Giving thanks for a fine glimpse into US history
This Thanksgiving, LINDSAY SUTTON heads out on the trail of George Washington
BEING put up in a temporary, fold-up bed is not what you might wish for. But after visiting the Valley Forge winter camp site of George Washington’s rag-bag army of 1777, it seemed like the last word in luxury.
My make-shift sleeping arrangements were the result of a booking mix-up during America’s busy Thanksgiving Weekend in late November. Washington’s winter camp – 25 miles inland of Philadelphia – was the result of an enforced retreat. He had little choice after the powerful British army pushed his volunteer ‘troops’ out of ‘Philly’ during the first year of America’s War of Independence.
All I had to deal with was a minor inconvenience – Washington had to deal with a major, do-or-die crisis. But against the odds – and against all expectations – deal with it, he did.
It’s fascinating to witness, first-hand, the stark reality he faced, and it leaves you marvelling at what the great general achieved.
Surviving three defeats on the trot; looking after the welfare of his ramshackle bunch of patriots; keeping them warm, fed and clothed during the harsh winter weather; organising them to become a professional body of men; then taking the attack to the British Redcoats, eventually winning out to
form a new country four years on.
Washington’s revived and disciplined troops marched out of Valley Forge the following June and, nine days later, beat the British in New Jersey.
A day’s tour of this historic site gives you a taste of what was at stake for Washington in his bid to release America from self-interested, colonial British rule.
It’s a surprise to find that Valley Forge – just an hour’s drive from the East Coast city of Philadelphia – was only designated a national park in the early 1970s, two hundred years after the now-hallowed ground played its crucial role during the Revolutionary War.
You learn how Washington feared his ‘army’ would “desert, dissolve or disperse” after being beaten at the battles of Philadelphia, Germantown and then Brandywine in quick succession.
Fortunately for him, General Horatio Gates had beaten the British half-way between New York City and Canada at Saratoga in October, 1777, a battle that helped bring in the French to aid the American Patriots.
In celebration, Washington made sure his men had a belated
Thanksgiving meal – two ounces of rice and a tablespoon of vinegar. Not exactly a banquet, but a change from bread alone.
His foot-soldier army had no blankets, no winter quarters, and no proper shoes when they arrived at Valley Forge.
Old George organised the building of log cabins, and stayed in a tent himself until they were under way. He successfully battled with America’s early Congress for proper provisions to be supplied. He gave every man a copy of Thomas Paine’s pamphlets ‘Common Sense’ and ‘The Rights of Man,’ to stiffen morale and remind them what they were fighting for. Pretty stirring stuff when you read: “We have it in our hands to begin the world again,” particularly when they did just that.
Finally, Washington brought in Prussia’s General Friedrich Von Steubel to instil discipline and drill practice, in order to professionalise his men. He even made every man wash his hands twice a day, cutting smallpox deaths from 17% in December, 1776, to 1% in June, 1778. Little wonder one of his followers told him: “Issue the order Sir, and I will walk into Hell.”
When they marched out and engaged the British once more, the Battle of Monmouth was won.
True, the French had joined the war in earnest by then, helping to divert British attention towards the defence of Canada and the Caribbean.
However, as the excellent Valley