Why is valley forge so important

Some of the top attractions to visit include:. During the critical early weeks of the Philadelphia Campaign, the sites at Whitemarsh, including Hope Lodge, became a haven to soldiers in need of medical care. Next door, Fort Washington State Park offers travelers open spaces for recreation and communing with nature. During the tough winter of , a lack of supplies stifled the already-ailing Continental Army. Today, the stunning grounds and Georgian architecture of Pottsgrove Manor include four acres of the Potts family estate.

While touring the estate, get a glimpse into what family life was like in the 18th century, putting the comfort of some and the sacrifice of others into greater context. While there, consider taking time to explore haunted Montgomery County and visit spots known for their ghostly disturbances, including:.

Within this civilian climate, the army was able to stabilize its situation and concentrate on a much-needed training program. Valley Forge was demographically, militarily, and politically an important crossroads in the Revolutionary War. Recent scholarship shows that a mix of motives was at play, particularly in the minds of men who enlisted in early Some of these men served out of patriotism, but many served for profit or individual liberty as in the case of enslaved, indentured, and apprenticed peoples , and many more were coerced, as most colonies, on the advice of Congress and pressure from General Washington, introduced conscription in As well, the participants had different values, and especially different ideas about what words such as liberty, equality, slavery, and freedom actually meant in practice.

Valley Forge provides a site for exploring this complicated story and examining the multiple perspectives of those involved there — from soldiers to citizens, officers to enslaved Americans, from women to American Indians — the encampment was a microcosm of a revolutionary society at war.

Also important, the ideas and ideals held dear by Americans today were not forged at Valley Forge, but rather contested — not just between patriots and the British — but also among different Americans. Valley Forge and the Revolution put the United States on a long road to defining those ideals in ways satisfactory to all — a process still in the making. Despite the difficulties, there were a number of significant accomplishments and events during the encampment.

Because of its far-reaching consequences, the single most noteworthy achievement was the maturation of the Continental Army into a professional force under the tutelage of Friedrich Wilhelm Baron von Steuben. At the same time he realized that American soldiers would not submit to harsh European-style regulation. Von Steuben did not try to introduce the entire system of drill, evolutions, maneuvers, discipline, tactics, and Prussian formation into the American army:.

I should have been pelted had I attempted it, and should inevitably have failed. The genius of this nation is not in the least to be compared with that of the Prussians, Austrians, or French.

Instead, von Steuben demonstrated to the men the positive results that would come from retraining. He provided hands-on lessons, and Washington's independent-minded combat veterans were willing to learn new military skills when they saw immediate results. As spring wore on, whole brigades marched with newfound precision and crisply executed commands under the watchful eye of the baron.

The Inspector General also spelled out directives for officers and eventually wrote a complete military handbook. The army hereafter would be more cohesive, healthier, and highly efficient.

A new professionalism was born. The proponents of this movement, which became known as the Conway Cabal, suggested that General Gates, the victorious leader at the Battle of Saratoga, was perhaps more fit for the top command position. This splinter group of officers and congressmen blamed Washington for having lost the capital to the British and argued that he put the war effort in jeopardy.

As winter wore on, the so-called cabal dissolved, bringing disgrace to and ending the careers of several of its leaders. The general lobbied Congress to confer with him in person in order to resolve some of the supply and organizational difficulties that had plagued the army during the campaign.

The reorganization of represented a compromise between civilian and military ideals. Realizing that the army existed at only a portion of its authorized strength, Congress consolidated regiments and created a more streamlined force.

European recognition augmented congressional reforms. French assistance was crucial to the success of the Revolution. Starting in , vital French aid in the form of military materiel flowed to America. The efforts of American agents in France and the strong performance of the continentals at the Battles of Saratoga and Germantown convinced the French to do more than provide covert aid.

At Valley Forge in the spring of , the army joyously celebrated the formal French recognition of the United States as a sovereign power and valuable alliance with this leading European nation. Though it would take years to bear fruit at Yorktown in , the alliance provided Washington with assistance from the formidable French navy as well as additional troops he needed to counter British marine superiority.

The commander in chief rapidly set troops in motion: a small force marched in and took possession of the city. The majority of the army swiftly advanced from staging areas on the north side of the Schuylkill River and southeast of camp toward the Delaware River and New Jersey in order to bring on a general engagement. Monmouth hurt the British in the short term and provided the Americans with a long-term boost in confidence. In the summer of , Washington could claim that the war effort was going well.

Thanks to the contributions of von Steuben and others, the Continental Army was more unified than ever before. The expected arrival of the French greatly altered British war plans.

Philadelphia was back under patriot control. Washington knew that for every year the war dragged on the Americans held the advantage. The British withdrawal from Pennsylvania protracted the war and played into his plans. The success of Valley Forge also can be measured in longer-term gains. Many regard Valley Forge as the birthplace of the American army. Following British victories at the Battle of Brandywine September 11, and the Battle of the Clouds September 16 , on September 18 General Wilhelm von Knyphausen led British soldiers on a raid of Valley Forge, burning down several buildings and stealing supplies despite the best efforts of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton and Captain Henry Lee to defend them.

Valley Forge: Overview of history and significance. National Park Service. Monmouth, American Battlefield Trust. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. By December , Washington was well aware that some members of the Continental Congress were questioning his leadership abilities.

December 23, dawned cold and dank over the hills of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the scent of snow in the air. When George Washington took command of the Continental Army in , America was fighting a war on two fronts: one for independence from the British, and a second for survival against smallpox. Because Washington knew the ravages of the disease firsthand, he understood that the From to , the Continental Congress served as the government of the 13 American colonies and later the United States.

The First Continental Congress, which was comprised of delegates from the colonies, met in in reaction to the Coercive Acts, a series of measures A member of a committee of five that also included John Adams of Rev War Article. Winter at Valley Forge. Related Articles. View All Related Resources. Battle of Brandywine. The Fighting Man of the Continental Army. Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. Overview of the American Revolutionary War.