What would you want to do after all this stay or go? In this case your best decision is to leave and return
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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.
I would not quit because only 15% of people are dying. My first piece of evidence that supports this claim is from document A and it shows 3,989/8,000 soldiers are sick, but only 1,800/12,000 died which is only 15%. Even though half the population is sick, only 15% people are dying, which is not a huge amount of people are dying. This evidence supports my claim because it is telling you how many people died. My second piece of evidence that supports this claim is from document A and the numbers show that not a lot of people are leaving. On document A there is a graph
Who would have the guts to stay? “ The first two years of the American Revolution had not gone well for the Continental Army.” George Washington was having trouble keeping soldiers, but for only nine months some soldiers will use their bravery to keep on fighting for freedom. Although, the congressmen didn’t trust George Washington, it didn’t stop him from leading his soldiers into battle. The soldiers settled for winter in Valley Forge in Philadelphia in the perfect spot to keep an eye on the British and close to Quakers for food. They were ready to face the winter. After the winter started to come to the end, most of the army survived . “ On April 13, 1778, word reached camp that the French would join the Americans in the war. It was a huge turning point.” A soldier would not have quit Valley Forge because to supporting other soldiers, give motivation, and reassurance that they were getting resources.
In today’s society many countries and even citizens of the United States question the U.S. government’s decision to get in involved in nuclear warfare. These people deemed it unnecessary and state that the U.S. is a hypocrite that preaches peace, but causes destruction and death. Before and during World War II the U.S. was presented with a difficult decision on whether or not to develop and use the atomic bomb.
Imagine, sick soldiers, small huts, vomit, smoke everywhere near you, people crying "No Meat! No meat!" the terror of seeing everyone suffer. During December of 1777, Washington decided to set a winter camp at Valley Forge for the next few months. They set up "huts" with cold hard straw to sleep on. March 1st is the end of my enlistment, and I would leave/ not re-enlist, because of the terrible conditions, the risk of dying, and if it was truly worth it or not.
As I walked through the snow with aching, raw feet, the blood, making a trail behind me, I soon began to realize how Valley Forge and this whole war in it’s entirety was driving me to the point where I wanted to quit. It was the winter of 1777 and the American Army was forced to set up camp 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, we called it Valley Forge. The question that keeps popping up in my mind while I sit miserably in my hut is, am I going to re-enlist? I am not going to re-enlist for 3 reasons; death and illness, harsh conditions, and the lack of support and supplies.
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.
Even through all of the difficult situations I had faced at Valley Forge, I would still re-enlist and come back for another term. I know that there will be people who will oppose to my idea of re-enlisting because the experiences at Valley Forge had given us reasons to quit but behind the hardship of the situations, I know that Valley Forge had also given us reasons to stay.
Also there was horrible food to start with and also lack of shelter so they we freezing in the cold. In the text it says “I am Sick - discontented - and out of humour. Poor food - hard lodging, Cold Weather - fatigue,Nasty Clothes,nasty Cookery,Vomit half my time,smoak'd out my senses,the Devil's in't,I can't Endure it.”. This can be used to argue against quitting because it shows a personal account of the rough life of the continental army. In conclusion, the men of the continental army had a right to not stay in the army even though they had a responsibility to protect their country.
The men saw family obligations and farm work as more important than military service and many refused to enlist for another year. The men mostly farmers did not want to take up long-term service in the military for fear their families and farms would suffer for it. Most of the enlistment lasted a year and the next year the Army had slightly over 8,000 troops instead of 20,000. The militia groups continued to fill the ranks but not to the numbers needed. At the time of the war the colonial population number about 2.5 million people with about 20 percent of the population being African American slaves who were not usually eligible for
“These are the times that try men’s souls.” is what Thomas Paine said to encourage us all to stay. Why not fight ‘till death for freedom from Britain in my eyes. I’m a Revolutionary War Patriot soldier at Camp Forge in Valley Forge and it’s December 23,1777 and General Washington has asked of us to consider reenlisting on March 1st he asked us if we want to reenlist for the freedom of America. Do I want to really quit? I have decided to reenlist for three reasons which are that General Washington needs me, General Washington is working on getting supplies from the Continental Congress, and because reenlisting would be to keep going for the better of America.