Two Thousand Died, But the Army Survived — Valley Forge (1777)
In the winter of 1777, Washington's army held on at Valley Forge. Two thousand died from cold and hunger. The army that emerged in spring was different.
After Defeat
Fall 1777. Washington's army had lost battle after battle.
Brandywine. Germantown. The British took Philadelphia. The Continental Congress fled.
In December, Washington led 12,000 men into Valley Forge.
That Winter
No barracks. No food. No boots.
Soldiers cut timber in the snow and built huts. Feet froze. Toes were lost. Horses died. Men died.
Over six months, roughly 2,000 men perished from starvation and disease. Not from battle.
Von Steuben
February. A Prussian officer named Friedrich von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge.
He only spoke French. He trained through an interpreter.
Drill. Bayonet. Formation. In six weeks, a mob became something resembling an army.
Spring
May 1778. The army marched out of Valley Forge.
Same men. Different army. And word had arrived: France had entered the war.
Washington used this army to end it.
Encampment: December 1777 – June 1778 | Strength: 12,000 | Deaths: ~2,000 | Von Steuben arrives: February 1778
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