In the 1600s Britain had control over the colonies in America. They were moving Brits into America and colonizing what is now the east coast of America. Colonists started clashing with British officials in the 1760s after they started to strip the colonists of their basic human rights. The first battle of The Continential Congress vs. The British happened at Lexington Concord, and there started the Revolutionary War. In December 1777, George Washington led his 12,000-man army to Valley Forge where they would endure the harsh winters of Pennsylvania. This became an important part of the war because soldiers began to question if it the war was even worth fighting for and if they should stay or go. Historians have debated whether or not America would have won the war if The Continental Army had. The army marched out of Valley Forge in 17778 in high hopes for the future even after undergoing unbearable conditions and losing many soldiers to sickness or fleeing. Soldiers deserve better than what they had a Valley Forge. They deserve to have respect from others in America, especially congress, they deserve better conditions than what they had, and they deserve the recognition they deserve for putting their lives on the line and going to war.
A reason that I would quit Valley Forge is because of the high possibility of me getting sick or even dying at Valley Forge. There is a high illness rate at Valley Forge, about 50% of the 12,000 soldiers here have one illness or another. Not all that are sick end up dying, only about 2,500 ended up dying, but that is 20% of the army gone and there's about another 30% of the total number of soldiers who are dealing with one illness or another,(Doc. A). The deaths were due to the lack of medicine and necessary supplies to keep all of the sliders alive. This would make me quit because my intentions when coming into the war were to fight for my country and fight for something that I believe in. Everyone gets sick in the winter, but having to see soldiers die left and right, I would start to get down and rethink my decisions of why I even started fighting in this war. I would have left my family and friends at home to go fight in the war to gain independence, but to die at the winter camp and not in battle is not a very noble way to die. It would be much easier to go home and continue the simple life I had. I gave up everything to fight for his country but there was a big chance that I could die at the camp and not in the battle because of the supplies that we do not have.
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Another reason why I would quit Valley Forge is that they didn’t have enough supplies to survive at the bare minimum at camp. Soldiers were dying constantly due to a lack of supplies and necessary tools to keep them surviving the jarring winters that Pennsylvania has. George Washington was a great leader to all of the soldiers, he was arguably the greatest commander of all time, which also meant that he cared for his soldiers. He would try to get more supplies from the Continental Congress to try to find a solution for the number of illnesses and deaths that were occurring at Valley Forge,(Doc, B). Continental Congress would stay off-site of Valley forge at a mansion in Moore Hall, so they couldn’t see what the soldiers were really living like. Congress did not know what the soldiers were living like. They wore all warm clothes, head to toe, while some men didn’t even have shoes or pants to wear,(Doc, B). This would make me quit because the Continental Congress shows up to Valley Forge in their nice, warm coats and hats while there are soldiers with no pants or even shoes on while there is snow on the ground. The soldiers are fighting for not only their independence; but also, the Congress too, so it would make much more sense if Congress would supply them with the necessary tools for them to be able to win the war without the number of troops that are dying. If congress doesn’t believe that we are good enough to receive their supplies then why should I fight for their independence when they aren’t on the battlefield? I am going through all this trouble and sacrifice to fight for people who don’t even respect me enough to help me win a war that will greatly benefit them, then there is no point in fighting.
The last reason I would quit at Valley Forge is because of the conditions at the camp. Having to eat horrible food and being cold constantly is not a reason why I am fighting in this war. Dr. Albigence Waldo was a surgeon at the camp helping the need for sick soldiers. He said that he is living with “Poor food-hard lodging - Cold Weather - fatigue - Nasty Cloaths - nasty Cookery - Vomit half my time - smoak’d out my senses - the Devil’s in it - I can’t Endure it - Why are we sent here to starve and Freeze.,”(Doc, C). If I am leaving everything I know and love at home, then why do I have to live in these unbearable conditions while I am doing a service to my country? When fighting in a war or battle, your soldiers should be treated with the utmost respect and given everything that they need in order to stay alive and defeat the enemy, but if I am living through those conditions, then what is the point? I am not guaranteed a good meal to keep me going every day, Dr. Albigence threw up his meals half the time, and I could be walking around barefoot in the middle of winter. There’s smoke everywhere, when I sleep, eat, or am just walking around I am constantly surrounded by the smell of smoke. I would not be able to stay there after a week. I would get frustrated after Congress decided not to help us out and get madder when I see the way we are living every day. The conditions would be way too bad for me to handle and sleeping at my house with my family sounds much more enjoyable that the whole situation that is going on here.
If I am fighting for my country's independence then why don’t have the respect and attention I deserve from them? The army should receive the necessary supplies to survive in the war because right now we don’t even have the bare minimum to survive. Soldiers should not have to live with the constant fear that they could die when they are in a winter camp and not even fighting in battle. Also, if Congress does not believe in us while fighting in the war then what is the point of trying to gain us and their independence while we are stuck living in horrendous conditions in snowy Valley Forge? Knowing if soldiers quit or stayed at Valley Forge is very important because many soldiers who were living there most likely asked themselves if it is worth staying there. They probably went through the pros and cons just like we did to see if it makes more sense to stay or go. I would see why people would stay because they are fighting for their own independence and even though the conditions were terrible, they probably kept thinking about how freeing it would be to finally defeat the British and get the freedom all of the colonists wanted and deserve. If people didn’t stay at Valley Forge then who knows what our future would’ve looked like, but god bless the people that remained there, or else who knows, we might have not been able to break away from Britain.
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