Due to the number of sickness and death in the camp I realize that I need to keep fighting. It is February 1, 1778 and about one-half of Washington’s army are sick (Doc A) During the winter, between 1800 and 2500 have died as a result of illness. (Doc A). Many soldiers also have ripped clothing and no shoes. (Doc 3). I could have reconsidered as to being part of the army because my parents need a lot of help on the burden for the farm and to say the truth the numbers of death are sky high. Also the conditions for the army seem to worsen year by year. Yet I chose to reenlist because helping my team can help me.…
The American Army had seen hard times during the first two years of the Revolutionary War. They had been the victor in two battles—one in Trenton and one in Philadelphia—but other than that, it had not gone very well. (Background Essay) Because of these struggles, Washington had a hard time keeping his soldiers in the army since many signed up for only nine months and then left or simply deserted. This brings up the question: Would you have reenlisted for the army at Valley Forge? I most definitely would not have because of the illnesses, the government neglecting the soldiers, and the bad conditions that existed there.…
George Washington had led the Continental Army through battle after battle, and only won two minor battles. While the British set up comfortable quarters in Philadelphia, George Washington had his men build uniform huts in Valley Forge, a few miles away. Sickness and disease ran rampant, and conditions were torturous. Your family is poor and your mother is ill. Since your nine-month enlistment is up, Washington's men are progressing from hut to hut to find out if soldiers will reenlist or quit. The question asked by this Mini-Q is, ‘Had you been a soldier at Valley Forge, would you have quit?’ I would have quit because the British army had so many advantages and illness was almost unavoidable.…
The leadership of the army knew this would be the case, which is the main reason that the terms of enlistment were so short during the war unlike the minimal 8 years contract in the army now. Although the life in the army improved the soldiers had to endure such environment as, “shivering with cold upon bare floors without a blanket to cover them, calling for fire, for water, for suitable food, and for medicines- calling in vain.” Having to withstand all these misfortune, the soldiers were anything but humble in their conception of rights. The soldiers warned the generals of desertion if they were not properly taken care of, so the “severest Punishment” was placed to counter threat the soldiers. However, this did not last as “even in Washington’s handpicked Life Guard, eight soldiers deserted during the war.” As the war dragged out, eventually, Washington reopened the Continental army to free blacks with congressional approval. Slaves were still forbidden, yet five hundred free black men served in the war. It started with Massachusetts than to Rhode Island. Even with the blacks joining, Mother Nature did not see lightly of them, “By early 1778, the regiments were close to disintegration, their pay in arrears,…
Even though the British referred to the Continental Army as a “rabble in arms” (McCullough 25), the author carefully paints his story to show how the colonists were prepared to defeat the British. He does so by mentioning the fact that the size of the Continental Army was twice the size of the British Army that was occupying Boston: “[T]here were perhaps 7,000 of the King’s men in Boston, or roughly half the number under Washington’s command.” (McCullough 25). Although the British troops were better trained and had more experience than the volunteers who were a part of the American army, the multitude in number was still a notable quality of Washington’s men that foreshadowed their ultimate victory.…
1778, a soldiers chance of being sick was 50%. The chance of dying due to illness…
There have been many illnesses and deaths at the camp of Valley of Forge. Soldiers are deciding whether they should stay or leave the camp, but if it were my choice, I would leave. For example in The Diary of Dr. Waldo “Doc C” he states that the soldiers are suffering from starvation and they are feeding off of just water and flour. Also, in their huts there is no ventilation and they have to breathe smoke most of the time. In Dr. Waldo’s point of view, they have been sent there to freeze and starve. To add on, in the Estimate of Illness and Death “Doc A” there has been an illness going around and it has been killing people. Almost 50% of the soldiers had died out of 8,000 people. High risk of death is one of the main reasons I would want to…
A) Here are the estimates of illness and deaths at Valley Forge. (Dec.1777- Feb.1778) . The total number of soldiers at Valley Forge on Dec.23, 1777 was 12,000 and on Feb.1, 1778 it dropped to 8,000. so that mean 4,0000 people either some died or left. the number of illness during Encampment on Dec.23, 1777 was 2,898 people with illness and on Feb.1, 1778 3,989 people with illness. so more people got illness in February than December so there losing soldiers that's not a good thing. Then people about 1,800 to 2,500 died in…
according to the chart of illnesses and deaths (Doc A), only about 50% of the group has passed away. This means that there is a chance that if I stay, I will not die. Even if I do die, I will die known as the brave Patriot who stayed at Valley Forge throughout all the ups and downs. Here at Valley Forge, we have doctors and medical attention loyal to us. An example would be from the diary of Dr. Albigence Waldo (Doc C). Dr. Waldo is one of the hard working doctors we have, even though he also is going through rough times, he is still helping keep our fellow mates alive. In this diary entry, he wrote that we were still happy. This is a true statement, we always laugh and have fun here at Valley Forge. I know that if I ever left Valley Forge I would feel bad for giving up on our freedom. The nights we were read The American Crisis by Thomas Paine (Doc D) really got me thinking about the “Sunshine soldier and the summer Patriot,” the soldiers who left Valley Forge, the soldiers who betrayed us all, the soldiers who I thought were my friends. “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly,” T-Paine wrote, in my opinion his message for this saying was to stay and fight. As a result, I will stay at Valley Forge, we have a chance of living, medical attention, and I will never feel guilty for betraying my…
I will re-enlist because I have hope that the Committee of Congress will be here for us in times of need. The picture in Document B shows, “George Washington presenting the Congressional Committee to soldiers at Valley Forge”, this showed me that George Washington knows what he’s doing and knows how to treat his men. Having the Congressional Committee stop by and retrieve supplies for the retreat gave everyone hope that the people do care for our health. If the people from the Congressional Committee are loyal to us then it just seems right to be loyal for them.…
Struggled with keeping the British from tracking them down, so they had to play it extra safe. But as soon as they reached the French Quarter not all hope was lost. A soldier would of quit Valley Forge because of how many people died, not enough money, and the living conditions.…
Many of the men are starving and ill; I doubt i will even make it out alive. Two years into the Revolutionary War, the capital of Philadelphia was taken by the British. The Patriots had set up a winter camp at Valley Forge, 18 miles from Philadelphia in 1777. One question I have to ask myself is if I was a soldier at Valley Forge would have quit (leave and not re-enlist). I have decided to re-enlist for three reasons which are we need more soldiers, you could move up in rank, but mostly because Washington needs help.…
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.…
Valley forge was a winter camp that the continental army had to camp in for several months. The camp was low on supplies and very cold and miserable. If I had the choice I think I would stay at Valley Forge. (Doc A) One reason i would stay at Valley forge is that the chance of even getting sick was around 50%. out of the 12,000 only 2 out of 10 people would actually die at Valley Forge from starvation, frostbite, or disease. (Doc C) Another reason I would stay is from the diary of Dr. Albigence Waldo. Even though there was a lot of negative things that would go against my claim there were some reasons to stay. in the journal it talks about a soldier staying in the camp but he is sick, he has no shoes, and…
“Give me liberty or give me death!” In December of 1777, George Washington decided to set up a winter camp at Valley Forge. The area was about eighteen miles northwest of Philadelphia making it a good place to stay and watch over the British troops. The men had to build huts for twelve men to live in. Sadly, the men slept on the straw and mud floors while being exposed to the cold weather. Many men would run off during war other would simply just desert the camp, unable to fight their living conditions. This raises the question: “Valley Forge: Would you have quit?” To quit would be to not really be an option for me, my loyalty to our government and country will stay at the camp. Many men were dying in this camp. Maybe from disease or simply lack of supplies the main thing is that they stayed until the end of their lives. They believed in this cause enough to never give up and had pushed through the horrid conditions as much as one possibly could. About half of the men were far too sick for battle. (Doc. A) Every soldier was needed and haven been stricken with illness made every healthy soldier a necessity. Approximately 1800 to 2500 men had lost their lives to the wide spread disease so even the smallest attempt to help fight the war was very much appreciated. (Doc. A) My loyalty and commitment to our government would also inspire me to continue on in those harsh conditions. While still living in the make shift town, the Committee of Congress had come to meet the valiant soldiers who were fighting for independence. (Doc. B) The fact that these men showed interest in their soldiers was very heart warming. Seeing as how they were being thought of as heroes instead of...…