Yesterday, we started to talk about the incredibly difficult winter at Valley Forge in December of 1777 during The Revolutionary War. George Washington had his work cut out for him and against all odds kept his army in tact. Read the article below. In the comments section, discuss some of the obstacles George Washington faced and what he did to overcome those obstacles. Use specific examples.
(Remember it is best to write your response in Microsoft Word first, before you post. Proofreed)
The article I read on Valley Forge to me gave a lot of information to write about. One thing that I learned more about was what happened to the troops that stayed with George Washington even through the hard times at the Fort. The troops that stayed were worked harshly because it was basically a fight for life from the harsh conditions of the winter. Some of the conditions that they faced were dehydration, hunger, and frostbite. The troops that couldn’t take it would be threatened to be killed by George Washington if seen trying to run away. But for the troops that stayed he was nice to them and gave them most of what they wanted.
ReplyDeleteEveryone expected Washington and his men to surrender after the huge loss of troops but he stuck with it and got everyone through the harsh winter. While he was at the camp he also befriended a few allies to help them with the war coming soon after. With all of the help and support from everyone at the camp they successfully made it through the winter as a group. They went into the next war with passion and confidence after the long winter they were ready to fight.
Valley Forge
ReplyDeleteThey couldn’t stay in Philadelphia because the British had occupied it Congress didn’t have enough money to send them food and supplies to survive the winter. That Christmas eve the troops had to bind rags over their bleeding frostbitten feet. “We have experienced little less than a famine in camp,” Washington wrote. To try to stop people from leaving he threatened to shoot deserters on the spot. George displayed patience and obedience. He was a great role model.
Washington faced rumors that they would replace Washington. On December 31, he wrote to the Marquis de Lafayette that he would continue “to observe one steady and uniform conduct, which I shall invariably pursue, while I have the honor to command, regardless of the Tongue of slander or the powers of detraction.” He told the press that if they found someone better suited for the job that he would resign and move back to his Mount Vernon estate. He worked hard and got through the winter. I think George Washington was a great peson in American history.
The Winter at Valley Forge
ReplyDeleteBy Benson
The first obstacle that was in George Washington’s way was the sadness that their capital was now overrun with the British troops. This dampened the spirits of the men and made them retreat to Valley Forge. Because his men had been fighting they were weary and really needed food and supplies.
The second obstacle that George Washington endured was famine. When they arrived at Valley Forge they discovered there was only enough food for eight days and so they soon grew hungry and upset. One person said that there was just a little less then famine in the camp.
The third obstacle he faced was the cold. It was so cold that most of his men got bloody feet and some of them got frostbite and died. The temperatures of this event were 22 below zero this lowered the tolerance of the men even more and was one of the biggest problems of the war.
The fourth obstacle that he had was deserters. Some soldiers thought they should be able to leave their camps but if they did this they wouldn’t be able to arrive fast enough to attack the British. This was because news travelled slowly and transportation was also slow. Sometimes he had to whip and threaten soldiers that deserted.
The fifth obstacle he faced was the congress. They threatened him and accused him of problems he had no control over. The only problem for congress was that his army was very loyal to him and they also couldn’t find anyone to fill his shoes. He faced many obstacles but he did prevail and now we have America.
George Washington and his troops faced many troubles during their winter at Valley Forge. When they were there they barely had any food. Washington wrote to Patrick Henry that they had a famine in camp. Many of the soldiers died from starvation or freezing to death. Other than the lack of food their troubles were far from over.
ReplyDeleteThe men also had thin walls in their cabins and the wind would be able to blow through it. People could freeze to death from the cold of the winter. They didn’t have any clothes for the winter. Many people got frostbite and didn’t have bandages to stop the bleeding from their missing toes. Congress couldn’t do much to stop everything happening since they didn’t have enough money. George was also threatened to be replaced by Congress. Washington did pull his men through. Though the loss of life there has gone down in history.
I just read an article about George Washington and the winter at Valley Forge. They experienced many difficulties while trying to survive the winter of seventeen seventy seven. Some of the difficulties that the troops faced with were lack of food, men, medicine, blankets, and so much more.
ReplyDeleteWhen the troops arrived at Valley Forge General Washington thought he was going to give them nutritious food but Congress was unable to provide them with the supplies. The lack of food was very bad, for Christmas Eve dinner the troops had to eat rice and vinegar. Most people at Valley Forge died of starvation during the harsh and dangerous winter.
The winter of seventeen seventy seven claimed numerous lives. At one time they would be losing ten people a day. The people died of frost bite, starvation and many other numerous things. They didn’t have a hospital so they weren’t able to treat the troops the proper supplies to heal them.
Another important problem was blankets. The cabins troops stayed in weren’t well built. Wind would go through the walls and they didn’t provide enough shelter to the wind as other cabins. With the lack of blankets the troops would sometimes freeze to death.
While all of these problems were happening, General Washington had to worry about Congress replacing him with a new general, but in the end he didn’t get replaced and he was able to keep his army alive through the harsh winter of seventeen seventy seven.
The winter at Valley Forge
ReplyDeleteThe winter at Valley Forge was an extremely difficult time in the Revolutionary War. It truly exposed George Washington’s leadership skills and brought the remaining Patriots in Valley Forge closer to him.
One obstacle he faced was famine. There was barely any food for the Patriots. Here is a quote from the article: “Though he had hoped to provide his weary men with more nutritious food and badly needed winter clothing, Congress had been unable to provide money for fresh supplies. That Christmas Eve, the troops dined on a meal of rice and vinegar, and were forced to bind their bleeding frost-bitten feet with rags.”
Another Obstacle was the freezing cold weather. The soldiers’ sleeping quarters had very thin walls that could let lots of wind and cold breezes inside. They also barely had a blanket to sleep with at night.
Overall, the spring and the end of winter gave the Patriots a boost of confidence and sent them straight off into battle again.
George Washington faced obstacles during the winter at Valley Forge. When he got the food he thought it lasted eight months before it expired but it actually lasted eight weeks. The troops dined on a meal of rice and vinegar, and were forced to bind their bleeding frost-bitten feet with rags. The men had thin walls for their cabins and the wind could almost blow through it. A lot of the people died because of sickness and dehydration. There was only enough food for eight days and they were hungry and upset. A guy said that there was just a little less then famine in the camp. Many of the troops went home because they couldn’t take it anymore. George Washington decided to stay and help the people through this rough time. When all of these problems were happening, Washington worried about Congress replacing with a new general. Everyone thought that Washington and his men wood surrender because they lost a bunch of troops, but he stuck with it and got everyone through the harsh winter. At the end, he didn’t get replaced and he was able to keep his army alive through the thing.
ReplyDeleteDuring winter encampment the patriots George Washington faced many hard problems along the way of their journey. A lot of men couldn’t handle all of the stress so they dropped out. However, the leader George Washington took all the matters into his own hands and had to face a lot of hard problems. One of his biggest struggles was dealing with the congress. The congress questioned all of his leadership abilities. They doubted what he can and cannot do. They demanded to go to Philadelphia and attack the British instead of staying at Valley Forge to stay healthy. The troops faced many conditions such as frostbite and hunger. They were cold and tired. Many troops died or got wounded and they ran out of supplies and food quickly. Everyone tried to help the sick people survive but they failed.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Washington was a big help in this time. He was a leader and a hard worker. He helped all the troops try to accomplish what they had to do to stay alive and working. He wrote many entries explaining how hard it was to live in this time. One of his entries said this “We have experienced little less than a famine in camp” which means they had limited food to eat. It was very hard to survive but thankfully George Washington was there to help guide the patriots to victory.
A cold winter at Valley Forge
ReplyDeleteThere were a lot of struggles in the winter so when it was a really cold winter everyone would go to Valley Forge and try to survive there. They would stay in little wood cabins but they weren’t much warmer than being outside. Some went back but also many stayed and it was a big risk to stay because of how freezing it was. One big thing was providing clothes to survive in the freezing cold weather. A lot of men died not from being shot but being cold. Also being able to have enough food had nutrients to last. Many had frostbitten feet and shared a meal of rice and vinegar. Through all of this Washington stayed strong and did his best to keep his men alive.
While this was happening Washington was confronted the dissatisfying reports that there were plans to replace him. Even though he was trying really hard to keep everyone alive and be a good leader. This winter almost ended the American Revolution, but luckily Washington did not give up. He kept on fight to get his men through the winter. For the people that were still there Washington expressed deep gratitude.
In the winter of 1777, George Washington had many obstacles to face so he had to be very strict. He had to keep his solders hopes up, help them, and provided them with as much food as possible. He had to try to keep his troops from colds, frost bite, and much more. He had to keep his solders from leaving the camp, give them hope that they needed to get them through the winter. He had to give them clothes, keeping his job. These things were all very hard challenges that he faced in the winter of 1777.
ReplyDeleteThese things were very hard from keeping his food supply, taking care of his troops, and still keep them ready for the spring when they needed to fight the British. He knew if he left Valley Forge his troops would die. He spent the time with them. He still didn’t have an easy winter too. He was trying to keep his solders happy while still trying to keep his job, even though he was doing an amazing job.
The winter was one of the hardest things but, one of the most needed things for the Patriots. It brought them closer, and showed them what they can do when they work together.
At Valley Forge, Pennsylvania there were tons of problems. The Congress was usually at the center of them. During the winter at Valley Forge, the congress caused most of the problems. They threatened to replace George Washington. The Congress was unable to provide new supplies or money. So that Christmas Eve his soldiers had only rice and vinegar. The soldiers at Valley Forge were freezing and starving to death. The soldiers that left the camp were to be executed.
ReplyDeleteHe had to defy the Congress’ order to spring a mid-winter ambush on the British troops. Washington’s soldiers were on the edge of collapsing. So that was part of the reason that the Congress wanted to replace him, but George Washington did stay with them for the whole winter. Which is probably one of the reasons he wasn’t replaced.
George Washington had a lot of obstacles he had to face in Valley Forge, he never gave up no matter what. The first obstacle that George Washington suffered was famine. When they arrived at Valley Forge they discovered there was only enough food for eight days and so they soon became hungry and sick from lack of food. The second obstacle George Washington had to face was frostbite and dehydration for him and his troops. The temperatures were 22 degrees below zero. I can’t imagine having any energy when it’s that cold outside. The troops that couldn’t endure the cold would be threatened to be killed by George Washington himself, if seen trying to run away from the camp. But for the troops that stayed, he was nice to them and treated them well. The third obstacle was not having bandages to stop the bleeding, instead they had to use rags. The fourth obstacle was not having medicine for the troops for them to get better faster.
ReplyDeleteThe men had very thin walls in their cabins and the wind blew through in the night, sometimes they froze to death. The fifth obstacle George Washington had was when he was scared that Congress would replace him even after he worked so hard for the troops in Valley Forge. Overall George Washington led the troops well and he never gave up.
The article about Winter at Valley Forge was very interesting. George Washington and his troops were very strong. Even though it was very cold and there were a lot of challenges Washington faced. Most of the troops stayed there. The troops that did stay had many challenges to face. Some of the challenges that happened were frostbite, hunger, and dehydration. Many of the soldiers died from freezing to death or starvation. Even with all the troubles the winter was far from over. They only had eight days of food and they thought they had eight months of food. That Christmas they had to eat rice and vinegar. The troops that didn’t stay, were threatened to be killed by George Washington. But the troops that did stay, Washington was very nice to and gave them a lot of what he could get.
ReplyDeleteThe men had very thin walls in their cabins. The wind could blow though the cabin walls which made it freezing cold. Congress didn’t have enough money so they couldn’t help a lot to stop all the problems. Lots of people died that winter, but some people lived and they were strong, brave, and ready to win the war.
The winter at Valley Forge
ReplyDeleteby: Brianna
When the patriots arrived at Valley Forge it was the coldest winter they had ever experienced. The obstacles that George Washington and the soldiers faced were that they didn’t have enough food, when he read the package he thought it said eight months but it was eight weeks. They also didn’t have enough winter clothes. Most of the people got frostbite and severe colds. George Washington never gave up; he kept trying to help his men. The ways he tried to help his men was trying to give them all the supplies he could to prevent his soldiers from dying. On Christmas Eve all the soldiers ate rice and vinegar and had to warm their feet with wet rags. George Washington treated the remaining soldiers with admiration and appreciation. But some soldiers got too cold and started to miss their family so they left Valley Forge. George Washington declared them to be lashed and if someone saw one of the deserters to shoot them. When the long and hard winter was over they were ready to fight the war.
During the hard winter in Valley Forge, George Washington had some obstacles. One of his struggles was the number of soldiers dying because of the harsh winter. Soldiers were dying of severe frostbite, deathly colds, and agonizing hunger. George was down a lot of soldiers. But, he aided his men to the best of his ability and stayed positive throughout the whole winter. Congress couldn’t supply money for fresh food items. So, Christmas Eve, they had to eat rice and vinegar and sit with warm rags on their feet.
ReplyDelete