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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
Status: offline
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 Posted - November 05 2012 : 3:33:27 PM
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To finish out the story of the Philadelphia Campaign, we must at last arrive here at Valley Forge as did Washington's dispirited army of near 10,000 men in December, 1777. Valley Forge is probably THE best-known Revolutionary site in America, and rather than attempt to retell the familliar time-worn tale, I will instead share my impressions of the place. Though the story here is properly that of starvation amid snowdrifts in the depths of Winter, in fact it was a balmy and almost too-warm Indian Summer day when I visited here two hundred and twenty years after-the-fact.
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The Memorial Arch seems to me strangely out-of-place in what was essentially a campground, though its inscription stresses suffering and sacrifice rather than triumph and victory.
The campground at Valley Forge was selected for several reasons: only about twenty miles from British-held Philadelphia, it was still near enough to allow harrassment of enemy foraging parties; there was high ground suitable for defense should General Howe decide to attack; stands of timber meant sufficient wood available for constructing winter quarters; and abundent water was provided by both Valley Creek and the nearby Schuylkill River. Unfortunately, each of those advantages was offset by corresponding disadvantages!
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Nearness to the British outposts also meant defense of the position was an important consideration, so various forts and redoubts planned by the Continental army's French military engineers also had to be erected. Redoubt #3 here on the Inner Defense Line wasn't completed until the following spring when need for it had passed.
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The most iconic images of Valley Forge concern the village of huts, like these reconstructions on the site of Gen. Muhlenberg's Pennsylvania Brigade camp, in the snowy landscape. Unfortunately, the poorly-supplied army lacked even the most basic tools with which to construct them: saws, axes, and even hatchets were in discouragingly short supply, prompting Washington to offer a reward of money to the brigade that was first to complete its huts.
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Also unfortunately for the soldiers of the army, concerns for the defense of the main camp placed it on a windswept plateau overlooking and at some distance from the Schuylkill and Valley Creek, seen here in the background; the wooden covered bridge dates from the 1860's. It was necessary for the men, exhausted from their labors building their huts and the fortifications to also have to haul their water and firewood over increasingly longer distances.
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Though no battles took place here, Valley Forge is not without its heroic statuary. George Washington is strangely conspiciously absent, but local Pennsylvania hero Anthony Wayne shows above to fine advantage. Below, an ironic pre-WWI gift from Germany was the statue of Maj. Gen. Friedrich Whilhelm, Baron von Steuben, placed appropriately here at the edge of the Grand Parade.
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This line of reproduction cannon represents Gen. Henry Knox's Artillery Park near the grounds of the Grand Parade. In this large field Baron von Steuben became the "drillmaster" of the Continental Army, instructing it in his own manual of standardized tactics and battlefield maneuvers that would finally put to rest embarrassments like Sullivan's fumbling maneuvers at the start of the campaign at Brandywine. In the spring on a fine day in May the Grand Parade was the scene of a great feu de joie celebrating news of the French Alliance as well as the survival of the army.
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Background above, line of winter huts of Washington's Bodyguard near the Potts House; this became Headquarters in January, 1778, once all the army's huts were complete and the general felt it appropriate for him and his staff to move from their own tents into more substantial lodgings indoors.
The winter of 1777 - 1778 spent here at Valley Forge was not especially severe by the standards of other years, especially that of the terrible winter at Morristown. N. J., 1780 - 81, the worst on contemporary record. Instead it was greed, corruption, indifference, and incompetence that caused the army's suffering here. Much of it can be laid directly at the door of Washington's inept Commissary General, Thomas Mifflin, who was ignoring his duties while engaged in political wrangling to unseat Washington and replace him as Commander-in-Chief with Horatio Gates, "The Hero of Saratoga". This overlooked sub-plot of Valley Forge, combined with an almost total break-down of the supply system, was responsible for numberless needless deaths amid the general starvation and suffering that eventually claimed at least 3,000 lives.
Once Washington recieved the authority from a sluggish Congress to replace the craven Mifflin with the efficient Nathanael Greene things improved slowly-but-steadily. The gradual easing of winter, the return of shad to the Schuylkill in the spring, news of the French Alliance, von Steuben's improvements and reforms, and rumors that the British intended to abandon Philadelphia and return to New York all worked wonders to improve the army's condition and morale for the upcoming campaign season. When it marched from here in June, 1778, to contest the British retreat it was stronger and in better morale than it ever had been.
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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
Status: offline
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Posted - October 10 2018 : 12:33:13 PM
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Above is a wax figure representing a mounted General George Washington during the Revolution when he was a man only in his forties. This was a new feature in the NPS Valley Forge Visitor Center and museum back during my most recent visit in 2015.
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The guns here are in the redoubt overlooking the creek on the side of the encampment nearest Philadelphia and were the main defense line for the camp.
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Below is another nearby gun position along the ridge:
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Above, interior of one of the reconstructed huts. I was greatly disgusted during my visit to see a very obvious woman pretending to be a soldier here in a ridiculous "living history" display so refused to take any photos of them!
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I managed to exclude their group from this shot of the exterior of the huts. Below is another group of huts near Washington's headquarters in the Ring House which marks the site of the camp of the Headquarters Guard.
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Above and below, two more views of Pennsylvania's Native Son, General "Mad" Anthony Wayne.
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Below, a closer look at the Von Steuben statue located at the Parade Ground where he famously drilled the troops:
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James N.
Colonial Militia
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
October 24 2007
Status: offline
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Posted - October 10 2018 : 12:49:22 PM
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One of my favorite spots is the reconstructed Artillery Park, located in open ground near the Grand Parade ground and where most of the guns of Henry Knox's artillery was parked when not deployed on the lines.
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Above and below, close-ups of the reproduction guns at the Artillery Park and some on the lines:
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Monadnock Hiker
Colonial Militia
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 31 2017
Status: offline
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Posted - October 10 2018 : 5:31:05 PM
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| Some great pics & info as always James - like them all. I completely agree with your comment concerning a woman "pretending" to be a soldier. If true "living history" can't be portrayed accurately - then forget it. ... Several years ago I was watching a "newer documentary" about D-Day in WWII. - It showed the landing using real footage - but the commentator "implied" there were women involved in the actually landings. - Turned it off instantly, PC is destroying us. |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
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Posted - October 11 2018 : 09:47:17 AM
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| I wonder what would happen if we dressed up like women and wanted to be washer women or camp followers? Bet the PC police would say something about that! |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
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Posted - December 14 2018 : 1:42:33 PM
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Now, THAT..... I would like to see! 
Yes.... it's truly me. Yes.... it's been a while.  |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
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Posted - December 15 2018 : 08:42:50 AM
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| Yes, it has been a while. I think there is some other person on that Facebook thing pretending to be you. But I don't know. Anyway, glad to see you are back. Now, time for another Gathering! |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Monadnock Hiker
Colonial Militia
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 31 2017
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Wilderness Woman
Watcher of the Wood
USA
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
November 27 2002
Status: offline
Donating Member |
Posted - December 16 2018 : 12:10:09 PM
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Well, there are times when I would like to bail out of "that Facebook thing."  I miss the old times here on the boards, even with the issues we sometimes had with odd people.  I'll check in once in a while... |
"It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imaginings could possibly have been." |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
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Posted - December 17 2018 : 09:24:14 AM
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| The "odd people" we had here pale in comparison to those on Facebook. |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Monadnock Hiker
Colonial Militia
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 31 2017
Status: offline
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Posted - December 17 2018 : 12:02:39 PM
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| Never had a Facebook account & never will. |
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Fitzhugh Williams
Mohicanland Statesman
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
July 17 2005
Status: offline
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Posted - December 18 2018 : 07:54:28 AM
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| It's a place to get information. For that it is good. More than that, it's what you make it. There have been some excellent discussions on hunting frocks, flintlocks, history, and authenticity. I use these and avoid the rest. It's like walking into a shopping mall. I go to certain stores for what I need. Most stores I have never entered. |
"Les deux pieds contre la muraille et la tete sous le robinet" |
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Monadnock Hiker
Colonial Militia
Bumppo's Patron since [at least]:
August 31 2017
Status: offline
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Posted - December 18 2018 : 08:25:13 AM
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| In my part-time work (with a defense contractor) we have an "annual address" from the FBI or other security agencies and everyone from the government says a Facebook account is about the most dangerous thing you can have today. - It knows/provides "all personal info" and "who you chat with & about what" it provides info "they" could almost never get (free) without a huge effort. Profiling is common, who you "like" and who you don't "like" - where you meet, probably what size shoes or underwear you buy. - Maintaining any thought of privacy is nothing more than a "quaint idea." - it no longer exists. ... Facebook is only one, any number of others are monitored 24/7/365 - and the info is stored. - Once they have a "contact list" they follow that out like tree roots - never ending. - Most folks today don't give this a thought - THEY SHOULD!!! ... If you apply/interview for a job today, your "social media" links are checked - things you'd NEVER mention during an interview are known before you even show for the interview. ... Although I've never had a Facebook account - "they" know know about me. - Almost everyone I contact has a Facebook account & that's all it takes. |
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Valley Forge National Historical Park
