Survival and Training at Valley Forge

Hello, American History Teller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you. This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music, with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America And they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows july fourth, seventeen seventy six. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year But there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to Americanhistorylive. com. That's Americanhistorylive dot comot Come see my Days that Made America tour live on stage. goo to ammericanhistorylive dot com Imagine it's june seventeenh seventy seven The afternoon' sun bears down on you as you stand in an open field beside a river in Unadilla, New York You're a Mohawk leader, and you're meeting with your old neighbor, Patriot General Nicholas Herkimer O hundred of your warriors lurk in the forest, but Hercimer has brought four hundred militiamen with him in a clear show of force. Arkimer steps forward, extending his hand Good to see you again You grip his hand firmly and narrow your gaze Is it Of course. As you well know, I've long admired the Indians. Some of them are my closest friends, and I've come today in the name of peace. Pace, and yet you bring hundreds of armed men with you, men who would delight in the chance to kill me Herkimer's jaw tightens, and the warmth drains from his expression. Well they're here as a precaution. It's time you stop raid settlements up and down the valley. All the stolen cattle, the families driven off their land, makeake peace with us or better yet fight by our side. I've already chosen my path. My loyalty lies with the English king as did my father's my grandfatherers's king who lives an ocean away? What does he care about your future? Join us. We are fighting for the blessings of liberty, buildilding a new nation, a new future I amm fighting for a future as well, a future for my people. You Americans look at Mohawk land and see only what you can take. Your people's hunger will never be satisfied. And you think the British are different. I know they are. When I traveled to London and met the King, he gave me his assurances that our lands will be secure under his rule. Herkimer takes a long breath, steadying himself lookook, I didn't come out here to fight. I don't want to go to battle with your people, and if you won't join us, then please just lay down your arms, go home, stay out of this war. This path can only lead to more bloodshed. You glance past him toward the line of armed men standing in the field. If war comes to this valley should know, we will be ready Herkimer shakes his head and turns away, walking back to his militia. And as you watch him go, you feel a growing sense of certainty that the Americans will not rest until they have taken everything from you. that you must do all you can to stand in their way I'm Raza Jeoffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who, we go back in time to meet Benedict Arnold, the spy who betrayed the American Revolution. As America fights for freedom from Britain, Arnold emerges as one of the rebels's greatest generals. But when his loyalty is pushed to the limit, he turns spy and devises a plot to shutatter the rebellion and make George Washington Follow the Sy who now, wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also listen to the full season of the spy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Audible. I heard a rumour that the CIA poisoned my granddad. Gordon Banks the world's number one goalkeeper. It happened in Mexico, supposedly, at the World Cup in nineteen seventy Sounds crazy. I'm an investigative journalist on the hunt for evidence. We needed to do some extraordinary things to counter these ovians This is Foul play, an unbelievable tale of sports, spies, and family secrets Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or early and ad free on audible Audle Originals, I'm Lindsy Graham and this is American Historyteellers. Our history, your story In june seventeen seventy seven, Patriot General Nicholas Herkimer tried to persuade Mohawk leader Joseph Brandt to stay out of the war with Britain But Brantt refused. resesentful of American encroachment on native land, he declared his loyalty to the crown. cast his lot with the British army. Later that summer, Herkimer and Brandt would meet again in one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War By seventeen seventy seven, the British had chased the Continental Army out of Manhattan and across New Jersey Now, a large invasion force moved down from Canada with the goal of conquering the Hudson River Valley A separate British force targeted Philadelphia, determined to capture the rebel capital with the British striking on multiple fronts Continental Army faced a critical test Many suspected that the Patriots could not hope to win the war without the aid of Britain's longtime rival France but only a major victory in the field would persuade France to enter the conflict So late in the summer, the two armies converged in upstate New York for a battle that would turn the tide of the American Revolution This is episode four Saratoga In december seventeen seventy six, seventy year old Benjamin Franklin arrived in Paris on behalf of the Continental Congress, seeking to enlist France as an ally in the war against Britain Almost immediately, he took French society by storm with his folksxy demeanor and beaver fur cap But he had his work cut out for him He knew that the fight for independence would be lost unless he managed to secure French military aid Franklin was betting on the fact that France had plenty of reason to want to seek revenge against Britain, their long standing military and economic rival. Scarcely fourteen years had passed since France suffered a bitter defeat in the French and Indian warar and was forced to relinquish nearly all its North American territory to Britain And since the spring of seventeen seventy six, the French had secretly provided three hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder thirty thousand muskets to the Continental Army, using a dummy corporation to smuggle the supplies into America Congress wanted a formal military alliance, one that would legitimize American sovereignty and provide the Continental Army with badly needed funds, manpower, and naval support So soon after Franklin's arrival in Paris, he began meeting with the French foreign mininister the Comte de Verggin But Verjenne hesitated to agree to a formal alliance The French and Indian War had depleted the French treasury, and recent patriot defeats had done little to inspire confidence in the war efforts Not only had the American invasion of Canada ended in disaster But the British had driven Washington's army out of New York City in the fall of seventy six. So Vergen insisted that he could not sign a formal treaty until America's military situation improved, meaning in seventeen seventy seven Franklin's efforts and the entire fate of the Revolution depend on good news from the front. Soon enough, it would come The Continental Army had just won a pair of surprise victories against enemy garrisons in Trenton andrinceton, New Jersey and General George Washington was determined to maintain the momentum So in early seventeen seventy seven, while the Continental Army was camped in Morristown, New Jersey, Washington demanded new policies to strengthen the army Congress responded by raising the maximum punishment a soldier could receive from thirty nine lashes to one hundred lashes in an effort to improve discipline But they also introduced longer enlistment terms, promising cash bonuses for soldiers who enlisted for three years and one hundred acres of Indian land to anyone who served for the duration of the war Seeing an opportunity, poor and propertyless men flock to the army, including free black men And with these new recruits flooding the camps Washington had eleven thousand men under his command by the spring. An additional seventeen thousand men had joined the Continental Army's Northern Division in upstate New York But meanwhile, the British were drawing up their own battle plans, determined to make a comeback after the losses at Trenton and Princeton British W mininister Lord George Germmaine described these as extremely mortifying So in early seventeen seventy seven, the British launched a grand new strategy to win the war, devised by General John Burgoyne Known as Gentleman Johnny, Burgoyne was a popular playwright, a flamboyant man of fashion and notorious gambler And while on leave in London, he had convinced Lord Germaine to let him lead a complex, three pronged campaign to divide the former colonies His goal was to isolate New England by taking control of the Hudson River Valley. He envisioned three forces converging on Albany, New York At first, Burgoyne himself would lead the main force from the north, starting in Canada and advancing down Lake Champlain and the Hudson River Second, Colonel Barry Sillinger would lead a smaller force from the West, rallying support from Indians living in the Mohawk Valley Third, General William Howe would move his army from the south, sailing to Albany from New York City After the three forces converged in Albany, the British would control the entire Hudson Valley And with this vital region in their hands, they could divide the colonies and strangle the rebellion Vergoyne was so confident in this plan that he b a rival in Parliament that he would return victorious by Christmas. But while his strategy was sound in theory, it fell apart in execution Rurgoyne expected General Howe to join forces with him in Albany later that summer How had different plans in mind He wanted to capture Philadelphia, the capital of the new United States and its largest city to crush the rebellion with a single decisive stroke Lord Germaine approved both plans, expecting how to take Philadelphia before supporting Burgoyne in Albany But he failed to coordinate, and the result was that the two generals move forward with separate and conflicting strategies Burgoyne began his push in june seventeen seventy seven heading down Lake Champlain with a flotilla carrying more than eight thousand British and German soldiers. From the start, this army was weighed down by a massive baggage train which included furniture, champagne and formalware. Despite this burden, in early July, Burgoyne's army easily captured Fort Ticonderoga at the southern end of the lake, dealing a heavy blow to patriate morale. But the rapid fall of Ticonderoga was followed by more setbacks for the British Burgoyne decided to march over lland to his next target Fort Edward on the edge of the Hudson River But he underestimated the difficulty of moving his artillery and heavy baggage train through the dense wilderness. Patriot soldiers hindered their advance further by destroying bridges and felling trees in their path We're going twenty days to cover just twenty two miles And even then, he was still fifty miles away from Albany But despite his slow progress, Burgoyne remained optimistic. confident that Colonel Sillinger and General Howe were coming to his aid from the west and south had no idea Cow was focused on his own agenda. Imagine it's mid july seventeen seventy seven in New York City You're a general in the British Army serving as second in command to William Howe You're seated in the dining room of the mansion Howe is using for his headquarters Today marks the third time this week that you've come to see him about his next campaign, but How is more interested in the roasted venison on his plate? Would you care for a glass of madeadeira? I just had it chipped in? H signals to the footman to pour you a glass, but you wave him off No, thank you. I'm in no mood to drink I think you know my reason for coming, I beg you to do away with this plan to take Philadelphia It's time to send your army north to Albany. This again. It's the only sensible move. I'm sorry, sir, but you have your priorities wrong. When Lord Germain approved Burgoyne's campaign, it was understood that your army would join the others in Albany. ow takes a deep siff of wine Need I remind you that when I introduced the idea of capturing Philadelphia, Germaine made no objection to the proposal It may have been true months ago when Germaine assumed he would capture Philadelphia in the spring Now would be plenty of time to head to Albany in this summer But you've wasted all this time in New York playing cat and Mouse with Washington Now it's the middle of July, and if you insist on attacking Philadelphia, there will not be enough time to go to Albany really who cares about all Why divide the colonies's piece meeal? If I can lure Washington to Philadelphia and take the seat of the rebel Congress, I can end this war with a single stroke Well, to be frank, I never liked Burgoyne's plan to begin with Too many moving parts, if you ask me, but I do worry But if you don't come to his aid His army will fall into serious trouble House swirls his glass of wine and shrugs I gave London my plan. It was approved and I will follow through with it Besides, B're goingne just captured Taiconderogo with no trouble It'll be just fine I truly hope you're right, Genal Now if you'll excuse me. You rise from your chair and with a curt nod to how, you exit the dining room It's not the first time Ho has ignored your advice, and you're sure it won't be the last. No matter the needs of the rest of the British army, Hao is determined to be the general who wins this war On july twenty third, seventeen seventy seven General Howe ignored the advice of his second in command Henry Clinton and left New York City for Philadelphia with fifteen thousand troops When Washington heard that the British had sailed south and entered the Chesapeake Bay, he concluded that they were headed for Philadelphia and began rushing his army to the capital It was not until august third that Burgoyne finally received word that Howe would not be joining him in Albany The southern arm of his plan had suddenly fallen away, but still, Burgoyne stubbornly refused to abandon his campaign Meanwhile, the western arm of the invasion was running into its own trouble in the Mohawk Valley Colonel Barry Sillinger had joined forces with hundreds of Native American soldiers, part of a powerful group of allied Indian nations called the Iroquois Confederacy. This alliance included many Mohawks and one of their leaders, Joseph Brant Brant had been born into the Mohawk nation, but after learning English and converting to Christianity, he spent his life moving between native and British worlds He served with the British in the French and Indian War and traveled widely among the Iroquois as a missionary and diplomat, gaining influence and mastering several native languages And when the Revolutionary War broke out, he urged the Iroquois Confederacy to support Britain, warning that American independence would threaten native lands. He insisted that the Patriots began the rebellion to be the sole masters of the continent Most Iroquois Indians sought to stay out of the war, but ultimately, the Oida sided with the Americans, while many Mohawks and Seneas aligned with the British. These native warriors would be integral to British strategy In early august seventeen seventy seven, Colonel Sillinger laid siege to Fort Stanwicks, a patriot outpost guarding a vital trade route between the Hudson River and the Great Lakes and when he learned that a nearby Patriot militia was marching to relieve the fort He ordered Brant intercept them On the morning of august sixth, Braantt and his men set a trap Roughly four hundred Mohawk and Seneca warriors and dozens of loyalist volunteers took position in a marshy ravine near Arisciney, a settlement a few miles from the fort when the Patriot militiamen and their OidA allies filed down the slopes of the ravine Brnd's force struck without warning, ambushing them with tomahawks, clubs, and scalping knives desperate hand to hand comment left four hundred patriots thirty of their ONidA allies dead British side One hundred were killed or wounded mostost of the minions And the Iroquois soldiers had rarely experienced warfare with such high casualty rates. The slaughter at Ariscony, one of the bloodiest battles of the revolution causeed many to reconsider their alliance with British One woman recalled The mourning was excessive and was expressed by the most doleful yells, shrieks, and howlings. The battlefield became known as place of great sadness among the Iroquois But despite the loss of reinforcements at Ariscy Patriots continued clinging onto Fort Stanwix until another relief mission arrived, this time led by Major General Benedict Arnold Though he was outnumbered, Arnold spread rumors that a much larger American force was approaching, which convinced Brand to withdraw his warriors And without support from his Indian allies, Sillinger was forced to abandon the siege He and his men retreated to Lake Ontario marking the collapse of the Western arrm of Burgoyne's plan making matters worse for the British, as Burgoyne's troops continued trudging south toward Albany Their suppline line was stretched dangerously thin To gather new provisions, Burgoyne ordered part of his force to seize a Patriot supply depot in Bennington, Vermont But they were met by roughly two thousand Americans who killed or captured nearly one thousand of Burgoyne's men In a single day, he lost ten percent of his entire army So while Burgoyne was growing weaker, his enemy was only getting stronger In August, Horatio Gates, the new commander of the Continental Army's Northern department, gathered eight thousand five hundred Patriot soldiers and militiamen near the village of Saratoga Sensing his chance, he readied his troops to deal Burgoyne a final blow I'm Raza Jaffrey, and in the new season of The Spy Who open the file on Benedict Arnold The spy who betrayed the American Revolution America is fighting to free itself from the British Empire. And one of its foremost generals is Benedict Ar He's a smugger turned battlefield hero admired for his aggressive tactics But when a war wound A new wife, debts and politics test his loyalty to the Max. Turn spy and devises a plot to shatter the revolution and help Britain capture rebel commander in chief, General George Washington And that plot would make him the most infamous traitor in US history. Follow the Sy Who now, wherever you listen to podcasts You can also listen to the full season of the spy who betrayed the American Revolution early and ad free on Audible As Americans, we're constantly grappling with a fundamental question, do we settle for the world as it is? or do we strive to create the world as it should be? Our answers tend to ebb and flow through the decades But once Just after a war that nearly tore us apart We came as close as we've come to answering it And it's a story worth a closer look I'm Michelle Obama, and I'm proud to announce Higher Ground's new podcast Reconstruction. The unfinished promise. Guided by bestselling author, Malcolm Gladwell and featuring my husband, Barack Obama, this limited series uncovers the untold stories of reconstruction what they mean for us today and how our past can shape the future we choose to build Reconstruction, the Unfinished promise is available now on audible or wherever you get your podcast. On august twenty fourth, seventeen seventy seven George Washington paraded his twelve thousand man army through the streets of Philadelphia After russhing troops there in anticipation of the arrival of William Howe's army, Washington decided to stage a grand spectacle to reassure residents that the city could be defended He also hoped that a show of strength would help sway hearts and minds Even though Philadelphia was the seat of the Continental Congress, the local population was deeply divided Philadelphia was home to many loyalists as well as a large community of Quakers who declared themselves neutral due to their religious commitment to pacifism. So the residents of Philadelphia had mixed reactions as they watched Washington ride at the head of the column on his white horse, his soldiers marching twelve abreast behind him to the beat of a fiff and drum Riding by his side was the Marquis de Lafayette a nineteen year old French aristocrat and newly appointed major general in the Continental Army Idealistic and hungry for glory, Lafayette had fled a life of boredom to join the war, financing his own voyage to America He had yet to prove himself in battle, but he brought wealth, supplies, and connections at the French court recognizing his diplomatic value Washington added the teenage general to his staff and his inner circle of aides But Washington's parade wasn't all for show. The British were still bearing down Day after the parade in Philadelphia, fifty miles to the southwest British General Howe landed his fifteen thousand man army in Northern Maryland Following five punishing weeks at sea Rough weather and shifting winds had delayed the voyage and caused food shortages, forcing the soldiers to get by on spoiled rations So after letting the troops rest for a few days, Howe began marching them through the Pennsylvania countryside where he hoped to lure Washington into a major battle. For his part, Washington was just as eager for a decisive confrontation Rallying his troops, he declared, Now is the time for our most strenuous exertions. One bold stroke will free the land from the rapid devastations and burnings. But he also reminded them that anyone who fled would be shot while issuing extra rations of rum to steady the soldiers' nerves To block the British advance, Washington positioned his army along Brandy Wine Creek, a natural line of defense thirty miles southwest of Philadelphia. He concentrated the bulk of his forces at a crossing point known as Chad's Ford. belieaving How would mount his main assault there. It was a decision that proved fatal With helpel of local loyalists, how learned that Washington had failed to station troops at two fors further north on the foggy morning of september eleventh. How began advancing his army. You sent a third of his force to Chad's forord as a distraction. while marching the rest around the American lines to surprise them from the rear. After heavy fighting, the Americans suffered a thousand casualties Washington was forced to withdraw his army to safety, leaving the road to Philadelphia wide open The British met little resistance as they marched into the capapitol on september twenty sixth, their military bands playing God saave the King to herald their arrival And as the British descended on Philadelphia, the Continental Congress fled the city But after reconvening in a county courthouse in York, Pennsylvania delegates poured their energies into resuming debates on the Articles of Confederation the blueprint for the nation's first central government Heated arguments over taxation, representation, and state autonomy had made the process agonizingly slow The fall of Philadelphia added new urgency, because the delegates were acutely aware that the loss of the capapitol could undermine Benjamin Franklin's efforts in Paris unless they could show the French that they could bind the thirteen former colonies together under a functioning government Still, they feared recreating the very tyranny they were fighting to escape So by design, the articles created a weak central authority Congress had no power to levy taxes, and having rebelled against British taxation, the states were reluctant to grant that power to any central body Instead, Congress was forced to rely on the states for voluntary contributions And the lack of reliable revenue would hinder the war effort as time wore on At the same time, despite having Congress on the run, the British were no closer to winning the war. They held Philadelphia, New York, and Newport, Rhode Island. But control of three cities was a far cry from conquering the entire country and its people Still, General John Burgoyne believed he could accomplish this goal by isolating New England from the rest of the colonies. So in the fall of seventeen seventy seven, he pressed forward with his plan to seize control of the strategically vital Hudson River Valley, even without the help of forces under General Howe and Colonel Barry Sillinger. In mid September, Burgoyne's reduced army crossed the Hudson River near Saratoga New York. Nine miles to the south, Patriot General Horatio Gates had entrenched his troops on Beemis Heights series of bluffs rising two hundred feet above the Hudson River These fortifications epitomized Gates's approach to warfare cautious commander who prefred to rely on strong defensive positions, he clashed with the more aggressive officers under his command None more so than Benedict Arnold Arnold thrived in the chaos of battle and had shown bold intuitive leadership in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga. gruing march to Quebec and his brave defense of Lake Champlain But despite his impressive record and a recommendation from General Washington, Earlier in seventeen seventy seven Congress had passed Arnold over for a promotion Now, as Burgoyne's army crept toward the American lines, Arnold was desperate to burnish his reputation by taking the offensive Imagine it's the morning of september nineteenth, seventeen seventy seven near Saratoga New York. You're a major general in the Continental Army, and you've rushed into the headquarters of General Horatio Gates You run into the study where Gates sits behind a desk deep in conversation with another officer General Gates He looks up at you with irritation. What is it now? Your eyes dark to the window toward the direction of the British lines General the army marching towards us Our scouts on the Hudson have spotted several columns approaching. This is the moment we've been preparing for. Allow me to send rifleen into the woods next to Freeman's Farm to meet the British head on before they have a chance to breach our defenses Gates shares a knowing look with the other officer before returning his gaze to you And why should I Our army is well supplied, while Burgoyne is running out of provisions We will delay as long as possible. Sir, you're playing right into Burgoyne's hand. I'm certain that he's counting on you to be cautious caautious and reckless I want this army safe behind our barricades. If I force them to fight and expose lines down at Freeman's Fm, I may as well be sending them to the slaughter Sir, it would be foolish to wait around for the British to roll their cannons toward us and start bombing our defenses Our forces will be destroyed by their superior artillery My doubts about I say let them try You groan and start pacing the floor, determined to wear him down Please, sir, we cannot allow the British to get any closer. This is madness Will you ever stop pestering me No, not until you see reason Gates throws up his hands and surrender Fine, if it will get you to leave, I'll let you send out a reconnaissance force Thank you, sir. You won't regret it Flushed with triumph, you rush out of the headquarters to gallop off to battle You know you're right and you're determined to make Gates see it As far as you're concerned, the only thing standing in the way of victory is the caution of your superiors On september nineteenth, seventeen seventy seven. Burgoyne sent three columns of troops south toward Beemis Heights Gates preferred to dig in behind their defenses, but Benedict Arnold begged him to engage the enemy directly Finally, Gace gave in and let him march out with a company of Virginia riflemen, later joined by three hundred light infantrymen These Americans collided with the British at a fifteen acre clearing known as Freeman's Farm in a fierce battle that raged all afternoon One witness described how Arnold rode in the front of the lines, his eyes flashing, pointing his sword at the enemy site that electrified the line During this battle, Arnold rode back to headquarters to ask Gates to send additional men, but Gates refused And without reinforcements The Americans were forced to withdraw to BeMis Heights At the end of the day, the British held the field, but it came at a staggering cost, nearly six hundred casualties compared to three hundred on the American side Afterwards, Gates refused to credit Arnold's contributions in a report to Congress The ultrra sensitive Arnold was outraged by the snub. He stormed into Gates' tent to confront him, and the two men got into a shouting match that ended with Gates stripping Arnold of his command and confining him to quarters Then on october seventh, Burgoyne launched a second attack against the American position in what became known as the Battle of Beamas Heights. And in the middle of this conflict, Arnold disobeyed orders by galloping into the fray, leading American troops in a furious charge against the British Fellllow officers said that he behaved more like a madman than a cool and discreet officer During this charge, a bullet shattered Arnold's thighbone and struck his horse, who fell dead on top of him But even as he lay trapped beneath the horse, he continued shouting orders to rally his men, and by nightfall, the British had lost another six hundred soldiers and were forced to retreat. The next day, the British attempted to flee north, but heavy rain forced them to camp in the woods near Saratoga, and soon the Americans had them surrounded A British sergeant described how the Patriots swarmed around the littleittle Averse arrmy like birds of prey. British were trapped with nowhere to hide from patriot bullets and artillery One general remembered The sick and wounded would drag themselves into a quiet corner of the woods and lie down to die on the damp ground. Not even here were they safe Since every little while, a ball would come crashing down among the trees With no food, no sign of reinforcements, and no hope of escape, Burgoyne knew his army was doomed A few days into the siege, he had no choice but to begin negotiating terms of surrender coold rain fell down on october seventeenth, as Bragoyne offered his sword to Gates in an official gesture of surrender. Afterwards, nearly six thousand men were taken prisoner As these defeated soldiers marched out An American military band started playing Yankee Doodle British officer said was not a little mortifying to hear This American victory at Saratoga was a turning point in the Revolutionary War It restored faith in the Patriot cause after the loss of Philadelphia pave the way for the urgently needed aid from France. When the news of the victory at Saratoga arrived in Paris in December Benjamin Franklin was able to convince the French foreign minister that intervention was worth the risk The French soon agreed to recognize the independence of the United States, and they offered to sign two treaties, one creating a military alliance, the other an agreement on friendship and trade And ultimately This French military support, funding, and naval power would transform the course of the war But for the time being, the fate of George Washington's army hung the balance As seventeen seventy seven drew to a close. as ragged, hungry soldiers settled into winter quarters to regroup. Already worn down by battle, they now face six months of unrelenting misery at a place called Valley Forge there 'is I, Queen Mortuana of the Night Realm, AKA Kate McKinnon. And her Rven minion Jojo, AK Emily Lyinn Do not download and binge My show. heads will roll air apparent, on audible I will cut off your head! Oh no. Maybe just tell them about the guest stars like Richard Kind, Crie Coon, Jimmy Fallon at all. But they weren't. And if you don't listen to them, then I will cut off your tongue, then cut off your head, and then put the tongue in the head hole. A, you tried! Listen now exclusively on Audible and Dun the Audibleu today are off with your head In december seventeen seventy seven. George Washington led his army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, an exposed, hilly landscape twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia The main advantage of Valley Forge was its location It was close enough to keep an eye on the British occupying Philelphia with far enough away to protect the army from a surprise attack, because Washington's soldiers could hardly withstand another assault The army arrived at Valley Forge battered and broken O eleven thousand men, nearly three thousand were declared unfit for duty And despite the fact that they had been fighting for months, they had not been paid since August Clothing shortages forced soldiers to recycle what was left of their dead comrades' uniforms. and rations were meager They went days with nothing to eat but baked mixtures of flour and water Even worse, the open countryside offered little shelter, and the men were forced to build their own crude log huts The army endured frostbite, gangrene, and hyperothermia And contagious diseases like typhus, typhoid, and smallpox spread rapidly through the ranks One arrmy surgeon wrote in his diary, I am sick, discontented, and out of humor Poor food, hard lodging, cold weather, fatigue, nasty clothes, nasty cookery. Why are we sent here to starve and freeze in light of the army's suffering Washington wrote to Congress at the end of December, informing them that three thousand men were barefoot and otherwise naked. He warned that without immediate supplies, the army would either starve, dissolve, or disperse and to further emphasize the desperation in the ranks He informed them of a dangerous mutiny that was only suppressed by the spirited exertions of his officers But even as Washington begged Congress to save his troops He faced criticism for withdrawing the army instead of trying to recapture Philadelphia Critics noted that he had failed to win any victories comparable to Saratoga, with some members of Congress suggesting that Horatio Gates should replace him But for now, it was still Washington's army, and to ease their hunger crisis Congress advised Washington to commandeer food from the surrounding area He delayed, fearing that foraging would alienate the local population Soon, the mounting death toll left him with no other choice. By the end of winter T thousand five hundred men would die from starvation, disease, and exposure with nearly half of the deaths occurring in february seventeen seventy eight alone So with the troops reaching their breaking point Time had come for desperate measures Imagine it's a snowy morning in february seventeen seventy eight in Chester County, Pennsylvania You're a major general in the Continental Army, and you're leading a foraging party out on a search for livestock and other provisions. As you force open a barn door, a farmer comes running out of the adjacent house, still wearing his nightclothes doing Get out of there You ignore him and step over the threshold, immediately spotting bales of hay piled in uneven stacks along the walls All right boys, let's start gathering up this hay As the soldiers get to work, you walk down the aisle There's an old plough and plenty of rusted tools No horses or cattle You turn around to the farmer who avoids your gaze. Where are your animals? I don't have any Then what are you doing with all this hay? Well, I had animals, but they got sick. They didn't survive the winter. You're mine You walk back out the back door of the barn, the farmer following. and as you enter the woods behind the building, you find five cows tied up to trees. You approach one of them and start fumbling with the knot. They didn't survive, huh? We're requisitioning these for the army. You can't. Those cows are my livelihood. Our soldiers are starving at Valley Ford The army needs the cattle more than you do I can offer you a promissory note. You'll receive payment at a later date. I'm not interested in some meaningless scrap of paper. Well, I'm not going to let you keep these cows just so you can bring them to Philadelphia to fatten the British Army. Well at least the British pay. You should be grateful and you have a bed to sleep in and a roof over your head. My men have gone days at a time with no food at all, fighting a war for your freedom. Oh damn you and your army. If this is how it's gonna be, maybe I won't even plant my fields this year. See how your soldiers fare when there's nothing left to take. You take the cow by the rope and lead it back to your wagons. As you push past the farmer, he angrily kicks at the snow, but after the winter you've suffered, you have no sympathy left. In february seventeen seventy eight, General George Washington sent fifteen hundred men out from Balley Forge to scour the countryside for provisions he issued appeals to New England governors, and he also urged local farmers to fatten their cattle and sell them to the army, promising to pay them at a later date. Washington appointed Nathaniel Greene as quuartermaster General to organize logistics But much to Green's frustration, Farmers often hid horses and cattle from the foraging parties in the hopes of selling them to the British in Philadelphia and when these farmers protested Dreen brushed off their complaints, telling Washington, They cry out and beset me from all quarters, but like Pharaoh, I harden my heart determined to forge the country very bare Nothing shall be left unattempted And by March through the relentless efforts of Green in Washington Hds of seized, cattle, and sheep began arriving at Valley Forge, along with wagons carrying uniforms, weapons, and essential supplies As these provisions flowed in, so too did new recruits and returning soldiers So Washington decided it was time to give his men formal military training. help them overcome their weaknesses on the battlefield To accomplish this, he turned to Friedrich von Stchuben. Prussian officer and self styled baron who had arrived in Valley Forge at the end of winter with a commission from Congress Prussia was officially neutral. Von Stuben was one of several Prussian military officers who offered their services to the Patriot cause And despite his limited knowledge of English and his famously volatile temper He brought valuable professional military experience