The Battle of Valley Forge Helped Create a Combat Ready Army

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In a time of change and rebellion from the Queens ruling, a small and relatively undeveloped country fought to achieve her independence. A smaller, less equipped force, the Continental Army began its conquest to relieve its people once and for all of tyranny and allow it to be ruled under new found principles and foundations in what was named the Revolutionary war. The Revolutionary war in many ways marked the beginning of this conquest, an overall fight for freedom and justice. While the much better equipped English Army sat in idle comfort a band of Continental volunteers survived a grueling winter under the command of General George Washington and under the strict drills of Baron Von Steuben proved to create a hardened more resolved fighting force than Britain ever imagined. The events that took place at Valley Forge and the individuals that survived the grueling winter of 1777-1778 successfully completed the transition from civilian to soldier, educated to leader, and created a combat ready force that set forth on a victorious campaign against the British forces.

The time was December of 1777 and General George Washington’s 12,000 man army had just met defeat in the city of Philadelphia to the hands of British General Howe. To the credit of the Continental army Howe’s execution of his battle plan has been referred to as perfect textbook tactics and there was not much that the relatively untrained Continentals could do to defend against it. The men had made approximately a 20 mile tactical march from Philadelphia to the open grounds of Valley Forge. The area was chosen for its clear ability to observe British movement and battle formations as well as the ability to create a network of defensive and retreat positions. ...

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... "Myth and Truth at Valley Forge." American History 40, no. 5: 42-73. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 23, 2010).

Freedman, Russell. 2008. Washington at Valley Forge. New York: Holiday House.

Historic Valley Forge. http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge (accessed April 21,2010)

Lengel, Edward. General George Washington: A Military Life. Westminster: Random House, 2005. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/apus/Doc?id=10081799&ppg=342 (accessed May 18, 2010)

Shy, John. "The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army That Won the Revolution”. The Journal of Military History. 69, no. 2 (April 1, 2005): 549-551. http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ (accessed May 15, 2010).

Zellers-Frederick, A. "Valley Forge, Pennsylvania." Military History, May 1, 2010, 76-77,5. http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/ (accessed April 23, 2010).
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