What was the winter like at Valley Forge?

What was the winter like at Valley Forge?

The Valley Forge Encampment was difficult because the soldiers lacked proper clothing and proper meals. There were seven winters during the Revolutionary War. The winters could be rated on the following scale: severe, moderate and mild.

How cold was the winter at Valley Forge?

The Valley Forge winter was not even a severe one. Meteorological records kept by local resident Thomas Coombe show that the average daily temperature in the Philadelphia area during the first month of the encampment, that is from December 20, 1777 to January 20, 1778, was 33 degrees.

What did the winter of Valley Forge represent?

Valley Forge was the site of the 1777-78 winter encampment of the Continental Army. The park commemorates the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation.

Was Valley Forge the coldest winter?

Valley Forge was not the coldest winter of the Revolution Yet historical records confirm that the winter of 1777 — 1778 was fairly mild by southeast Pennsylvania standards, with the mercury dropping into single digits only twice.

How many soldiers died in Valley Forge?

2,000 soldiers
Yet cold and starvation were not the most dangerous threats to soldiers at Valley Forge: Diseases like influenza, dysentery, typhoid and typhus killed two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 soldiers who died during the encampment.

Who won the winter at Valley Forge?

In December, 1777, General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. Though Revolutionary forces had secured a pivotal victory at Saratoga in September and October, Washington’s army suffered defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Why was the winter at Valley Forge such a difficult time for the Continental Army?

The winter at Valley Forge was a difficult time for the Continental Army because the soldiers lacked protection and supplies. British troops were also known as what? British troops, also known as Redcoats, made easy targets as they retreated from Boston.

Why did so many soldiers died at Valley Forge?

The soldiers who marched to Valley Forge on December 19, 1777 were not downtrodden or desperate. Yet cold and starvation were not the most dangerous threats to soldiers at Valley Forge: Diseases like influenza, dysentery, typhoid and typhus killed two-thirds of the nearly 2,000 soldiers who died during the encampment.

When was the winter of 1777 at Valley Forge?

Military and naval history expert Kennedy Hickman has nearly 20 years of experience as a museum curator and director, and has been featured on The History Channel. The encampment at Valley Forge took place from December 19, 1777 through June 19, 1778 and served as winter quarters for General George Washington’s Continental Army.

Where was the Battle of Valley Forge fought?

Winter at Valley Forge. You are here. In December, 1777, General George Washington moved the Continental Army to their winter quarters at Valley Forge. Though Revolutionary forces had secured a pivotal victory at Saratoga in September and October, Washington’s army suffered defeats at Brandywine, Paoli, and Germantown, Pennsylvania.

When did the Continental Army camp at Valley Forge?

The encampment at Valley Forge took place from December 19, 1777 through June 19, 1778 and served as winter quarters for General George Washington ‘s Continental Army. Having suffered a string of defeats that fall, including losing the capital of Philadelphia to the British, the Americans made camp for the winter outside of the city.

Why was the winter so bad at Valley Forge?

The army’s supply of basic necessities, like food and clothing, ran perpetually short; coupled with the wintertime cold, and the diseases that ran rampant through the camp, this lack of provisions created the infamously miserable conditions at Valley Forge.