Valley Forge National Battlefield |
Our trip to Valley Forge was a little bit of a challenge. The park has no charge
to enter but it's also criss-crossed with local and highway traffic. There are
a lot of plaques on the sides of the road but no real place to pull over in order
to get to them. It's a beautiful place to visit , with spots to picnic,
cookout and just relaxe and enjoy the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. It's
a wonderful place to go and spend the day with your family, there is enough room
for little ones to run and play. The people there are wonder- ful and very
helpful. I hope you enjoy the pictures and information here. |
Continental
Army Valley Forge Decemeber 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Greenes Division Major General Nathaniel Greene Muhlenberg's Brigade Brig. General J. Peter G. Muhlenberg Commanding "German Regiment" Pennsylvania Line Lieut. Col. Lewis Weltner (Raised July 2, 1776 - Mustered out January 1781) 1st Regiment Virginia Infantry Colonel Richard Parker 5th Regiment Virginia Infantry Colonel Abraham Buford 9th Regiment Virginia Infantry Lieut. Col. Burgess Ball 13th Regiment Virginia Infantry Virginia State Regiment of Infantry Colonel George Gibson |
Winter Encampment December 19, 1777 - June 19, 1778 The countryside was stripped of trees. All available wood went to build and heat the city of huts that crowded this ridge. When the Continental Army wintered here, every acre was heavily used - for entrenchments, stock pens, an artillery park, and parade grounds. Fields turned to mud. Within decades after the war, the scene had returned to woodlots and farmland. The tour route circles the encampment, now marked by earthworks and monuments. A natural triangle of |
defense: the Schuylkill River, Mount Joy, and the ridge with the Outer Line earthworks.
This map was sketched by Brig. Gen. Louis Lebeque Duportail, Chief Engineer
of the Continental Army. Duportail was one of several French officers who volunteered
to help the patriot cause. |
Outer Line Defenses Extending into the distance, an almost continuous line of earthworks formed the Outer Line Defenses. If the British attacked from the south, they would have had to climb this open slope, while Americans fired from high ground. Assaults never materialized. |
Log City Following their arrival December 19, 1777, the men immediately set to work building huts for shelter. General orders the preceding day specified the size and design of the huts: 14 x 16 feet each, 6 1/2 feet high, a door next to the street and a fireplace in the rear. Despite the orders, hut size, location, and material varied - as these reconstructions demonstrate. Men from different regions were familiar with different building techniques, and few were skilled craftsmen. A surgeon's mate wrote home, "have one Dull ax to build a Logg Hutt When it will be done knows not." "And as an encouragement to industry and art, the General promises to reward the party in each regiment, which finishes their hut in the quickest, and most workmanlike manner, with twelve dollars." --- General Orders December 18, 1777 By Mid - January most soldiers were housed, twelve to a hut. |
Soldiers
Huts On original street of Muhlenberg's Brigade |
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Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Greene's Division Major General Nathaniel Greene Weedon's Brigade Brig. General George Weedon Commanding 13th Regiment Infantry Pennsylvania Line Col. Walter Stewart (Raised as "State Regiment of Foot" March 1, 1777 attached To Pennsylvania Line as 13th Regiment Infantry November 12 1777 - Consolidated with 2nd Regiment Infantry - July 1, 1778) 2nd Regiment Virginia Infantry Lieut. Colonel Charles Dabney 8th Regiment Virginia Infantry Colonel John Gibson 10th Regiment Virginia Infantry Colonel John Green 14th Regiment Virginia Infantry Lieut. Colonel William Davis |
Pattersons Brigade Occupied This Ground |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 DeKalb's Division Major General Baron DeKalb Patterson's Brigade Brig. General John Patterson Commanding 10th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Thomas Marshall 11th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Benjamin Tupper 12th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Samuel Brewer 14th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Gamaliel Bradford |
Maine To commemorate the officers and men from that part of New England now known as the State of Maine who served in Massachusetts Regiments in The Continental Army under Washington at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-8 sharing the hardships there endured. This memorial is erected by the state of Maine under the auspices of the Maine Society of the Sons of the American Revolution 1907 |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 DeKalb's Division Major General Baron DeKalb Learned's Brigade Brig. General Ebenezer Learned Commanding 2nd Massachusetts Infantry Col. John Bailey 8th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Michael Jackson 9th Massachusetts Infantry Col. James Wesson |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Division Glover's Brigade Brig. General John Glover Commanding 1st Massachusetts Infantry Col. Joseph Vose 4th Massachusetts Infantry Col. William Shepard 13th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Edward Wigglesworth 15th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Timothy Bigelow |
This monument is erected by a grateful commonwealth in memory of the soldiers of
Massachusetts who served at Valley Forge |
19 Dec 1777 - 19 June 1778 |
"In remembrance of the Continental Army led by George Washington, a member of the
Masonic Fraternity, and in honor of the many Freemasons who were a part of the
encampment at this site, the Freemasons of Pennsylvania place this monument so
that future generations will know that freedom was as important in 1997 as it
was in 1777 - 1778" |
Edward O. Weisser R.W. Grand Master Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of Pennsylvania Dedicated August 24, 1997 |
And here in this place of sacrifice in this vale of humiliation in this valley of
the shadow of that death out of which the life of America rose regenerate and
free. Let us believe with an abiding faith that to them union will seem as
dear and liberty as sweet and progress as glorious as they were to our Fathers
and are to you and me and that the institutions which have made us happy preserved
by the virtue of our children shall bless the remotest generation of the
time to come. --- Henry Armitt Brown |
Commander in Chief George Washington Major Generals De Kalb Mifflin Greene Steuban La Fayette Stirling Lee Sullivan Brigadier Generals Armstrong Patterson Du Portail Poor Glover Scott Huntington Smallwood Knox Varnum Learned Wyane McIntosh Weedon Maxwell Woodford Muhlenberg Pulaski |
During 1996 - 1997, the Freemasons of Pennsylvania contributed more than one million
five hundred thousand dollars necessary to preserve the Arch to its original
grandeur. George Washington, Valley Forge and Freemasonry represent patriotism, freedom and brotherly love to all Freemasons. Washington served as Master of his Masonic Lodge at the same time he was President of the United States. Through the preservation of this National Memorial Arch in 1996 - 1997, the Freemasons of Pennsylvania sought to honor the memory of George Washington, a national hero, patriot and prominent Freemason, and to honor the brave men who endured the winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777 - 1778. "We, as Freemasons, believe our children and their children need to know that the men in 1777 cared about freedom. They need to know that Freemasons in 1996 still care about freedom." --- Edward O. Weisser, R.W. Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, March 15, 1996 |
A National Treasure The National Memorial Arch was authorized by Congress in 1910 as a tribute to George Washington and his army who endured the winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777 - 1778. It was designed by Paul Phillipe Cret, a prominent Philadelphia architect, and dedicated on June 19, 1917. Although it had stood for nearly 80 years as a symbol of the triumph achieved by Washington, by the mid 1990's the Arch was in need of major structural repairs. It was cordoned off and closed to the public for safety reasons. |
Josiah Harmar Lieutenant Colonial |
Thomas Mifflin Major General |
John Armstrong Brigadier General |
J. Peter G. Muhlenberg Brigadier General |
Wayne's Woods |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Division Poor's Brigade Brig. General Enoch Poor Commanding 1st Regiment New Hampshire Infantry Col. Joseph Cilley 2nd Regiment New Hampshire Infantry Col. Nathan Hale 3rd Regiment New Hampshire Infantry Col. Alexander Scammell 2nd Regiment New York Infantry Col. Philip Cortlandt 4th Regiment New York Infantry Col. Henry Livingston |
"...it is beyond description to conceive what the men suffer..." --- Colonel Philip Van Cordlandt 2nd NY Regiment, in a letter to George Clinton, Governor of New York, from Valley Forge on Feb. 13th, 1778 |
New Hampshire Appeal to Hon. Meshech Weare, Chief State Official Valley Forge, January 21, 1778 "Sir - ...Duty obligates me to observe to you the present scituation of your soldiers...Paint to yourself this their ragged suffering condition...they look up to me for relief, and it is not in my power to afford them any..." ---From Enoch Poor, Brig. Gen'l, commanding NH Forces (erected by the state of New Hampshire) |
The hut nearby built according to Washington's orders for the construction of huts
for the Winter Camp of 1777 - 1778 stands on the site of a similar hut which
sheltered soldiers of the Pennsylvania line and it commemorates their fortitude
in the endurance of every adversity for their country and for independency. |
Constructed by the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution June 18, A.D. 1935. |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Pennsylvania Division Brigadier General Anthony Wayne Second Brigade Lieutenant Colonel William Butler Commanding 4th Regiment Infantry Lieutenant Colonel William Butler (Raised January 11, 1777 Mustered out November 3, 1783) 5th Regiment Infantry Colonel Francis Johnston (Raised January 1, 1777 Mustered out January 1, 1783) 8th Regiment Infantry Colonel Daniel Brodhead (Raised July 20, 1776 Mustered out January 17, 1781) 11th Regiment Infantry Colonel Richard Hampton (Raised October 25, 1778) (Consolidated with 10th Regiment Infantry June 24, 1778) |
The statue faces toward the general's home nearby. |
Brigadier General Anthony Wayne |
Generals and Cattle Raids The First and Second Pennsylvania Brigades, temporarily commanded by Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, encamped in this area. About 800 men served in each of the sixteen brigades at Valley Forge. An estimated 34,577 pounds of meat and 168 barrels of flour per day were needed to feed the army. Soldiers relied on their home states and on the Continental Congress to supply food, clothing, and equipment. Shortages varied widely between the regiments. Any number of misfortunes, spoilage, bad roads, or capture by British foragers, could prevent supplies from reaching camp. When food ran so low that mutiny seemed imminent, General Wayne led an emergency foraging expedition into New Jersey. Their mission: to round up all the cattle they could find, and to destroy what they could not bring with them. The owners concealed their herds in pine woods, and there were skirmishes with British foraging parties, but General Wayne was so successful that he become known as "The Drover." |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Pennsylvania Division Brigadier General Anthony Wayne First Brigade Colonel Thomas Hartley Commanding 1st Regiment Infantry Colonel James Chambers (Raised July 1, 1776 Mustered out November 2, 1783) 2nd Regiment Infantry Colonel Henry Bicker (Raised October 25, 1776 Mustered out November 3, 1785) 7th Regiment Infantry Lieutenant Colonel David Grier (Raised January 1, 1777 Mustered out January 17, 1781) 10th Regiment Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Adam Hubley (Raised October 25, 1776 Mustered out January 17, 1781) Hartley's Additional Regiment of Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Morgan Connor raised January 11, 1777 Consolidated with 11th Regiment Infantry January 13, 1779 |
Anthony
Wayne Colonel Chester Co Battalion of Minute Men July 21, 1775 Colonel 4th Penna. Infantry Battalion January 3, 1776 Brig. General Continental Army Feb 21, 1777 to Nov 3, 1783 Brevetted Major General September 30, 1783 "Resolved unanimously, that the thanks of congress be presented to Brig. General Wayne for his brave, prudent and soldierly conduct in the spirited and well conducted attack on Stony Point; that a gold medal emblematical of this action be struck and presented to Brig. General Wayne." Major General and Commander in Chief United States Army, March 5, 1792 to December 15, 1796 |
1777 - 1778 Euse Petit Placidam Sub Libertate Quietem |
Virginia This marker is placed at the encampment site of regiments of the commonwealth of Virginia to commemorate the officers and men of Virginia which area, at the time, encompassed what is now the state of West Virginia. These Virginians were wintered here in 1777 - 1778 as a part of General George Washington's army in the war for American independence. Erected by the Sons of the American Revolution of Virginia. |
In Memory Of Unknown Soldiers Buried At Valley Forge 1777 - 1778 Erected by Valley Forge Chapter Daughters of th American Revolution |
Brigadier General Henry Knox, Washington's 27 year old artillery chief, used as his
quarters the small stone section of this house located upstream on Valley Creek
from Washington's Headquarters, this was the farm home of John Brown and his
family. As was typical in the area. The small stone house was increased in size
to meet the needs of a larger family and as a show of wealth. |
Knox's Quarters |
General Henry Knox |
Officer's Quarters In contrast to soldiers' log huts, officers' quarters appear lavish. But the present houses look significantly different from encampment days. Architectural modifications have more than doubled the size of General Henry Knox's "quarters." Though a number of officers began the encampment in local farmhouses, many (including Knox) later moved into huts to be closer to their men. |
Reluctant Hosts Valley Forge farms were generally prosperous; the area had been cleared and settled since the early 1700s. When the army arrived, many nearby homes and farmhouses were converted to military use. While political loyalties were divided, most civilians simply wished to be left free of the conflict. |
Lord Stirling's Quarters ---> |
Lafayette's Quarters ---> |
William Maxwell's Quarters <--- |
<--- Henry Knox's Quarters |
Four generals were housed in this area: Henry Knox, William Maxwell, Lord Stirling,
and the Marquis de La Fayette. |
Picture forthcoming |
Village of Valley Forge Village settled by the workers at iron forge begun in 1742. The forge and part of the village were burned by the British army in 1777. Washington's quarters during the winter of 1777 - 78 were in the Isaac Potts' house, a part of the original village. |
To Marylanders who served here Col. Tench Tilghman, confidential aide to Washington, who wrote: -- |
---"formerly of my family - in every action (of) the main army - often refused his
pay - left as fair reputation as ever belonged to human character"-- |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Division Scott's Brigade Brigadier General Charles Scott Commanding Additional Infantry Regiment Penna. Line Col. John Patton Raised Jan 11, 1777 Consolidated with 11th Regiment Infantry Jan 18, 1778 4th Virginia Infantry 8th Virginia Infantry Colonel Abraham Bowman 12th Virginia Infantry Virginia Regiment Infantry at Large Colonel William Grayson |
The Two Maryland Brigades |
Maj. Gen John Sullivan 1st Reg. Col. John H. Stone 2nd Reg. Col. Thomas Price 3rd Reg. Col. Mordocai Gist 4th Reg. Col. Josiah C. Hall |
Brig. Gen. William Smellwood 5th Reg. Col. William Richardson 6th Reg. Col. Otho H. Williams 7th Reg. Col. John Gunby Reg. of Col. Moses Hazen |
Artillery: - Capt. Wm. Brown's Co. and Capt. Richard Dorsey's Co. and as Washington
wrote, "the men without cloths to cover their nakedness - blankets to lie upon - without shoes - their marches traced by blood from their feet - through frost and snow - without house or hut - or provisions - submitting without murmur --" for the freedom of you who read this. |
Fresh Pork and Small Beer In the rear of the camp, near the Adjutant-General's office, one of three public markets opened in February 1778. Farmers were encouraged to sell their produce to the short rationed soldiers. Fresh Pork, Fat Turkey, Goose, Rough-skinned Potatoes, Turnips, Indian Meal, Sour-Crout, Leaf Tobacco, New Milk, Cyder, and Small-Beer were included in the list of articles published in the Pennsylvania Packet and circulated in hand bills. This west end of the encampment became a thronging complex. Down the road clattered hospital and supply |
wagons, and couriers between Washington's Headquarters and the Continental Congress
in York. Artificers' huts were a frenzy of activity. All around was the noise
of blacksmiths' and wheelwrights, hammers and coopers saws as the artificers
built wagons, repaired wheels and made barrels. |
British Raid Early in 1777, the American Quartermaster General selected Valley Forge to serve as one of the Continental stores. Thousands of barrels of wheat and flour, tomahawks, horseshoes and tools were moved into the Potts-Dewees forge and outbuildings. In September, after the battle of Brandywine, a British, detachment headed for Valley Forge. |
Warned of their approach, a party of dragoons along with Lt. Colonel Alexander Hamilton
tried to ferry the stores across the Schuylkill. But not in time. The Americans
had to retreat, and the enemy captured precious food and equipment. Two days later the main British army passed through, carrying off or destroying the supplies. The forge, sawmill, and several homes and outbuildings were set afire. Only ruins remained at the time of the encampment, three months later. |
Dewees' House |
Washington's Sleeping Quarters |
Aid's Room Not only were the working arrangements crowded, but so were the sleeping arrangements. Every available space was put to use in accommodating aides and servants - the hallway, the attic stairs as well as this room would have held several officers. These officers spent some of their limited personal time writing home. During his stay here, John Laurens wrote to his father asking for specific necessities. In response his father sent the requested wool, buttons, gloves, epaulets, combs, hair powder and powder bag along with a new shirt. |
The Headquarters Kitchens |
Erected
By The Maryland Society of Pennsylvania 1963 |
Washington's Headquarters |
For six months this quiet path was a congested thoroughfare. Express ridersfrom Congress,
civilians requesting passes, guards posted around the house, couriers
rushing out with new orders, foreign officers seeking employment, continually jammed
this road during the encampment. At the center of the tumult was the Commander-in-Chief.
From Headquarters, George Washington issued General Orders to the
brigades, dictated eloquent warning to Congress, and directed military operations
from Georgia to Maine. |
General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief. Portrait by Charles Willson Peale while at Valley Forge |
Headquarters Complex The Headquarters house overlooking the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River, was the hub of military activity it was from here that General Washington, with the assistance of his staff, conducted the daily routine of the Army, often there were more than twenty officers and aides present to assist the Commander-In-Chief in his duties. |
Valley Forge Railroad Station A 20th Century Structure The Valley Forge railroad station, completed in 1913 to service visitors to Washington's Headquarters and the village of Valley Forge, was constructed of native sandstone and recalls the time when rail excursions were popular before the widespread use of private automobiles. The tracks of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown railroad, predecessor to conrail, were first utilized in 1832 to meet the demands of industrialization. |
Commander-in-Chief's Guard Washington's guard occupied the huts near Headquarter's. At the beginning of the encampment fifty guards protected General Washington, his baggage and valuable papers. To be in the life guard, as the troops called it, one originally had to be a property-owning, native-born Virginian. It was assumed such men would be loyal to Washington. |
After Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrived in February 1778, one hundred additional
men from various state regiments were detailed to the guard. Steuben personally
trained them at marching, musket loading and charging with bayonet. Under his
skilled instruction the life guard became a model company for drilling the entire
army. |
In Memory of Nine North Carolina Regiments In Brig. Gen. Lacklan McIntosh's Brigade Under General George Washington December 19, 1777 - June 19, 1778 At Valley Forge Placed by the North Carolina Society NSDAR 1972 |
Gen. Lachlan Mc Intosh 1727 - 1806 "...an officer of great worth and merit." Geo. Washington During the winter of Valley Forge, Gen. Lachlan McIntosh of Georgia commanded the First Brigade of the Continental Army. The Brigade, which was composed of North Carolina Regiments, was quartered in this area. McIntosh also commanded Washington's Life Guard. To commemorate the services of Gen. McIntosh and of other Georgians in the young republic's critical hour of Valley Forge the state of Georgia has gratefully erected this memorial. |
Innerline Defense The low mound in front of you is part of the original earthworks of the fortified encampment of Valley Forge. They extended about one mile from Mount Joy on the south to the Schuylkill River on the north. |
Inner Line Defenses If the British had over-run the Outer Line, or crossed the river at Fatland Ford, they would have faced the Inner Line Defenses. Trees now block the Americans' extensive field of fire. Trenches are filling in. But the original earthworks are visible from the Tour Road along the ridge crest to your right. |
Other defenses were farmed over soon after the army marched out of Valley Forge.
But here on Mount Joy terrain proved too rugged even for pasturing. Help us preserve the historic fortifications. Please do not walk or climb on the earthworks. |
Redoubt 4 May 9, 1778, "There are at present but two Engineers in camp besides General du Portail, and they are fully employed in constructing the necessary works of defence..." |
With the British only 18 miles away, troops were digging defenses all winter. Redoubt
4 was started and completed in May. It helped defend the northern approaches
to the encampment, and anchored this end of the Inner Line. It helped defend
the northern approaches to the encampment, and anchored this end of the Inner
Line. For 3/4 - mile |
along the shoulder of Mount Joy fromRedoubt 4 near the river, to Redoubt 3 to the
south the Inner Line defended the center of the encampment. |
New
Jersey Brigade Continental Army Erected By the state of New Jersey Upon the site occupied by the New Jersey Brigade Infantry - Line - Continental Arm Brigadier General William Maxwell First Regiment Col. Mathias Ogden Second Regiment Col. Israel Shreve Third Regiment Col. Elias Dayton Fourth Regiment Col. Ephraim Martin Decemeber 19, 1777 - June 18, 1778 |
Innerline Defense The low mound in front of you is part of the original earthworks of the fortified encampment of Valley Forge. They extended about one mile from Mount Joy on the south to the Schuylkill River on the North. |
To Build a Redoubt The earthworks today appear to be giant molehills. But it took complex engineering to construct them. A deep ditch was excavated in front, to slow an attacking enemy. The dirt was heaped into "gabions" - baskets of interwoven branches. Bundles of branches called "fascines" were piled outside and inside the wall to protect the defenders, then the entire work was usually covered with sod to absorb cannon fire. |
Here at Redoubt 3, the inside walls were faced with stakes. Sod was scarce in the
mud - churned encampment. Though partially reconstructed, Redoubt 3 is built on
remnants of the original site. Please do not climb on the earthworks. Defending the Gap The valley between Outer and Inner Line defenses left the Americans vulnerable to attacks from the south. Redoubt 3 was built to secure this |
Wayne's Pennsylvania Brigades. Their huts were plainly visible in the treeless encampment. In the event of attack, troops in Redoubt 3 could have raked the gap with cross-fire. |
Artillery Park Some redoubts and earthworks went unarmed. Most cannons at Valley Forge were kept in the Artillery Park near the center of the encampment. From here guns could be rushed to the point of attack. The Artillery Park gave the Americans a flexible defense. But camp roads were deep in mud; horses were starving. It may be fortunate that an attack never came. |
General Knox commanded and trained the Continental Artillery. With a gun crew of
14 to 15 men for each field 6 - pounder, precise teamwork was essential. (In actual
combat the Continentals often made do with smaller crews.) |
Brigades handled a variety of cannons. Though some were cast in America, many guns
were acquired from the French or captured from the British. |
The Camp's Road System Adapting to the terrain, the arriving army used peaceful farm roads as lines of communications within the sprawling encampment. Livestock, commissary wagons, and troops dragging firewood quickly turned roads into rivers of mud. After Sullivan's Bridge was completed, this road led north across the Schuylkill River to the army's supply staging area. |
Captain Henry Lee of the Light Dragoons |
Dragoons Dargoons (cavalry) were the camp's messengers and lookouts. Though dragoons sometimes galloped these roads, carrying letters from General Washington, they more often patrolled between Valley Forge and Philadelphia, scouting for British troop movements. Since dragoons demanded frequent remounts, local farmers learned to hide their best horses. |
Schoolhouse This one room stone structure was built about 35 years after the encampment when the village of Valley Forge was expanding with industry. It served as a school until a new and larger building was constructed directly across Gulph Road, it then deteriorated and was used by local farmers as a storage shed and stable until it was restored first in 1915 and again in 1975. |
Site of the Marquee On this spot General George Washington erected his campaign tent (Marquee) when he entered Valley Forge December 19, 1777. He occupied this tent until December 24. 1777. When he moved his headquarters to the Potts House at the junction of Valley Creek and Schuylkill River. |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Sullivan's Division Major General John Sullivan Maxwell's Brigade Brig. General William Maxwell Commanding 1st New Jersey Infantry Colonel Mathias Ogden 2nd New Jersey Infantry Colonel Israel Shreye 3rd New Jersey Infantry Colonel Elias Dayton 4th New Jersey Infantry Colonel Ephraim Martin |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Stirlings Division Major General Lord Stirling Pennsylvania Brigade Commanding 3rd Regiment Infantry Colonel Thomas Craig Raised January 1, 1777 Mustered out November 3, 1783 6th Regiment Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar Raised January 1, 1777 Mustered out January 1, 1783 9th Regiment Infantry Lieutenant Colonel George Nacel Raised October 25, 1776 Mustered out January 17, 1781 12th Regiment Infantry Colonel William Cooke Raised October 1, 1776 Consolidated with 3rd Regiment Infantry July 1, 1778 |
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Achilles heel. Directly across the valley is the Outer Line, supported by Brigadier General Anthony |
Huntington's Brigade Occupied This Ground |
Conway's Brigade Occupied This Ground |
William Maxwell's Quarters |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 19, 1777 June 18, 1778 Division Huntington's Brigade Brig. General Jedediah Huntington Commanding 1st Regiment Connecticut Infantry Lieut. Col. Samuel Prentice 2nd Regiment Connecticut Infantry Col. Charles Webb 5th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Col. Philip B. Bradley 7th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Col. Heman Swift |
Crowded and Very Sickly Putrid fever, the itch, diarrhea, dysentery and rheumatism were some of the afflictions suffered by the Continental troops. At Valley Forge the Hospital Department inoculated two to three thousand against smallpox. Medicine, food, blankets and even straw for bedding were in short supply. All kinds of "Dirt and Filth" were ordered burned or buried. General Orders in May requested mud plaster removed, huts made as airy as possible, and "the Powder of a Musquet Cartridge burnt in each |
hut daily to purify the Air." As filth and offal accumulated in and around the huts, the number of sick increased. Washington continually issued orders to clean up the huts. "...the smell was in some places intollerable, owing to the want of Necessaries or the Neglect of them..." June 10 the Army moved from huts to tents. At camp, brigade hospitals treated the less seriously ill and those recovering from the smallpox inoculation. When the sick overflowed these "flying hospitals," meeting houses and barns within a few miles of camp were pressed into service. The seriously ill were moved to general hospitals at Yellow Springs, Bethlehem, Lititz, Reading and Ephrata. |
The Grand Parade Cannon smoke clouds the field below. A roar of muskets crisscrosses the Grand Parade as thousands of double-ranked troops perform a feu de joie ("fire of joy.") To celebrate the signing of the French Treaty of Alliance, General |
Washington reviews the troops of the entire encampment May 6, 1778. The Grand Parade
becomes a showplace for the newly trained and disciplined Continental Army
- a tribute to Baron von Steuben's intensive drilling. The signing of the Treaties of Commerce and Alliance with France was a crucial step toward victory. For the first time, a major power officially recognized the independence of the United States, assuring a steady flow of foreign aid. France soon became Great Britain's open enemy. |
Training for Victory Like a drill sergeant, Inspector General Friedrich von Steuben trains eyeball to eyeball with a company fo Continentals. This model company must serve as an example to the rest of Washington's army. The Grande Parade, here at the center of the encampment, is the only terrain expansive enough for drilling massed brigades. In simulated battle, Steuben sends troops back and forth across rough ground, preparing for the impending campaign against the British. Steuben stressed bayonet drill. Before this time, the Americans had never been trained in close fighting. Yet bayonet charges decided the outcome of most battles in the 18th century. |
Varnum's Quarters When he moved in, General James Varnum used one room as both living quarters and brigade headquarters, and even held general courts martial. The owners, David and Elizabeth Stephens and their family, were allowed to remain in the rest of the house. A large portion of their farmland was used for the Grand Parade. When Varnum's hut was completed, he joined his Rhode Island and Connecticut brigades hutted on both sides of the road near Stephens' home. |
Brigadier General James Varnum |
Major General Friedrich von Steuben |
Guarding the Bridge Redoubt 1 commanded the high ground, with an unobstructed view of the river and Sullivan's Bridge, 300 yards below. The redoubt was built to guard the bridge and the encampment's northern supply routes, and was manned by Varnum's Rhode Island Brigade from huts nearby. Bridging the Schuylkill was one of General Washington's most pressing concerns. The army needed access to the land across the river, and a quick escape route in case of an over-whelming British attack. |
Sullivan's Bridge According to General John Sullivan, there were few tools and skilled carpenters available. "Some of the Brigades who were to furnish me with Carpenters sent me Taylors who had never used an ax in their lives; kept their good Carpenters at home to Build Hutts." By mid-winter the bridge was completed. |
Major General John Sullivan |
Continental
Army Valley Forge December 8, 1777 June 18, 1778 Division Varnum's Brigade Brig. General James M. Varnum Commanding 1st Regiment Rhode Island Infantry Col. Christopher Greene 2nd Regiment Rhode Island Infantry Col. Israel Angell 4th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Col. John Durkee 8th Regiment Connecticut Infantry Col. John Chandler |
Dedicated
To Major General Nathanael Greene Brigadier General James Mitchell Varnum Colonel Christopher Greene Colonel Israel Angell And to other officers and men of 1st and 2nd Rhode Island regiments encamped at Valley Forge in 1777 - 1778 |
Defenders
Gate Washington Memorial Chapel |
Waterman's Monument This 50 foot granite obelisk was erected in 1901by the Daughters of the Revolution. It marks the site of the only indentified grave at Valley Forge. That of Lieutenant John Waterman of Rhode Island who died on April 23, 1778 |
To the Soldiers of Washington's army who sleep in Valley Forge 1777 - 1778 Erected by the Daughters of the Revolution 1901 |
Quarters of Brig. General Jedediah Huntington |
National Battlefields |