This morning I drove from Philly to Valley Forge. It is the site where General George Washington led his troops out of Philadelphia when the British forces took over the city the winter of 1777. It is the high ground outside of Philadelphia. They were in pretty bad shape. Some of the men had no boots, some were naked. Critically ill soldiers were moved to a nearby hospital, other injured men toughed it out and stayed with their units.
When they arrived, they needed to build housing. Tents would not be enough shelter during the winter. Washington made it a competition, paying $5 to the unit to make the first well built cabin. Soon they had enough buildings for the men. They slept 6-12 men per cabin.
General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben saw that the men were in disaray and ill equipped to return to battle. Washington charged him with getting the men back in shape to resume fighting. Von Steuben spent the next several months retraining them. As a result, Washington's soldiers were transformed and their spirits were revived. By June 1778, they successfully fought General Clinton's army at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey.
After the soldiers left the area, the farmers took down the cabins and used them for fire wood. General Washington's headquarters and stable were donated to the park service. The buildings have remained remained intact all these years. The furniture is not the original, but it is of the period.
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