Valley Forge is on the Schuylkill River about 25 miles west
of Philadelphia in Chester County, Pennsylvania. General Washington
chose Valley Forge for his winter quarters because it was defensible and
strategically located to enable him to protect Congress, then in session
at York, Pennsylvania, from a sudden British attack. There were
12,000 men and women of the Continental Army in Valley Forge during the
winter of 1777-78.
Except for officers, the soldiers slept in six-foot
square tents made of canvas. The canvasses were weak and cracked and
didn't provide a lot of protection from the cold snowy weather. Some
officers lived in nearby farmhouses or in huts built in the encampment.
The huts provided better shelter than the tents, but during the long
winter they also started to fall apart and exposed the men to the cold.
Because the shelter did not protect the men from the
cold and the wind, they became sick with fevers, pneumonia, diarrhea, and
dysentery. Many died of starvation and cold, and at no time were
more than half of them fit for active service.
On
June 19, 1778, Washington abandoned his camp at Valley Forge in order to
pursue the British across New Jersey.
Valley Forge is in the state of
New York.
Pennsylvania.
New Jersey.
The army at Valley Forge consisted of
5000 men
and women.
100,000 men and women.
12,000 men and women.
The soldiers slept in
cabins.
farmhouses.
ragged tents.
Many men and women died of
gun shot
wounds.
animal bites.
cold, starvation, and
disease.
On June 19, 1778, Washington pursued the British in
New
Jersey.
New York.
New Hampshire.
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