Imagine it’s the year of 1777 in cold Philadelphia at Valley Forge. It smells like fresh log from the huts. You see injured men and people starving for food. People crying from the pain and in the corner of your eye you see General Washington making Revolutionary War attack plans. We are here to fight for our freedom. The enlistment is over and you and the rest of the soldiers at Valley Forge have to decide whether or not you are going to quit. If I were you I would quit because of the lack of supplies, family issues, and illness/death. Lack of Supplies My first reason on why you would should quit the army would be because of the lack of supplies. In document “B” there is a picture of General Washington presenting the Continental Army and
Soldiers faced diseases like measles, small pox, malaria, pneumonia, camp itch, mumps, typhoid and dysentery. However, diarrhea killed more soldiers than any other illness. There were many reasons that diseases were so common for the causes of death for soldiers. Reasons include the fact that there were poor physicals before entering the army, ignorance of medical information, lack of camp hygiene, insects that carried disease, lack of clothing and shoes, troops were crowded and in close quarters and inadequate food and water.
From the winter of 1777 to the summer of 1778, George Washington had a winter camp called Valley Forge. It was a very difficult place to live, but most soldiers toughed it out for their country, for their freedom and for America. It was cold, sickness was thriving, food was disgusting but I would have stayed and fought through it for my country because there were other brave soldiers that stuck with it so I would too, Washington is getting congress to help with the terrible conditions, and I do not want to be a summer soldier because they stop when times get rough and I want to stay the entire time for my freedom.
In conclusion, the men of the continental army had a right to not stay in the army even though they had a responsibility to protect their country. They also had greater responsibilities of protecting their children and being with their wives. Also, if the soldiers did not have wives or children. The death toll was extremely high as well as the chance of being sick. It would not be cowardly if the soldiers were to leave in fear of dying of sickness or injury. This is why the soldiers of the army
Valley Forge was a training camp in the winter. 50% of the soldiers who attended Valley Forge got severely sick or died. All soldiers were not treated well. I would quit and leave Valley Forge. Only 20% of the Valley Forge soldiers survived, which is less than half of the soldiers.(Doc.A) In valley Forge there is much tyranny (hell) through all conflicts caused. All soldiers work very hard but are only allowed to buy espensive things and no cheap items are allowed. (Doc. D) All soldiers were not treated fairly or well. In Diary of Doctor Waldo he explains the torture that the soldiers of Valley Forge went through. The soldiers were fed poorly, hard lodging, cold weather and nasty clothes.
The recruiters for the army mostly targeted to recruit less wealthy and stronger more healthy men to send to the battlefield. Some of the young men such as in Joseph’s case volunteered to fight while the others were drafted into the army. Among the discomforts that the continental soldiers had to suffer were shortages of food and multiple other supplies, long periods away from their home, sinking morale and the constant threat of death. It was not just about being at threat when they were engaged in battle with the opposing army but just as well just being there. The enemy was just one of the many threats they had. At any given time really they could fall short of food and starve to death or run out of clothes to warm themselves and suffer an agonizing death because of the cold. Another vital supply they were short on was ammunition Bullets were scarce as well as guns so every time they fired their arm it had to be for a kill because there was no margin for error, if they messed up it could be the difference between life and death. Joseph his partners in the war had to suffer to fight for what they believed in because everything was against
“Heartily wish myself at home, my skin and eyes are almost spoil’d with continual smoke. A general cry thro’ the Camp this evening among the Soldiers, ‘No Meat! No Meat!’-the distant vales echo’d back the melancholy sound-’No Meat! No meat!’”(Dr. Waldo 151) It is 1777 and George Washington has brought his army of 7,00 men to Valley Forge to rest for the winter. As the season went on, the situation seemed to only get worse. Most soldiers enlisted for only 6-9 months at a time. Also, the government highly recommended that no man enlisted for a whole year. With soldiers enlistments coming to end and men leaving fast, Washington was worried that he would not have any men left by the end of the winter. Washington's generals were also leaving for home and not coming back. Meanwhile, the British army of 1,800 men ,led by General Howe, was about 18 miles away at the national capital in Philadelphia . If you were a Revolutionary Soldier at Valley Forge, would you have reenlist. I have decided to not reenlist for three reasons which are that so many people, the living conditions are terrible, and it is a rich man's’ war.
The men saw family obligations and farm work as more important than military service and many refused to enlist for another year. The men mostly farmers did not want to take up long-term service in the military for fear their families and farms would suffer for it. Most of the enlistment lasted a year and the next year the Army had slightly over 8,000 troops instead of 20,000. The militia groups continued to fill the ranks but not to the numbers needed. At the time of the war the colonial population number about 2.5 million people with about 20 percent of the population being African American slaves who were not usually eligible for
My opinion to this is that I would have quit because all of the times that we have lost and lost so I think that would be my choice. But if i knew that the American side would win then i would choose to stay because who wouldn’t want to be remembered as giving America its freedom and victory is what I would want not defeat. My choice of this is because we had lost the wars with most militia because the men were not trained well and had no experience, and also because men who were experienced didn’t have men to help. But some battles were just battles of who can last the longest with the supplies they had like the battle of Bunker Hill. At that battle the American Army was winning but they had a shortage of gunpowder, which led
Despite the fact the soldiers have received expert training when they enlisted in the army they struggle to fight their most basic instinct, to survive. The fear of death can compel an individual to do things considered completely irrational and foolish with resultant dire consequences.
Valley Forge was a remorseful, and overwhelmed time of our soldier lives. Now it is the end of our enlistment and it is time to make the decision to reenlist and try again, or not re-enlist and go home. This was a tough decision for me, a farmer named Levi Zendt, and the other patriots, for Valley Forge is the time when the snow is secure on the ground and you never seem to find warmth anywhere. Everyone is fighting for survival and are weak and weary and sick, sick in every way possible. We are living in a time where General Washington is leading a war against France in 1778 and recourses are very low. Though there are many complications I have decided to take a courageous move and reenlist, for these soldiers need help fighting for this
Even though there are many reasons for joining the military, there are almost as many for not joining. The most obvious, of course, these days is the threat of having to be deployed and fight in a war. Simply, just serving your country. Just that is an enlightened reason for many individuals wanting to join the military. For when that is their reason, the only outcome they feel is right for them to receive is to walk away with a sense of respect, loyalty, honor and self-discipline. Others may wish to leave...
Frostbite is a scary thing to get for fear of amputation, and there were no pills to make the pain go away so you would just have to sit there while they would saw off one of your limbs. Dr.Waldo described life at the fort as a struggle, unbearable, and not at all easy, and he was a hundred percent accurate (Doc C Waldo 151). The death range in Valley Forge is ( from December through June ) is 1,800 to 2,500, and there is a total of 20,000 soldiers at the Valley ( Doc A Busch 147). The weather here is horrid here, it is like a great wall of suffer pushing you closer and closer to a cold brick wall. This reason is causing me to not reenlist because I do not want to suffer at a horrifying camp for 9 more months. If I die at camp I wouldn’t have gotten to see my family once more,l and I love my family more than words can
It is the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, soldiers like me are deciding weather we are going to quit or going to stay and fight and risk the fact that we might die. Men are being trained for hours in the murderous cold without shoes. I am quitting because this weather is taking a toll on me. I have seen my friends get chopped to pieces because of the cold. I am tired of not eating right, we are dying out here,we have to sleep in huts that are filled with smoke. Would you have quit if you were in my place?
It was finally the day. I was deployed to a different country for the first time. I looked my uniform up and down. It was a beautiful sight earned by months of hard work at training camp. The day of graduation, I took my rightful place among the ranks of the Army receiving a uniform with the name Willis on the chest. All my childhood I longed to be in the army and take down "bad guys," and as my dream was becoming true, I had second thoughts. Growing up I realized I had a great fear of losing my life. I told my friends who were going to join with me that I was having second thoughts about joining up. They made it their mission to make me reconsider joining. They said that I would be fine and that it would fun. And even if not it would be an honor to die for my country. I finally gave in and decided to join, but not because my friends were telling me to, but because I had a fear of losing my friends
Being a soldier was a really tough life. In the end I hated doing the same thing day after day with no change in sight, I despised the leaders that didn 't take care of their subordinates, and most importantly, I couldn 't lead my soldiers from the front anymore. I 'll be the first one to say that joining the army was the best thing to happen to me. I have grown so much as a person and the lessons I learned are invaluable. In the end I realized the negative factors outweighed any possible benefit I might receive from continued service. It was time for me to