General George Washington led his Continental Army through the catastrophic winter at Valley Forge during the Winter of 1777 and 1778, 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Would you re-enlist in the Continental Army after February 1st, during a time in which your country and your cause need you most? I would not stay in the army for many reasons, a few of which are because many people were sick and died, the conditions were very poor, and we had no support throughout the winter. 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. …show more content…
Speaking of tough times, the conditions we are put through each and every day aren’t bearable anymore.
It snows almost everyday and we don’t have any ventilation in our small huts. Whenever we light a fire to maybe hope the cold will fade, if even for a few moments, we are forced to put it out so we don’t get overrun by smoke. Our cause is running out of food and clothes. We are out of our main source of protein already. I can’t bear to listen to the chants of “No Meat! No Meat!” for much longer.(Doc C) It hasn’t affected me yet, but I’m sure it will if I stay. The cold and poor ventilation are two horrible problems that take many lives, luckily I’m still alive and well, but who knows what will happen if I
stay. Our men and Washington have absolutely no support. When the Congressional Committee came out to see us they took one look and just shook their heads. Document B shows that our men are barefoot because we can’t afford shoes and that the Congressional Committee just has to lift a finger to help us, but they won’t. We have nobody to grant us a helping hand through this time of great weakness. These conditions that we have been put in are bonkers because we have no way to support ourselves. Many resources can’t be accessed, and it’s hard to ship things because of the snow. All in all, for the struggle between re-enlisting in the army or leaving after you finish your time, there is an argument for both sides. I pick the side of leaving to go home because of the many deaths and illnesses being spread around, the awful conditions, and the lack of support during the rough winter. Would you leave the tumultuous conditions where you are likely to die, or would you stay to help the growing nation?
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…..
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.
During the Revolutionary War, at Valley Forge, which is Washington’s winter camp, 18 miles outside Pennsylvania, soldiers went through a very rough time during the tough and hard winter months of 1777 and 1778. Many soldiers didn’t have shoes, jackets, blankets, and proper warm clothing. Also, there was barely enough food for everyone. For example, in Document C, Dr. Albigence Waldo, (a doctor/surgeon at Valley Forge) , states, “No meat! No meat!”
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.
A soldier would not have quit Valley Forge because of supporting other soldiers, giving motivation, and reassurance that they were getting resources. In document A, it shows all the soldiers who died. In that way, a soldier would not quit because he would not want a soldier to die for nothing. In the estimated deaths, the percentage was less than fifty percent which means that more than fifty percent of the soldiers survived.
In the years 1777 to 1778, while General George Washington was settled in Valley Forge with his forces, the Continental Army was falling apart. It became difficult for Washington to keep leading when his soldiers kept retreating. My position is a soldier in the army who will be allowed to leave in one month, but I will not leave. The soldiers at Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778 should have stayed. The Continental Army needed everyone they could keep, the death toll was low, and George Washington was a fantastic leader.
At Valley Forge, the weather and conditions were terrible (Document C) so I could get sick and die, and in Document A it stated that 1800 - 2500 died just because of sickness, which means that most people have already gotten sick, including doctors like Dr Waldo (Doc C) so the doctors would not be able to help too much with your sickness. Because of all the sick soldiers(Doc C and A), I can infer that when we go into battle we'd be very weak and we'll have a very slim chance of
The following April, he signed an enlistment for the duration with the 8th Connecticut. They began to advertise the recruitment of the long-term services since the short-term services seemed to be doing no good for the army and the cause. Another issue with the semi-militia regiments was that they obliged Washington continually to rebuild the Continental Army while actively campaigning. Washington expected these new long-term regiments to create a more respected army, but had to use militia as auxiliaries throughout the war as a result of the lingering shortage of Continentals.
In Document A, the table shows that in February there were 8000 total men and about half of those soldiers died. This evidence proves to show the numbers behind all the deaths we have had and how they got so sick to the point of death. If I had chosen to stay for 1 month longer until my enlistment is up, I would’ve been exposing myself to all the illnesses longer than I already have. The risk of staying is too great to even think about. The next reason for quitting is the harsh conditions we have had to endure.
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.
The 2nd Doc. A we had 12,000 men when we were at Valley Forge. But then the bad stuff came like frostbite, starvation, and smallpox. Fortunately Washington he was immune to those things at Valley Forge. But i could not say the same things about the army because of those things were the main problem and ten men died a day. After that we were only at 8,000 men, but the men still had their spirit within them. only 50% of the troops were sick which was critical but the other 50% wasn 't sick and i guess that 's good, Washington’s plan didn’t quietl...
The question of quitting rings loudly in my mind. The year is 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in the middle of the deadly winter. Many men are dying because of diseases, the climate, and even starvation. I know what I need to do, nobody said it would be easy, I need to re-enlist. General George Washington is asking all of the men that same question: Would you re-enlist?, and I can’t believe that some of them will not even consider it. Why would you quit when you still have so much to fight for? My country deserves their freedom, and why would I quit when I’m still healthy? After all, George Washington is a great leader, and is an agreeable man, he would fight with us to the very end.
From 1861 to 1865 our nation's deadliest conflict was being disputed. The American Civil War had more Americans die than in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War combined. ( Ballou) Approximately 600,000 soldiers and 100,000 civilians died. Of all these casualties, three-fourths died from wound infections or infectious diseases. ( Ballou) About 10 million soldiers became ill at some point during the civil war. A huge reason for this is because many men came from small towns and isolated farms. Individuals had never been exposed to disease. This resulted in millions of soldiers getting sick. ( Morris ) Of all the many different diseases that were going on duri...
Powell had documented that,” The committee of five congressmen stayed several weeks and was helping in getting more food.” This relates because, the Congressmen didn’t trust George Washington and then ended up helping us throughout the war. ‘The Congressmen didn’t trust him because, “George Washington's position was uncertain and so the Congressmen were unsure if they could trust him (Powell 149). The Summer soldier and the Sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of their country (Paine 153). Busch had also documented,”from December 1777 to February 1778 over 4,000 soldiers had either left or died.” Tyranny, is like heck or under the ground and is not easily conquered. This is why we need more soldiers so we can fight for freedom. Fighting is extremely hard and you will lose many friends, but you will feel joy, if the right thing has happened. This reason is causing me to re-enlist because I still trust my army to fight with them, I will stay because I want freedom for me and
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.