Andy Hester, age 12, of Akron, Ohio, for his question:
WHY DID WASHINGTON HAVE TROUBLE AT VALLEY FORGE?
General George Washington led his troops to Valley Forge after defeats at Philadelphia and Germantown, Pa. This was at the start of the winter of 1777 and 1778. Serious trouble came when the soldiers had little food and too little clothing to protect themselves from the cold.
The trouble was compounded and continued for months since the Continental Congress could not provide additional supplies to fill the men's needs.
Washington's army was made up of about 11,000 men. They lived in crude log huts that they built themselves. Before the winter was over, more than 3,000 soliders died because of lack of food and clothing.
On December 23, 1777, Washington wrote: "We have this day no less than 2,873 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked."
The American soldiers found the region about the camp unfriendly to them. Many of the men were weak and sick from a smallpox epidemic. At the same time, the people around the small village on the Schuykill River that is about 25 miles west of Philadelphia were enjoying all of the comforts of a rich countryside.
The winter at Valley Forge definitely tested the loyalty of the American troops. Only the most dedicated patriots stayed with the Continental Army.
Many people critized Washington, but he held his position at Valley Forge throughout that long winter and into the spring. In spite of all the difficulties, he improved his troops with the help of Baron von Steuben. This Prussian general drilled the soldiers in a system of field formations.
When the spring came, Washington had a disciplined, well trained army. The news of the alliance between France and the United States reached Valley Forge on May 6, 1778. It cheered Washington and helped him to move successfully against the British in June.
The location where Washington's Continental Army had to endure several months of suffering is today part of the Valley Forge State Park. It covers about 2,000 acres of the camping grounds.
The park's buildings and monuments were built in memory of Washington's brave soldiers. The old stone house that Washington used as headquarters still stands there.
Other buildings in the Valley Forge State Park include the Washington Memorial Chapel, the stately National Memorial Arch, the Cloister of Colonies and the Valley Forge Museum of Natural History.
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolph Gerhard Augustin von Steuben was the full name of Washington's Prussian assistant. He sailed to America from Germany in 1777 and went to Valley Forge on Benjamin Franklin's recommendation.
As a major general in Washington's army, von Steuben led troops to wins over the British at Monmouth and Yorktown. After the Revolutionary War was over, von Steuben became a United States citizen.