Winter at Valley Forge: Washington's Darkest Hour?

American History Hit

This episode examines the brutal winter encampment at Valley Forge in late 1777 and early 1778, exploring how George Washington's battered Continental Army survived one of the American Revolution's most desperate periods. Host Don Wildman

Key takeaways

• The Continental Army suffered more casualties at Valley Forge than in any battle of the war, primarily due to disease and starvation rather than combat.
• Baron de Steuben implemented a 'train-the-trainer' drill system that standardized Continental tactics and introduced accountability measures still used today.

Main topics

• Valley Forge winter encampment conditions
• Continental Army logistical & supply failures

Notable quotes

"Patriotism only goes so far. You can't fill a man's belly with good feelings."

Conclusion

Valley Forge emerges not as a battlefield victory but as a strategic endurance test where

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Want to explore even more history? Sign up to History Hit, where you will discover history from around the world. From the American Revolution to prehistoric Scotland, there is plenty to discover. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries, with a brand new release every week, exploring everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe to bring the past. alive. Speaker 3 (0:33) We're in rural Pennsylvania in December 1777. After more than two years of fighting, the Revolutionary War is at a crisis point for the Americans. Earlier this fall, British forces occupied Philadelphia, forcing the Continental Congress there to flee. While to the north there has been notable success at Saratoga, here George Washington's army has suffered a beating at Brandywine, and then a depressing string of skirmishes gone wrong. And now, with winter again closing in, His soldiers must encamp on a desolate stretch of Pennsylvania countryside, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Valley Forge. Over the next six months, thousands of people, men and women, will endure severe deprivations, freezing temperatures and disease. Their crude huts offering little in the way of protection from the elements, while shortages of food, clothing and supplies leave soldiers fighting a desperate battle simply to survive. At the center of it all, of course, is Washington himself, with his army exhausted and depleted and his officers frustrated. Over the ensuing months, he will face perhaps the greatest test of his command. Not to defeat the British, but to hold his army together long enough to fight another day. As the freeze sets in, the cause of American independence hangs in the balance. Speaker 3 (2:06) I'm Don Wildman, and you are listening to American History Hit, so glad you're here. There might be no more legendary phase of the American Revolution than the winter George Washington and the Continental Army spent at Valley Forge. So to bring us back to its harsher reality, we are joined today by Dr. Ricardo Herrera. Dr. Herrera is Professor Emeritus at the U.S. Army War College and Senior Historian at the George Washington Leadership Institute. Long before he began teaching military leaders, he served on the ground as a U.S. Army armor and cavalry officer. His award-winning book, Feeding Washington's Army, Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778, pulls the myth back of Valley Forge to reveal its more logical desperation of those days. Speaker 3 (3:03) Professor Herrera, Rick, welcome to American History Hit. Nice to have you here. It's great to be with you, Don. Thank you. Before we talk about what life was like at Valley Forge, let's discuss how the patriots found themselves in this mess to begin with. What's been happening prior to this? Give me some context on why these guys are in such dire straits. Speaker 2 (3:24) One of the constants for the Continental Army during the war for independence was the quite frankly, shambolic, staggering mess of a logistical system. The days that it worked well were few and far between, but quite often the system simply staggered under the restrictions put upon it by the Congress. But other things such as the worthlessness of continental currency, the unwillingness of some people to supply the army, and Of course, the British going for the same supplies. At this point, the British, to take us back a few months, in August of 1777, the British Army landed at Hedeveld, Maryland. This was part of General Sir William Howe's larger plan to destroy the Continental Army, to take the American capital at Philadelphia. And he hoped. to bring about peace. This was part of a much larger strategy that involved a British column moving southward from Canada that was intended to cut off New England and then launch raids into New England to devastate what the British frankly saw as the cancer of rebellion, the New Englanders. This, in their minds, was the place where it all started. And so if they can excise this problem that's emanating out of New England, it will cause the rest of the colonies to fall in line. And this is something of a fantasy. It's a repeat of what they had tried to do in 1776 and did not succeed in doing. So the British land at Head of Elk, they've had a miserable voyage from New York. They've been hit by wretched storms, terrible weather. They've had to dump I have no idea how many hundreds of horses overboard that have died during the voyage. Soldiers need to get their land legs back. They will land. And then as quickly as possible, Howe sets the army in motion. He's looking for a fight, an open field fight with George Washington and the Continental Army. Speaker 2 (5:44) begin opening skirmishes at Ironbound Hill. This is the only fight, by the way, that takes place in Delaware throughout the war. All three counties, it's only battle. And they will skirmish there, fall back. On the 11th of September, 1777, they will fight one of the largest land battles, not the largest, but one of the largest battles at Brandywine. Washington is defeated. But the amazing thing is that the Continental Army continues to hold together. And so these soldiers really see something in this cause. They see something in their leaders. And most of them stick with the fight. The Army falls back. There'll be a small non-engagement, if you will, at Paoli. Both sides line up, and then the heavens open up and soak their powder, and they stand staring at one another. Well, this isn't working out well, and they both fall Speaker 1 (6:45) back. Speaker 2 (6:45) Fast forward to December of 1777. The army is encamped at White Marsh, about 15 miles east of Valley Forge. Washington has had the army set up in a defensive position. Since October, He's been sending out letters to his generals and holding councils of war. What do we do next? Do we wage a winter campaign or do we go into winter quarters to try and preserve the army? Washington uses these councils of war as a way not to... practice war by democracy, but instead to test out ideas and to get the senior officers' ideas behind it, and also to get a buy-in once his decision is finally made. He's rather a judicious leader. So, early December, set up on this ridgeline running about, oh, three to four miles from southwest to northeast, the British army decides, we're going to go out and Meet Mr. Washington in battle. It marches out. There's some skirmishing on the western side of the line, but not much else happens. Howe looks at the fortifications, and he uses his better judgment. He remembers what had happened at Bunker Hill. He had taken part in all three assaults against the American positions. Every officer who had accompanied him was either killed or wounded. This left an indelible mark on William Howe's mind. Moreover, it reinforced Howe's understanding that his most precious commodity was his soldier. He could not afford to waste the lives of British Redcoats. So, Washington asks, what do we do now? Ultimately, it comes down to, we should take winter quarters. Preserve the army. Where do we go? And there are a variety of things that come up. Some officers advocate moving as far forward, if you will, to Philadelphia as Germantown. So that's just within a few miles of the British Army. Others advocate falling back into Pennsylvania's backcountry. Ultimately, Washington decides on Valley Forge, about 17 miles north of Philadelphia. It sits on high ground, and it's an ideal place to establish fortified encampment. Rick, Speaker 3 (9:09) why is Valley Forge chosen and when? I mean, my confusion, I think many people are confused. Why would you establish a winter encampment outside of a city that is occupied by your enemy? That seems like a deadly idea. Speaker 2 (9:22) Don, that is a great observation. Normally, 18th century armies like to go to winter quarters in towns, in cities if possible, something to provide shelter for the soldiers. You know, this wonderful, not contradiction, but something about the nature of 18th century armies. They're able to inflict and absorb incredible punishment, but they're also incredibly fragile. They're expensive to train. They're expensive to maintain. And so you've got to be careful with how you use them. Washington makes the decision of wintering at Valley Forge. Based on political and military strategy, it's close enough to Philadelphia to prevent the British Army from advancing deep into Pennsylvania. It's only 17 miles, so it's about a day's march. It's far enough away that outposts that will be established can give warning and Continental troops can fill in the fortifications. They can man those fortifications. So it serves this purpose of denying the British their ability to reassert a crown power in Pennsylvania. It also allows Washington and the Continental Army to show the flag. It helps show that the Continental Congress, through the Army, is still around. It helps backstop Pennsylvania's very weak government. The Pennsylvania government, it sounded good on paper. In practice, it was really not all that good. The governor had very little power. Well, Speaker 3 (11:09) the Quakers dropped out. That's the problem. Well, Speaker 2 (11:12) that and you had it was incredibly radical for the age. And so you had the lower classes, if you will, lower economic classes exercising incredible political power. This is something the elites were not used to and they didn't approve of it. Speaker 3 (11:28) When you go there today, you get still the feeling. I mean, there's highways and everything around there, but you still feel how wide open this place is, right? That's the main sensibility. And that was certainly the case back then, wasn't it? Speaker 2 (11:40) Oh, exactly. And one thing that I would ask listeners to do is to think of Valley Forge as forward operating base Valley Forge. So people who... paid attention to the news about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are probably familiar with the term Forward Operating Base, or FOB. So, think about this as FOB Valley Forge. It's a temporary fortified encampment