Valley Forge

1. Valley Forge Sam Cormier and Ryan Logan A Winter of Suffering

2. Background 18 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Stronghold for American defense while defending Philadelphia Situated in-between Mt. Joy and Mt. Misery with Schuylkill river to the north.

3. Struggles • With a cold, hard winter approaching, General Washington needed a place to defend the British’s next target; Philadelphia • With a poor, starving, untrained army • behind him all hope appeared to be lost • Immense amounts of • soldiers did not make it

4. Perspective Approx. 2,000 huts built by the army. Everyone was still cramped. Each hut was specified to be 14’ by 16’ . Colonial Map of the area.

5. Numbers 11,000 American revolutionaries entered the harsh winter of valley forge. 2,000 small huts built 2,000 of our men died in six months do to starvation, hypothermia and tiny British raids. All within the time frame from August 1777- June 19 1778

6. Gains After this horrible ordeal, General Washington resurfaced with a remade army. Trained by Prussian Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, the Continental Army went from mediocre to well-trained.

7. More Pictures! Baron Von Steuben to the left and General Washington to the right . Von Steuben Drilling troops as depicted here. Although a lot of huts have been destroyed by mother nature over the years, parts of the valley have not changed a bit.

8. Final Days British left Philadelphia, retreated for New York. A decisive won by George Washington, not by weapons but by will. After a rough winter, the colonial army managed another five years battling against the British, which as we know, ultimately led to our independence.

9. The End!