If I Were A Soldier In The Continental Army At Valley Forge

Washington’s army had a brutal and violent time at war. The army at a point was struggling and was in bad condition. In December of 1777, General George Washington made his army was in a very bad state. They had little food, uncomfortable lodging, and extremely cold weather. At Valley Forge, there were about 12,000 soldiers. The conditions costed a lot for the army. If I were a soldier in the Continental Army at Valley Forge, I would have quit because of horrible conditions, illness, and the position they are in. To start off, one reason for quitting is the awful conditions. In the diary of Dr. Albigence Waldo, it says, “I am sick - discontented- and out of humor. Poor food - hard lodging - Cold weather - fatigue - Nasty cloaths - nasty cookery - Vomit half my time - smoak’d out my senses - the Devil’s in’t - I can’t Endure it - why are we sent here to starve and Freeze”. This shows the conditions at Valley Forge were absolutely terrible for the soldier, they were lacking for all important necessities. This is relevant because its shows how awful the experience would be leading up to the war and how unsupplied they were. Conditions was just one of the major reasons for leaving Valley Forge.
In the chart, Estimates at Valley Forge, it shows the total number of soldiers at Valley Forge. In December, there were about 12,000 men, but in February there was only a total about 8,000. Also, in February already 3,989 out of 8,000 men have caught a sickness or disease. This means that about 4,000 out of 8,000 soldiers died or left between December and February and there was about 50% of people who caught an illness. This reason shows that the army is growing weak and losing soldiers. It also causes me to think it’s a bad time to be apart of the army and there is a high chance of me catching a disease. Clearly, this shows how illness played a significant role in the decision for