Winter+at+Valley+Forge

The Continental Army stayed at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778. The winter began very hard. Some of the men had no clothes or shoes. And, there was hardly any food. Pretty bad conditions, huh?

Fortunately, Nathanael Greene felt the same way. He supplied the army with what they needed; including food. Later on in the winter Prussian volunteer Baron von Steuben arrived. He taught the soldiers very well on how to use the bayonet. It was still pretty hard though because the soldiers were very hungry.

It shows life at Valley Forge during the revolution This picture came from [|www.archives.gov/education/lessons/revolution-images/]
 * Baron Von Steuben Trains the Army**

To turn the Continental Army into a better one, Baron von Steuben knew there were many things that he would need to change. First of all, he needed to change the relationship between the officers and the regular soldiers. What he did was encourage the officers to train, drill and eat with the regular army.

Another thing Baron von Steuben changed was the way drilling was done. The officers were drilling with the regular soldiers, but each regiment had its own way of doing it. Baron von Steuben changed that so everyone was doing the same thing. He taught the soldiers to feel a sense of pride in themselves and shaped the army into something better. All of this happened at Valley Forge. For more information on Baron von Steuben you can check out this site:

Baron von Steuben


 * Why were they at this place instead of in a town?**

Unfortunately, the British had recently occupied the town of Philadelphia. There, they were partying and had a great winter. In Valley Forge, most of the people were Loyalists so they didn't give the army much at all. Sadly as well, the Valley Forge colonists had finished a very good farming season. But, we learnt the courage and dedication of all of the soldiers as well as their patriotism for the new country. They certainly were very brave. And, we and they were very fortunate. The Army turned into a mature fighting force. They became eager to fight the British and of course, get their independence.


 * What was it like?**

The winter at Valley Forge was tremendously bad. As said before, some of the soldiers had no clothes and food was scarce. It was so bad that many soldiers deserted the army and went home. Not people like George Washington or Baron von Steuben. Once again, though it was extremely harsh, the Winter at Valley Forge turned out to be a very productive one.


 * Pictures

This pictures shows men in the army at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778**