The Story of Valley Forge

Is it getting better or do you feel safe? Will it make them easier on you now? We got someone to play, you say, one long, one life when it's one year, in the night, one long get to share it, leaves you baby if you don't care for it. [Music] Those songs by you two Metallica really seem to capture the story of the Colonel Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78. This podcast will address three important questions. Why is the Colonel Army at Valley Forge? What happened at Valley Forge? And what was the impact that Valley Forge had on the Colonel Army? Along the way I will highlight the vital world that George Washington played as well as a few other important historical actors. Can we also talk about the movie "National Treasure"? Is it historically accurate? Well, yes, Nicholas Cage does mention Valley Forge in the movie. But no one, the movie is not historically accurate unfortunately. I do like the movie however, and it does show how historical knowledge can make you money. If you do make money, I'm talking to my audience there, what you've learned in this podcast, I only ask for 50% of the take. It's only reasonable. Okay, before we place this Valley Forge in a historical framework, it might be fun to think about a few images that come to mind. I've got a couple here, obviously our audience can't see them, so if you can describe the first one, Melissa. Sure, well it's definitely George Washington. He looks alone in a forest and he's down on one knee. Maybe he's praying? Yeah, it looks like he's looking up to heaven. There's no historical evidence at all that George Washington did that, so that would be one of the myths that we have. How about image number two? Well, it looks like it's some kind of a camp, there's very sort of crude tense. It looks like a very nice, like a very harsh camp. Yeah, so there's this is kind of true in false. The soldiers that stayed in Valley Forge did go through quite challenging times, but comparing it to the winter before and after this, especially the winter after, which was at Morristown, had 28 storms and the soldiers ain't bark, shoes, and even dogs, it really wasn't nearly as bad as maybe we're led to believe. What about image number three? This one certainly looks nicer, it's got a lot of people and they're all kind of gathered around George Washington and he is looking very important upon a white horse. So yeah, I think this one's probably the most historically accurate in the sense that it was the unification of the people that were there. This was the really true first band of brothers in our country's history. So okay, let's put Valley Forge in its historical conference, context, now that we've done some images. This allows us to overcome what historian Joseph Ellis terms hindsight history. Since we know the end of the story, which is, um, the colonists win. Right. It's easy to overlook the messiness of historical events, especially Valley Forge. So here are a few things to think about. The fall of 1777 saw the British Army attempt to end the conflict by waging a war on two fronts. There was the New York Front, here British General Johnny Brgoin moved from Canada down the Hudson River to New York City, which was already occupied by the British. The goal was to cut off New England, the troublemakers, and therefore win the war. Unfortunately for the British, this plan failed at the Battle of Saratoga in late September early October of 1777. It should be noted that George Washington had little to do with this pivotal battle more on that a little bit later. The second front, I'll call this the Philadelphia Front, is where the British General William Howe and 16,000 soldiers moved to take the colonial capital. And that's where the government was located and where the Declaration of Independence was written and signed, right? Correct. So George Washington told one city official, "I shall take every measure in my power to defend it." Washington however failed to stop the British at Brandywine in Germantown. The colonial army did fight well at Germantown, but due to fog on the battlefield they fired in the old man. Oh dear. Yeah, known today as friendly fire. In the end the British did occupy Philadelphia. With the occupation of Philadelphia brings into focus one of the main reasons why the British actually lost the war. Instead of destroying Washington and the continental army, the British saw the war as a war of geography. What do you mean by that? Well I mean that the British generals were always more interested in capturing a location. First it was Boston, then it was New York City, then it's Philadelphia, and eventually they'll go on and invade the South. Each time this strategy fails. With the losses at Brandywine in Germantown, the Khanal army was forced to camp at Valley Courage, which is about 18 miles outside the city. Not a great name by the way. It is not in a valley and there is no forge there that had been already closed down. But it was a good strategic location. So it's non-Valley closed forage? Right. Undoubtedly this was a low point for Washington and the army. Washington wrote Henry Laurels, president of the Khanal army. This army must inevitably be reduced to one or other of these things. Starve, dissolve or disperse. Yeah. In a nutshell the government was fading quickly. I suppose if they couldn't even feed or close their army. Exactly. Moreover the colonists were banning the cause, demonstrated by the fact that the farmers sold food to the British who paid in cash, not IOUs as the Khanal government did. The historical hindsight that we discussed has caused history students to overlook the simple fact that Valley Forge could have maybe should have been an end to the Khanal Mental Desire for Independence. Okay Melissa, let's do a quick review for our listeners since we've gone over a lot of information already. What have you learned so far? Well, first I learned that your guitar playing is awesome. Wow. A plus. Yeah. That my singing is not awesome. No, incorrect. The Valley Forge, that's not exactly what I pictured it as, not really what I thought it was. Okay. And the British army was making some critical mistakes. Exactly. You know and I actually learned that George Washington wasn't really that great at his job. You know, the British army to take over the capital while the Khanal army is suffering. You know, that seems kind of like a failure to me. Exactly. It'd be fair to George Washington though. I like to call him GW. Is that the British had a great army and navy at the time, probably the best in the world. So we can't expect miracles from somebody, but he did the best he could probably. So with the loss of Philadelphia, Washington had to deal with his own worst nightmare, which was the removal of him as Supreme Military Commander. Conspiracy was brewing to do exactly that. It's known as the Conway Cabal. It took place while Washington was at Valley Forge. Historians debate how effective this conspiracy was, however, since one of those involved was none other than the hero at Saratoga, General Gates, it seems plausible that Washington's career might have ended at Valley Forge. Undoubtedly, the battle of Saratoga was the turning point in the whole war, with the victory the colonists obtained aid from France and eventually in Spain. One of the tools that the Cabal used was was a reminder to Congress. It was said that they're the 45 greatest military blunders by George Washington. So yeah, they listed all of those. The plot to undermine Washington failed when Washington leaked to the press. Whenever the public gets dissatisfied with my services or a person is found better qualified to answer her expectations, I shall quit the helm and retire. Exactly. That's what Washington had said. With this statement, Congress wasn't willing to risk the collapse of the army, which was still very loyal to General Washington. So with one hand dealing with the conspiracy, GW also had the other end to deal with the conditions of the continental soldiers at Valley Forge. A tough task, no doubt. These included the lack of supplies. 20% of the soldiers had no shoes. Food that was marked for the army was rotting in New Jersey because the army lacked the means of transportation. 500 horses died at Valley Forge. Soldiers ate fire cake. It really demonstrates that the citizens in the government weren't even supporting the army. Excellent observation. It really was a bad time for Washington and as men. Secondly, 14,000 soldiers, that was the high number at Valley Forge, ranging from 15 to 25, 40% of them were actually immigrants from Ireland and England, lived in just 900 huts. Over 15 men per hut. Oh no. Oh no. Imagine the smell. Exactly. Most of these people didn't really bathe but offer twice a year on top of that. So no deodorant. You get the picture. So worst of all, lack of food and living arrangements. The camp was a breeding ground for disease, especially smallpox. Approximately 2,500 soldiers are close to 20% died of smallpox at Valley Forge. Washington witnessed the suffering of his men. He wrote to see men without clothes to cover their nakedness without blankets to lay on, without shoes by which marches might be traced by the blood from their feet. Another visitor to Valley Forge observed. An army of skeletons appeared before our eyes naked star sick and discouraged. Those are accurate statements. With Washington waging his own war on two fronts, Valley Forge was a turning point in the American Revolution for four basic reasons. As Robert Millecloth correctly claimed, it is not hard to conclude that the attack on smallpox through anoculation, which Washington did, saved the army from disintegration. He stated he started doing so at Morristown, the winter camp encampment the year before. This practice was far from acceptable. It kind of makes you think about today with the recent muscles outbreak. What comes around in history goes around. Yeah. Good observation. Washington largely resigned to a new fighting strategy at Valley Forge, known as the Fabian strategy. This was named after Roman general who used what we call guerrilla tactics today. Not a tactic that general Washington liked using, but that he did to great effect at the Battle of Mammoth in June of 1778, when the British departed Philadelphia. Three, it was as historian Ellis argues, post Valley Forge. A war not just of independence, but also for nationhood. He draws the conclusion that the line from nationhood goes right back to Valley Forge. Wow. Lastly, Washington put his faith in an unlikely people non-colonist to boot. My favorite of these colonists was Drumroll, please. The one, the only Frederick Wilhelm Lundorf Draged Augustine Byron von Stoyben. Oh my goodness. Can you imagine signing that name? It would take forever. Yes. Let's just call him Byron von Stoyben. Can you say his name with me? Byron von Stoyben. Very good. A short bio about von Stoyben is necessary, I think. Although he obtained a letter from none other than Ben Franklin, it is common knowledge that von Stoyben was a fake and a fraud, actually. So I'm going to give you a couple claims. You'll see if they're true or false. So you just tell them true or false. He claimed the rank of general. You think that's true or false? I'm going to guess false. Yeah, he was not general. He may have claimed that. Wow. That's pretty true. Yeah. That's pretty bad. Yeah. So he also claimed to be a close aide for Frederick the Great. I think that's true or false. I'm going to also say false on that one. Yeah, I kind of gave it away with the fraud or the fake. Sorry, von Stoyben. Yeah. You know, yeah, everybody's got their skeletons in their closet here. So there is evidence to suggest he left the Prussian army because of debt and his sexuality. Another important fact is that he did not speak English. Something a person who's tasked with the training of the colonial army might need. You think? Yeah. Yeah. He didn't have those. But so the miracle of Unstoyben is that he did for the what he did for the colonial soldiers. He drilled these soldiers so effectively that after Valley Forge, the Colonel Army was considered to be a professional army. More over the soldiers bonded with von Stoyben. Very good. The enthusiasm that he had for drilling soldiers often by swearing at them in German and French was just what the soldiers needed. Besides drilling the soldiers, he also helped improve camp sanitation. Even today, the blue book that von Stoyben developed is still in use today. Seven regulations that he wrote such as NCOs, non-commissioned officers leading the attack is still in use today. He knew that men had to be inspired as well as trained. von Stoyben was in short America's first drill sergeant. This brings up the last point. Washington is given credit for many things to reservedly so. But one that is often overlooked is his ability to identify the potential. And men like von Stoyben. Very good. Well, I hope you enjoyed this podcast as much as I did. I would like to thank historians Joseph Fellas, Robert Middlkopf, Norman Gellb and Alan Goldzoo for their help in writing the information about Valley Forge. It really helped with my research. And of course to my partner in podcasting Melissa Basinger. Yes. As one historical figure said, some people see things as they are and say why? I dream of things that never were and say why not.