'^ 234 T245 Copy 2 ORGE A Chronicle of American Heroism COMPLETE MAP AND 100 ILLUSTRATIONS' Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/valleyforgechron01tayl VALLEY FORGE A Chronicle of American Heroism FRANK H/ TAYLOR ISSUED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE VALLEY FORGE PARK COMMISSION PRICE, 25 CENTS PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY PHILADELPHIA £ ■Ta-fS^ Copyright, ]916 BY FRANK H. TAYLOR ¥ •^ NOV -9 1916 ©CI.A445572 CONTENTS PAGE Important Features to be Seen at Valley Forge Park 7 The Valley Forge Park Commission and Its Work 8 Valley Forge in Seventeen Seventy-seven 9 Impulse of the Valley Forge Centennial 11 Movements of the Campaign of 1777 Ending with the Occupation of Valley Forge as a Winter Refuge by Washington's Army 13 The British Army in Philadelphia • IG Occupation of Valley Forge by the Continental Army 18 The Commander-in-Chief's Life Guard 22 A Word Picture of the Camp 24 Routine of the Camp 29 The Cry of Distress 32 Washington's Optimism 35 The Coming of Baron Von Steuben 39 The French Alliance ■ 45 The Marquis De Lafayette 48 Departure of the Army from Valley Forge 52 Valley Forge in After Years 54 General Return of the Continental Army Encamped at Valley Forge, Dec. 31st, 1777 56 Notes and Citations 58 I^iinteil 1)V (.illirrt Stuart GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON Commander-in-Chief l-:nt;ra\ eil by T. Kelly NATIONAL MEMORIAL ARCH IN HONOR OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army of the Revolution and his Officers, located upon the Outer Line Boulevard near the intersection of Gulf Road. Designed by Paul P. Cret. Cost $100,000. Dimensions, fifty feet high and forty feet wide at base. Material, granite. HOME OF ISAAC POTTS, VALLEY FORGE. OCCU- PIED BY GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON FROM DECEMBER 25th, 1777, TO JUNE 19th, 1778, AS HEADQUARTERS OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY. HALLWAY, \VASHIN{;T0N'S HKAIMJI AKTERS IMPORTANT FEATURES TO BE SEEN AT VALLEY FORGE PARK Washington's Headquarters (free) . Site of the Forge, half mile up the stream. Inner line of entrenchments extending from near the Schuylkill River to south flank of Mount Joy, about one and a half miles. Fort Huntingdon, three-fourths mile east from Headquarters. Fort Washington, one and a half miles south from Headquarters. National Arch on Outer Line Boulevard. Observatory upon the summit of Mount Joy, free. Old schoolhouse, built by Laetitia Penn and used as a hospital in 1778, upon Washington Lane, near Fort Washington. Now a museum. National Memorial Arch, Gulf Road and Outer Line Boulevard. WajTie Equestrian Monument, Outer Line Boulevard two miles south of Headquarters. Site of the Star Redoubt and Headquarters of General James M. Vamum, of Rhode Island, upon River Road one mile east from Headquarters. New Jersey Monument, Park Drive and Gulf Road. Waterman Monument, half mile east from Star Redoubt. Various reproductions of Continental huts, cannon marking sites of batteries, brigade markers, etc. The headquarters of a number of generals are located upon or near the Reservation, but being private property are not usually open to visitors. THE VALLEY FORGE PARK COMMISSION AND ITS WORK "To acquire, maintain and preserve forever The Revolutionary CAMP GROUND at Valley Forge, for the free enjoyment of the people of the State." The Valley Forge Park Commission, created by the State Legislature upon May 30, 1893, met for organization upon June 11th following. The historic property thus far acquired and improved aggregates 472 acres and lies in an irregular form in both Montgomery and Chester ^^ , counties. ^Hf The State appropriations for this purpose to ^V January 1, 1910, were $139,802.12. The Commis- ^^^ sioners, in the expenditure of the sums thus far 1^^ provided by successive legislatures, have created a ,aX^ magnificent memorial park traversed by perfect roadways; have restored and preserved redoubts and entrenchments, erected massive markers of military positions; have seen placed upon its appro- priate site a superb equestrian bronze of Major General Anthony Wayne; have erected upon Moimt Joy a lofty observatory, and finally, having pur- chased the Washington Headquarters building from the patriotic association which had preserved it, have made it free to the many thousands who annu- ally visit this sacred spot. It is expected that further lands identified with the records of the Revolution- ary Encampment will eventually be added to the present park and that all of the original States whose sons suffered here will erect dignified memo- rials upon their respective camping sites. Recent memorials added to the attractions of the Park include the splendid National Memorial Arch, the shaft and bronze figure marking the site of the camp of the New Jersey troops and markers placed by the State of Pennsylvania (in honor of its Militia contingent) and by the State of Delaware. The present members of the Commission are: William H. Sayen, President, 1414 S. Penn Square, Philadelphia; John P. Nicholson, Vice-President, Philadelphia; John W. Jordan, Secretary, Philadel- phia; J. P. Hale Jenkins, Norristown, Pa.; William A. Patton, Radnor, Pa.; Richmond L. Jones, Reading, Pa.; John T. Windrim, Devon, Pa.: MONUMENT ERECTED BY THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY 8 THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE FORGE DAM CHAPTER I VALLEY FORGE IN SEVENTEEN SEVENTY-SEVEN ^T INETEEN miles in a direct line northwest from the centre of Philadelphia a small y stream, having its rise in the fertile bottoms of the Chester Valley, pours northward through a deep and shadowy defile into the Schuylkill River. Midway up this ravine, distant half a mile from the river, a small iron-working industry called the Mount Joy Forge had been in operation many years prior to the Revolutionary War. This forge was reputed to have been the first one built in the province. One report refers to its sale by the original owner in 1719, but Mr. Howard M. Jenkins, after a painstaking search of the records, states that it was built by Stephen Evans, Daniel Walker and Joseph Williams in 1742, and was sold wholly or in part to John Potts in 1757. He also concludes that it was situated upon the northeastern side of the stream. It was also known as the valley forge. Further down the stream were a saw mill and a grist mill. Nearby, with an outlook upon the river, was the stone residence which, at the opening of the Revolutionary War, was the home of Isaac Potts, grandson of John Potts, who operated the saw and grist mills. Dating from 1773 the forge was owned by William Dewees, Jr., a colonel of militia. Information having reached the British officers that a quantity of ordnance stores and flour intended for the Continental Army was stored here, the enemy burned the lower mills during the march of the British column through this section in September, 1777. The forge was not burned. It was from this forge that many a camp-oven was provided with iron plates taken by the soldiers. 9 THE PRESENT MILL AND VALLEY ROAD The heights were covered by the primeval forest, but the arable land in the vicinity in both Montgomery and Chester counties was farmed by the thrifty Quaker and Welsh elements which had long been settled here. To the neighborhood of this retired spot came the Continental Armj-, upon December 19, 1777, seventy-six days after the diastrous battle of Germantown. General Washington brought to this refuge from his camps in the vicinity of White Marsh, a place twelve miles from the city, a force of about 11,000 men. His army remained in its quarters upon these bleak hills six months, and during that period suffered hardships which have made the name of Valley Forge the synonym of all that is heroic and faithful in the fame of the men who served in the patriot army and finally secured to us the liberties under which this nation has ever since existed, prospered and multiplied. When the soldiers of the Continental regiments moved away from A'alley Forge upon the evacuatron of Philadelphia by the British they left, either in unmarked graves or in the hospitals scattered through the eastern part of the State, between three and four thousand of their comrades, who had succumbed to privations greater than which no army in ancient or modern times has been called upon to endure. Nothing could perhaps more significantly emphasize the misery of the time than the fact that no accurate or even approximate record of deaths at Valley Forge has been found, nor is it known with certainty where the common burial place is located. Of all the hapless victims of the camp but one of the multitude buried here sleeps in an identified grave. For a century the scene of this encampment remained without dedication to the sacred memory of these heroes. This reproach has been removed by the State of Pennsylvania. Few expenditures of money ha\'e been more wisely applied by the State of Pennsyl- ^■ania in the effort to preserve our historic sites as object lessons for the patriotic instruc- tion of future generations. CHAPTER II IMPULSE OF THE VALLEY FORGE CENTENNIAL Upox June 19, 1878, the centennial of the withdrawal of the army from Valley Forge was celebrated by the presence of the Pennsylvania National Guards and by appropriate addresses from distinguished speakers. As a result of the patriotic impidse resulting from this event the Valley Forge Centennial Association was formed and money was raised to purcliase the old Isaac Potts house and its grounds, occupied by General Washington as his headquarters after the army had constructed its encampment. This was done, and the old mansion became a much visited place. Through persistent effort upon the part of the Association a Commission was appointed under an Act of the Legislature of May 3C, 1893, to carry into effect its purpose to acquire, by the State of Pennsylvania, "a certain ground at Valley Forge for a public park." The general contour of the encampment plateau is rolling, the average elevation being about two hundred feet above tide, but rising to the westward into two rounded elevations, which are respectively 340 and 424 feet high, the Valley Creek flowing along their precipitous western bases. From these hills, a clear view is enjoyed of a far- reaching expanse of country, now largely farmed or occupied by splendid private estates. Far down the field of Valley Forge, nearly one mile eastward from the Huntingdon redoubt, stands the shaft marking the grave of John Waterman, of Rhode Island, Commissary in Varnum's brigade. This monument is erected upon ground which, with its approach, was presented for the purpose by Major and Mrs. I. Heston Todd to the Daughters of the Revolution, who dedicated it upon Octo- ber 19, 1901, Peter Boyd, Esq., making the address. • To the southward upon the elevation occupied by the Pennsylvanians, an equestrian statue of Major General Anthony Wayne was dedicated upon June 20, 1908. One mile eastward is a modest marker erected by the State of Maine to the soldiers of that section serving with Massachusetts troops. Nearby, upon the same drive, is the Massachusetts ^,jj^ ^^^^^ WATERMAN MONUMENT, Memorial and the National Memorial Arch. WEST OF THE RIVER DRIVE 11 BRONZE MEMORIAL OF MAJOR-GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE Upon Outer Line Boulevard in Front of the Site of the Cantonment of His Troops, Dedicated June "20th, 1908 MOVEMENTS IN THE CAMPAIGN OF 1777, ENDING WITH THE OCCUPATION OF VALLEY FORGE AS A WINTER REFUGE BY WASHINGTON'S ARMY May . Sir William Howes forces, comprising 18,000 effective troops in position at New Brunswick and Amboy. Washington, with about 6000 Continentals, exclusive of cavalry and artillery and of 500 New Jersey militia, (a total according to Bryant, of 7,300 men) broke winter camp at Morristown and advanced to Middlebrook Heights, ten miles from New Brunswick. June . British army moved to Staten Island, American force still at Middlebrook. July 2S. British fleet under Lord Howe sailed from New York with entire British army in command of his brother Sir William Howe, appearing briefly a week later at the capes of the Dela\\are. Washington encamped on Neshaminy Creek, 20 miles north of Philadelphia. August 20. The enemy appeared in Chesapeake Bay. On the 23d Washington's army marched through Philadelphia and to W'ilmington. The enemy disembarked upon the 25th at the Elk River, 54 miles southwest from Phila- delphia. September 11. Battle of Brandy wine. Retreat of Americans to Chester, Philadelphia and Germantown. Americans then numbered about 11,000 men, exclusive of Gates' com- mand in the North. On the 15th, Washington advanced to Warren Tavern, on the Lancaster Pike, a heavy storm ruined the ammunition and led to a retreat to Yellow Springs and thence across the Schuylkill River near Phoenixville. Howe advanced at his leisure, covering a wide stretch of rich country. Upon the night of September 19th, a body of Wayne's men, detached to operate in the rear of the Briti.sh left flank, was surprised at Paoli, many being bayonetted. September 21. Howe's columns reached the Schuylkill River in force, crossing at several points above and below Valley Forge. L'pon the 26th they marched into Philadelphia, leaving a strong force in Germantown. October 4. Battle of Germantown, retreat of Americans to White Marsh about six miles north from Chestnut Hill. November 10. Lord Howe's ships invested Fort Miflflin and Fort Mercer below the city. An incident of this movement was the Battle of Red Bank, N. J., in which Count Donop, the Hessian commander, was mortally wounded. December 19. After an exhausting march from W'hite Marsh via Gulf Mills, Wash- ington's troops arrived upon the hills at Valley Forge. Foin- days later nearly 3000 men of this force were sick or too nearly naked to do duty. Lord Howe's Advance on Philadelphia, 1777 From the Diary of a British Sergeant, hitherto unpublished. August 25. Army landed at Elk Ferry, 1st under Cornwallis at Elk Ferry, 2d under Kuyphausen at Cecil Court House. August 28. Army marched, arrived at Head of Elk. August 31. Cornwallis and Grant marched 4 or 5 miles to a small place called "Iron Works," returned to camp. September 3. Troops reached Pencador 4 miles east of Elk on road to Christiana Bridge. Americans made a stand at the bridge, but retreated to main body. September 6. General Grant from Elk, with his troops, joined the army. September 8. Whole army marched from the left by Newark 6 miles and encamped in the township of Hokesson. The two armies, British and American, 4 miles apart. September 9. One third of army marched toward New Market, Cornwallis with his Division to Hokesson Meeting House, others to Kennett Square. 13 HEADQUARTERS OF GENERAL HOWE NEAR VALLEY FORGE IN SEPTEMBER, 17 September 10. All met this morning and moved toward Brandywine Creek. September 11. Battle of Brandywine. September 12. Kuyphausen's men remained on Heights. General Grant moved to Concord. September 13. Cornwallis joined and proceeded to Ashton, 5 miles from Chester and encamped. 71st Regt. to Wilmington. September 16. Army in 2 columns moved from Ashton toward Goshen Meeting House and Downingtown. September 17. Early A. M. to Yellow Springs and at night to White Horse, Cornwallis 2 miles beyond. September 18. Army joined and marched to Tredyffryn. Light Infantry to Valley Forge. September 20. Paoli affair. September 21. Army at Valley P'orge, line extended from Fatland Ford to French Creek. Moved to Pottsgrove. September 22. Part of army crossed at Fatland Ford, others at Gordon's Ford. September 23. Whole army encamped, left to Schuylkill and right on Manatawny road, with stony run in front. A force detached to Swede's Ford. September 26. Force under Cornwallis took Philadelphia. CHAPTER III THE BRITISH ARMY IN PHILADELPHIA Upon October 19, 1777, Sir William Howe moved his forces into the city of Philadelphia. The nervous suspense of the inhabitants, sustained already for many weeks, culminated, upon that memorable day, when a squadron of dragoons galloped down Second Street through crowds of expectant onlookers, soon followed by a column of the grenadiers, brilliant in their red coats, red caps, fronted with silver shields. Lord Cornwallis and his staff in the lead. Riding with them, their faces doubtless reflecting their sense of triumph, were five civilians — Joseph Galloway, Enoch Story, Tench Coxe, Andrew Allen and William Allen, all bitter Tories, men whose names were to appear a few years later among those adjudged to be traitors and aliens. Behind the grenadiers came the hated Hessians, barbaric in their fierce mustaches, their uniforms of dark blue and towering brass headgear. The columns, artillery and baggage s()(m choked the central streets of the town, and staff officers were busy everywhere in securing buildings of suitable comfort as headquarters ft)r their respective chiefs. With the adapta- bility of a trained and veteran force the army of British and mercenaries was later housed snugly and securely in the rear of their defenses for the coming period of comparative idleness. The streets were gay with brilliant groups, the taverns roaring with business, and pageantry of war everywhere rife. An entrenchment was run from a redoubt at a point now the inter- section of Twenty-second and Chestnut streets along the eastern side of the Schuylkill River to the elevation at Fairmount, which has, for nearly a century, been used as a basin of water supply. From a redoubt at this point the entrenchment was extended to the Delaware River along the ridge behind Hickory Lane (Coates Street, now Fairmount Avenue), and including the Bush Hill property. Behind this (see map) were aligned the regiments, just to the north of the present line of Callowhill Street. The old Briti.s'h barracks at Campingtown, Green Street, between Second and Third Streets, were used, and also the Bettering House and other large buildings. The several roads leading outward in the direction of the American camps were patrolled as follows: Ridge Road was watched by the Yagers. The light infantry of the line guarded Germantown Road. The light infantry of the guard patrolled Old York (or York Town) Road and the Queen's Rangers (provincials) watched the Frankford Road. These outer guards were, in turn, covered by bodies of cavalry, which operated, in fact, in all directions from the town in order to afford the country people, who were often hiding in the woods with their supplies, a safe conduct to market. This procedure continued through the winter attended by constant minor conflicts. Both armies foraged far. In February General Wayne detoured into South Jersey to obtain cattle, in which he was successful. Occasionally considerable expeditions of the British were sent out to forage, as in the case of the raid down the river to Salem, resulting in the massacre of patriot outposts upon Alloway's Creek at Quinton's Bridge and Hancock House. Within the town, where, with the soldiery, some sixty thousand people were living, the ordinary affairs of life proceeded much as usual. The general attitude of the British officers was conciliatory and there was little of malicious destruction. Money and the essentials of life were plenty, and some occupations flourished to an unusual degree. Sir William Howe had long before formed a resolution to resign the command of the British forces. Moved, perhaps, by the gloom which overspread the Britons after the fall of Count Donop at Red Bank and the spectacular destruction of the frigate Augusta and the sloop Merlin, he wrote as follows, upon the twenty-eighth of October, 1777, to the Secretary of State of the American Department, Lord George Germaine: 16 WASHINGTON'S OFFICE APARTMENT AT VALLEY FORGE "From the little attention, my lord, given to my recommendations since the commence- ment of my command, I am led to hope that I may be relieved from this very painful service. wherein I have not the good fortune to enjoy the necessary confidence and support of my superiors, but which, I conclude, will be extended to Sir Henry Clinton, my presumptive successor. By the return of the packet I humbly request I may have his Majesty's permission to resign." It should be recorded that this peevish letter gave occasion for great astonishment to the home authorities which had diligently promoted the means for sustaining Howe and his army in the field. In Tory circles there was much of g&iety, this culminating in the early summer with the fete of the famous Meschianza. Howe's opera bouffe "last appearance " in Philadelphia at this historic fete, with its mediaeval follies and flamboyant, "Thy laurels are immortal," set all of Great Britain astir with sardonic laughter, followed, after his arrival home, by a stormy period of recrimination between the crown and its supporters upon the one hand and General Howe and the opposition upon the other, the echoes of which reverberated to the beginning of another century. Thus ended the career in America of an officer who had proven himself, fortunately for the patriot army and cause, the most incompetent warrior in British history, a soldier of whom Stedman, the English historian of the Revolution, wrote sixteen years later, "None of his military exploits possessed either plan, object or decision, and the only fruit derived from the several victories of Sir William Howe, during the campaign of 1777, amounted ot no more than the acquisition of good winter quarters for the British Army at Philadelphia.'' MEMORIAL BOWLDER AND TABLET AT GULPH MILL CHAPTER IV OCCUPATION OF VALLEY FORGE BY THE CONTINENTAL ARMY When the Patriot Army moved from White Marsh the matter of the winter location was apparently still undetermined. A wide diversity of opinion existed among the general officers, some favoring a general assault upon the city, others proposing Wilmington, Lancaster and Reading. The first objective of the creeping army, after turning its back upon Camp Hill, was the opposite shore of the Schuylkill River. The advance found, upon reaching Matson's Ford, a force of 3,000 British awaiting them upon the opposite side. That night the Americans moved up to Swede's Ford and built a bridge of wagons, over which a force was thrown and the hills occupied around the Gulph Mills. Gulph Mills is situated about one and a half miles inland from the Schuylkill River and six miles from Valley Forge. The army's baggage was long in crossing the river and much confused. The majority of the soldiers slept, the first two or three nights, upon the snow-clad ground. The coming of the army to Valley Forge was so unexpected by the neighboring residents that they were taken utterly by surprise. Within a short time a military town of probably one thousand huts of logs had arisen and a large portion of the forest had already been sacri- ficed in the work of building and for fires. The stumps and brush were left along the declivity in front of the earthworks as a defense against storming parties. Later, when the redoubts were dug, a series of sharply-pointed pickets were planted between them. The redoubts were four feet high, with a ditch six feet wide. General W^ashington occupied his usual army tent and shared the out-of-door log fires of the soldiery during the work of building the huts, and it was probably upon Christmas 18 WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS Jlli; mi ICE, LtJOKlNG TUWAKD HALLWAY WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS The Rear, Showing Office Window and Reproduced Log Dining-Room Day that he accepted the invitation of Isaac Potts, the miller and the minister of Friends and moved into his snug house at the foot of the hill. Upon this day he found time to write up his ledger, making the following entry: "To expenditures in the different and continual movements of the ariiiy from German- town September 15 till we hutted at Valley Forge the 25th of December pr. mem., $1,037.00 or £78.10." Washington's Military Family At the time of Washington's occupation of the Potts residence, his military family consisted of the following persons: Robert H. Harrison, Secretary, May 16, 1776, to March 25, 1782; Tench Tilghman, Volunteer Secretary and A. D. C, August 8, 1776, to December 2.'}, 1783; Alexander Hamilton. A. D. C, March 1, 1777, to December 23, 1783; Richard K. Meade, A. D. C, March 12, 1777, to December 23, 1783; Presley P. Thornton, A. D. C, September 6, 1777, to — ; John Laurens A. D. C, September 6, 1777, to August 27, 1782; Marquis de Lafayette; Captain Caleb Gibbs, Commander of the Life Guard. In May of the following year Dr. James McHenry became Secretary and John Fitzgerald replaced Thornton. The names of Matthew Clarkson and David S. Franks appear as aides-de-camp upon the Valley Forge oath list. Washington's Headquarters Building The surroundings of this principal existing memento of the camp at Valley Forge have been greatly improved. It is open every day throughout the year. Its several rooms are lined with interesting relics and documents. A bronze tablet in the hall bears testimony to the patriotic work of the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge in preserving in its original condition with the aid of the Patriotic Order Sons of America this sacred structure until it passed into the custody of the State. The rear room is said to have been used as Washington's office, after a log cabin had been built in the rear for a dining-room. The box in which he kept his papers is to be seen between the windows. The wing building contained the kitchen, beneath which was a cellar, reached by stone steps. Within recent years the grounds surrounding the Headquarters have been much improved by the removal of a number of buildings not of historic value and the construction of an automobile shelter. It is largely due to the efforts of patriotic ladies of Chester and Montgomery counties that not only has the Headquarters building been so carefully preserved, but that the entire reservation has been made, under the direction of the Commissioners, the splendid object lesson as it now exists. To the effective interest of former Governor Samuel W. Pennypacker is chiefly due the liberal sums devoted to the work. A PRIVATE OF THE LIFE GUARD 2/. '^^-^ J^i^i^J^-?^ ^Z^ ,,^?TE>c3w ^a-i^Ce.^ yZ^'y-T^tz^ c/^i^*:^-^- zz^^^^^^^X^ lyo ^^^^^yZ/io-^-t—^ ^- consequence. 1 he guard, as reorgan- FLAG OF THE LIFE GUARD . 'z^d. May 1, 1777, at Morristown, numbered fifty-six men, exclusive of 22 ^1 I officers. This body was equipped as infantry, in addition to which a small force of horse was maintained, of which George Lewis was Captain. Special details from the cavalry regi- ments sometimes performed escort duty. The Southern troops, commanded by General Lachlin Mcintosh, of Georgia, occupied the hill to the left of Headquarters. General Mcintosh succeeded General Francis Nash, who died from wounds received at the Battle of Germantown. This Brigade was in close touch with Headquarters. Formation of the Second or Continental Army At the end of the year 1777 the original patriot army ceased to exist. By a resolution of Congress, September 16, 17(36, eighty-eight battalions of eight companies each were to be enlisted for three years "or the war." In these new organizations the greater part of the one-year men re-enlisted. These new regiments were styled the Continental Line and were apportioned to the several States as follows: New Hampshire, three regiments; Massachusetts, fifteen regiments; Rhode Island, two regiments; Connecticut, eight regiments; New York, four regiments; New Jersey, four regi- ments; Pennsylvania, twelve regiments; Delaware, one regiment; Maryland, eight regiments; Virginia, fifteen regiments; North Carolina, nine regiments; South Carolina, six regiments; Georgia, one regiment. As far as possible the organizations of each State were formed into divisions or sub- divisions, and were consecutively numbered. Although officially known by their numbers and States, they were more commonly designated by the name of their respective colonels. This practice is followed in the list of officers which subscribed to the oath at Valley Forge. In addition to these organizations four regiments of dragoons and four of artillery were established, and various bodies of rangers, scouts and similar independents were continued from the first army or recruited for the new one. The army list contains names of two Canadian regiments. In the spring of 1778 Congress authorized new regiments of sappers and miners. SITE OF THE STAR REDOUBT, GUARDED BY VARNUMS RHODE ISLANDERS CHAPTER VI A WORD PICTURE OF THE CAMP Probably the most effective existing word picture of the scene, when the camp had been established, is to be found in the memorable address of that talented young Philadelphian, Henry Armitt Brown, Esq., delivered at the Centennial celebration of the departure of the army from the camp. "These are the huts of Huntington's Brigade, of the Connecticut line; next to it those of Pennsylvanians under Conway. This is the Irish-Frenchman, soon to disappear in a disgraceful intrigue. Here in the camp there are many who whisper that he is a mere adven- turer, but in Congress they still think him a great military character. Down toward Head- cjuarters are the Southerners, commanded by Lachlin Mcintosh, in his youth 'the handsomest man in Georgia.' Beyond Conway, on the hill, is Maxwell, a gallant Irishman, commissioned by New Jersey. AVoodford, of V^irginia, commands on the right of the second line, and in front of him the Virginian, Scott. The next brigade in order is of Pennsylvanians — many of them men whose homes are in this neighborhood — Chester County boys and Quakers from the A'alley turned soldier for their country's sake. They are the children of three races; the hot Irish blood mixes with the cooler Dutch in their calm English veins, and some of them — their chief, for instance — are splendid fighters. There he is, at this moment, riding up the hill from his quarters in the valley. A man of medium height and strong frame, he sits his horse well and with a dashing air. His nose is prominent, his eye piercing, his complexion ruddy; his whole appearance that of a man of splendid health and flowing spirits. He is just the fellow to win by his headlong valor the nickname of 'The Mad.' But he is more than a mere fighter. Skilful, energetic, full of resources and presence of mind, quick to com- prehend and prompt to act, of sound judgment and extraordinary courage, he has in him the qualities of a great general, as he shall show many a time in his short life of one-and-fifty years. Pennsylvania, in her quiet fashion, may not make as much of his fame as it deserves, but impartial history will allow her none the less the honor of having given its most brilliant soldier to the Revolution in her Anthony Wayne. Poor, of New Hampshire, is encamped next, and then Glover, whose regiment of Marblehead sailors and fishermen manned the boats that saved the army on the night of the retreat from Long Island. Larned, Patterson and Weedon follow, and then, at the corner of the entrenchments by the river, is the Virginia Brigade of Muhlenberg. Born at the Trappe close by and educated abroad, Muhlenberg was a clergyman in Virginia when the war came on, but he has doffed his parson's gown forever for the buff and blue of a brigadier. His stalwart form and swarthy face are already as familiar to the enemy as they are to his own men, for the Hessians are said to have cried, 'Hier kommt Teufel Pete!' as they saw him lead a charge at Brandy wine. The last brigade 24 ANTHONY WAYNE Brigadier General Continental Army 1777 to 1783. Brevet Major General 1783, Major General and Commander-in-Chief United States Arniy 1792 to 1796 Bhigadiek General Jed Huntington Connecticut Brigadier Geveral Lachlan McIntosh Georgia Brigadier General Charles Scott Virginia Brigadier General George Weedon Virginia Bricadier General J. Peter G. Miiilenuerg Virginia Brigadier General Enoch Poor New Hampshire is stationed on the river bank, where Varnum and his Rhode Islanders, in sympathy with young Laurens, of Carolina, are busy with a scheme to raise and enhst regiments of negro troops. These are the commanders of brigades."' The several Major and Brigadier Generals occupied houses within short distances of their respective commands. Inspector General Baron Steuben and Brigadier Generals Conway, Smallwood, Arm- strong, Furman and McDougall were quartered in large huts on the Maurice Stevens property, just north of the field in which lies the grave of John Waterman. As a rule, it is said, the officers who became, with their staffs, enforced members of the country families proved agreeable and considerate guests. It is known that long after the close of the Valley Forge encampment letters of a most friendly character were exchanged by some of the Generals and the Valley Forge families. HE.ADQUARTERS OK M.\JOK GKXER.\L LORD STIRLING 27 yl^va. BRKiADIER GENERAL LOUIS L. DU PORTAfL Engineer of the Defenses HOUSE OF JOSEPH WALKER Headquarters of General Anthony Wayne CHAPTER VII ROUTINE OF THE CAMP While the army was pushing the work of housing itself, the engineer corps was planning the earthworks which were to protect them. These defenses were doubtless worked slowly out of the frozen ground by details from the several brigades, and were not completed until spring. Upon March 27 following, the Commander-in-Chief refers to the unfinished condition of the "Interior Defenses," and again upon April 3 he complains of the poor work done upon the "new line defenses." Lieutenant General Sir William Howe, in his defense of his conduct of the campaign in America, supplies indirect, but decisive, testimony regarding the wisdom of the selection of the Valley Forge heights for the American Army's hibernation and also the deterrent efTect of tlie toilsome entrenchments created there. He says: "I did not attack the entrenched position at Valle:y Forge, a strong point, during the severe season, although everything was prepared with that intention, judging it imprudent until the season should afford a prospect of reaping the advantages that ought to have resulted in success in that measure; but having good information in the spring that the enemy had strengthened his camp by additional works and being certain of moving him from thence when the campaign should open, I dropped all thoughts of attack." The structures which sheltered the army were built of logs and were fourteen by sixteen feet in dimensions. Wooden chimneys, lined with clay, w^re built against the rear sides. Twelve soldiers were housed in each hut. A quaint description of the scene during those early winter days at Valley Forge is that found in a letter written by Thomas Paine to Benjamin Franklin, who was in Paris. Washington offered a reward of twelve dollars in each regiment to the party doing the best and quickest work in building. It is not to be suppo.sed that having completed their log encampment, the army lapsed into idleness; upon the contrary, there was much for the able-bodied to do in cutting wood 29 REPRODUCTION OF A CONTINENTAL ARMY HLT REPRODUCTION OF AN ARMY HOSPITAL for the fires, foraging for supplies (these scarce and already difficult to find), and upon the part of the cavalry, a constant scouring of the country toward the city, with countless brushes with the outposts of the enemy. Drilling and the regulation routine were carried on daily. The Christmas holidays in this camp were anything but festive. Upon Christmas morning twelve men from each brigade were assembled upon the parade with ammunition and rations, who were dispatched with wagons to bring in supplies of flour, grain, cattle and pork. Unfortunately, shoals of loose soldiery had marauded the country ahead of them, abusing and robbing Tory and Patriot alike. This license Washington took measures to stop. Just before the New Year a party of American soldiers at Wilmington captured a ship in the Delaware River coming from New York, which proved to contain much that was valuable to the Patriot Army, especially in clothing for officers. It would be interesting to trace the final disposition of these goods and discover what proportion the regimental officers finally got and to what extent the jobbing gentlemen around Congress, at York, were profited by the capture. At the end of the year many of the soldiers were still living in tents, but as fast as the huts were ready the tents were delivered to the Quartermasters to be cleaned and stored for use in the next campaign. The scarcity of side arms for the officers led to the order that those not having swords should cease carrying guns, which tended to distract their attention from their men, and to obtain half-pikes. The pikes, or Aspontons, were "to be six and a half feet in length, one and a half inch thick in the largest part, the iron part to be one foot long." There is evidence that some regiments fared much better than others and that the Pennsylvanians, especially many of the officers, were far from being destitute. Between December 22nd and January 28th Washington wrote five appeals to Congress for help. The last of this series of letters was a lengthy statement written for the use of a Congressional Committee then visiting the camp. This Committee was composed of Francis .Dana, Joseph Reed, Nathaniel Folsom, John Harvie, Charles Carroll and Gouverneur Morris. The Committee remained here nearly three months, occupying a large house two miles west from the camp, known as "Moore Hall," which is still existent. CHAPTER VIII THE CRY OF DISTRESS Whatever may have been the disposition of its individual members to afford effective relief to the suffering soldiers. Congress had not the initiative power to do more than make representations to the States in behalf of their respective brigades. As a matter of fact, the body at York was but the shadow of a government. Among the unwise measures to which its deliberations had given birth, that which detached the Commissary Department from the control of the commanding General was probably one of the most mischievous. The baleful mark of petty jobbery seems to stamp this procedure and the effect was seen in confusion and waste, which were largely responsible for the misery of the ^'alley Forge winter. Fiske, the historian, cites testimony which alleges that hogsheads of shoes, stockings, hats and general clothing were left in the woods or by the roadside to waste because of a want of money antl teams to get them into camp. So constant was the fear of Congress that the army would get beyond civil control, that John Adams proposed the annual election of generals in lieu of the issue of commissions. The spectre of Valley Forge did not weigh heavily upon the minds of the statesmen at York. It was a gay winter in this temporary capital of the new nation. A member of the Congressional Commission reported with regard to the scenes in the camp, that "the men patiently yoke themselves together in little carriages of their own making, using grapevines for ropes, or load their wood and provisions upon their backs." They seemed to the foreign officers to be devoid of all enthusiasm. Outposts and patrols were established across the country as far as Barren Hill, which is but ten miles from the centre of Philadelphia. Under the direction of General Sullivan a log bridge was constructed across the Schuylkill River at a point one mile below the mouth of the valley stream, its position now being marked by a marble stone inscribed with a record of the bloody footprints left by the shoeless soldiers who marched upon duty here. Long before the date of its migration from Camp Hill to Valley Forge the commands were very generally destitute of proper clothing, the uniforms and blankets being worn out with use. The resources of the country were inadequate to the problem, and as winter advanced the soldiers by hundreds covered their semi-nakedness and misery within their huts. In midwinter two thousand men were without shoes; sentries stood guard with feet in their hats. Before many weeks had passed a large proportion of the army had succumbed to cold and hunger combined, and those of the sufferers who had not perished were distributed in temporary hospitals through the country to the north and west. Upon February 1st, 3,989 men were unfit for duty for want of clothes. Lieutenant John Marshall, afterward Chief Justice, wrote: "Although the total of the army exceeds 17,000 men, the present rank and file amounts to only 5012." On February 12th, General Varnum wrote to General Green and "in all human proba- bility the army must dissolve. Many of the troops are destitute of meat and are several days in arrears. The horses are dying for want of forage. The country in vicinity of the camp is exhausted." On the 16th of February Washington wrote to Governor Clinton: "For some days past there has been little less than a famine in camp. A part of the army has been a week without any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four days. Naked and starved as they are, we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiery that they have not been, ere this, excited by their sufferings to general mutiny and desertion." 82 Upon tlie next day John Laurens wrote: "The unfortunate soldiers were in want of everything; they had neither coats, hats, shirts nor shoes; their feet and legs froze till they became black, and it was often necessary to amputate them. From want of money they could neither obtain provisions nor any means of transport." One month after arrival at \'alley Forge, Washington issued a proclamation requiring all farmers within seventy miles from his quarters to thresh one-half of all their grain before the first of March, in order to make sure of a supply of both grain and straw. Many details of soldiers were sent out to do the threshing. Mrs. Washington arrived at Valley Forge upon February 10. She records the fact that the General's apartment is small and that he has had built a log structure in which to take their meals. Food supplies continued to be gathered from the unwilling farmers by force, payment being made in certificates, for the redemption of which Congress had made no provisions, whereas, tho.se who succeeded in getting their grain and other foods to the British Commissaries were paid a good price in gold. The annals of the country-side tend to show that by far the larger part of the farming people, nearly all of whom had relatives in the Patriot service, made constant sacrifices in order to provide help to the American Army. Bad roads and snows had much to do with the scarcity of food. lURTHPL.ACE AND HOME OF M.\.JOR GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE, Easttown, Chester Co., Pa. INNER LINE BOULEVARD CHAPTER IX WASHINGTON'S OPTIMISM In February a systematic market scheme was inaugurated, by which the Quartermasters were able to meet the farmers at designated places and buy such meagre supplies as they were able to bring. The constant anxiety with which historians doubtless properly credit the Commander- in-Chief does not find expression in his routine orders, l^pon thecontrary, his proclamations were usually optimistic beyond those of any of his Generals. Matters in camp were at their worst in the beginning of March, but Washington issued the following as a tonic to the Army: "Weedon Orderly Book, March 1st, 1778. "Thank Heaven our Country abounds with provisions and with prudent management we need not apprehend want for any length of time. Defects in the Commissaries Depart- ment, Contingencies of Weather and other Temporary Empedements have subjected and may again subject us to deficiency for a few days. But Soldiers, American Soldiers, will despise the meanness of Repining at such trifling strockes of Adversity. Trifling indeed when compared with the Tran.scendent prize which will undoubtedly crown their patience and perse verence." That the commanders of the opposing armies were constantly informed of all that took place in the rival camps to a degree not possible in modern armies .seems certain. Washing- ton was especially annoyed with the intercourse between the members of the sect of "Friends. ' 35 Brigadier (uonkral William Smallwood Marvlaml BuKjAUIKh General Henry Knox Artillery, Massachusetts Brigadieb General Daniel Morgan Virginia Brigadier General James M. Varnum Rhode Island I poll March 20th, Washington wrote to General Lacey: "Sunday next being the time on which the Quakers hold one (jf their general meetings, a number of that society will probably be attempting to go into Philadelphia. This is an. intercourse that we should by all means endeavor to interrupt, as the plans settled at these meetings are of the most pernicious tendency. I would therefore have you dispose of your parties in such a manner as will most probably fall in with these people." At this time patriotism was at a low ebb throughout the country, and the belief grew that it was only a question of time when the little army must dissolve and ail who had taken part in the Revolutionaiy movcnicnt sufi'cr punishment at the hands of the victorious British. do acknowledge the U 1^ I T E D STATES of A M E- R I'C A; to be Free, Independent and Sovereigqi S^tatcs, -and dcifl'ai'c that the people thereof owe no allegiance or obf di- caCOto Ge/orec the Third, King of Great-Britain; and I re- wjftflce, rcfufe and abjure any allegiance or obedience to him ; ■xok \ do ^if'-^ii'y^ that I will to the uto)oft of my power, fupport, maintain and defend the faid Uflitcd States, agaiaft the faid King George the Third, his heirs and fuQceffors and- his and their abettors, affiftant* and adheyrencs, apd will ferve the faid United States in the oflRcc of -^/^^^n^ ..^(^fv4<*^-^i^ —' — — ^ v/hich I now hold with frdelity, 'ac<(ordiDg to the bcft of miy Ikill and under(Unding. ^^s^t^^gCj^^ FROM ORIGINAL OF 0.\TH OF ALLECJI.XNCE SIGNED BY MA.JOR GENERAL ARTHUR ST. CLAIR The " Conway Cabal " In his own camp, for a considerable time, unknown to Washington, a conspiracy, which history has designated as the "Conway Cabal," was fomented for the purpose of displacing the General in command with Gates, the captor of Burgoyne. In this cabal were General Conway, a French-Irish "soldier of fortune," together with MifHin, Wilkinson, James Lovell, Samuel Adams and Richard Henry Lee, each of whom had some personal grudge against Washington. The movement failed, as it deserved to do, and the Father of his Country' continued to hold the love and admiration of his ragged and faithful army. It was due to the discovery of this treachery that the famous ^'alley Forge oath was required of all oflScers. The oath was administered under the direction of General Wayne. During the winter large numbers of prisoners were gathered at the camp and frequent flags of truce went to Philadelphia, to obtain such supplies for them as the enemy might choose to send them. 37 HOME OF CAPTAIN JOHN DAVIS One of Wayne's Officers, now Owned by the A. J. Cassalt Kslale HKADQUARTERS OF BRIGADIER OENERAL DANIEL MORGAN CHAPTER X THE COMING OF BARON STEUBEN See Note upon page 73 Washington's marked preference for the foreign officers certainly bred heart-burnings among his native brigadiers and, in fact, with the officers generally. Many of the Frenchmen assumed airs of superiority over their American comrades of equal rank. They also under- rated the silent, stern determination of the Americans to achieve independence. Washington's attitude of diplomatic good-will toward the foreigners was, however, to finally justify his patience and good sense. MAJOR GENERAL FREDERICK WILLIAM VON STEUBEN When matters were at their worst, there came to Washington, with an offer of his services and sword, a veteran General of Prussia, Frederick William Von Steuben. This officer was made Inspector General, a place previously filled by the impotent Conway. General Steuben was the son of an officer in the German Army. He had served upon the staff of Frederick the Great, had been grand marshal of the Prince HohenzoUern-Hech- ingen, and was a traveller of distinction. At Paris he had met Franklin and Beaumarchais, 39 HKADQlAiriKHS OF^^IGADIER GENERAL J. PETER G. MUHLENBERG HKADQl ARTERS OF MAJOR GENERAL THOMAS MOT LIN HEADQl ARTKRS OK l.ORD CORNWALLIS M'.aR VAI.LKV l()R(.r.. IN SEFTKMRKR, \; While the British Army was in Occupation of this Section before Advancing to Philadelphia and thus became interested in the American cause. He had travelled from Boston to York, Pa., in sleighs in company with his military secretary, going thence to Valley Forge. This was the beginning of salvation. Within a few days Washington had found the work for the old disciplinarian. He was announced to the army as its new drill master. Baron Steuben is said to have been astounded by the condition of the army as he found it. His French cook, whom he had brought across the seas, abandoned his job in disgust and fled to the fatherland. In addition to the universal epidemic of colds, smallpox ravaged the camp, and the men, borne down by the awful weight of their sufferings, could hardly be dragged to their daily work. Deserters and spies were executed as an example, and the generals were busy with threats and entreaties. The great men who had less than a brief year and a half before so resolutely affixed their signatures to the defiant Declaration of Independence, were now largely replaced in Congress by those of smaller calibre and less exalted ideals. Regarding them, Livingston wrote in this severe strain: "I am so discouraged by our public mismanagement, and the additional load of business thrown upon me by the villainy of those who pursue nothing but acciuuulating fortunes to the ruin of their country that I almost sink under it." Clearly, Congress was afraid of Washington and the shadow of his dominant figure in the field. It was urged by some that there should be thirteen armies, each to be responsible to and look out for its own State. Both in the civil service and the army there were many who at this time, impressed by the seeming invincibility of the enemy, were chiefly occupied with the question of their personal safety and the protection of their property when the national project came to its impending end. In one of his letters to Congress from Valley Forge Washington called atten- tion to the fact that within a half year not less than three hundred officers had resigned and 41 gone home. Tljese men were, doubtless, largely influenced in their action by the manifest inability of Congress to extend that efficient support to the army necessary to its existence. There were men holding high commissions in the service who engaged in private negotia- tions with the Peace Commission which, coming from the King, expended several ineffectual months in their efforts to undermine the army and purchase the representatives of the people. Notwithstanding the suffering, there w-as much boisterous fun in the camps, for the American soldier must laugh sometimes, and there seems to have been the popular rage for the lottery, which was then a government institution. Immediately after Steuben began his task he formed one picked company, as already stated, and drilled them as a model for the others, laboring under the great disadvantage of a lack of English words, but the soldiers cheered his savage German oaths, and he soon became popular with the rank and file. By consent of Congress and Ceneral Washington he introduced a modified form of Prussian tactics, and before the end of the period in camp he had created an army of disciplined soldiers and schooled officers fit to command tliem. The order-loving spirit of Steuben began also to be reflected in the proclamations made from headquarters and by the Brigade Commanders. There was an effective policing of the Camps. The deaths among the common soldiers were so constant that there was little pretense of cere- mony, and it may have been to modify the con- trast presented by the pageantry of the funerals of officers with those of the rank and file that Washington issued an order upon this subject. Washington continued to anticipate, day by day, definite news of a' favorable nature from France. Anticipating possible delay or failure in this quarter, W'ashington had already been author- ized by Congress to requisition Pennsylvania, Mary- land and Virginia for 5,000 militia. The welcome accorded to General Charles Lee upon his return to the Army by exchange, April 21st, was most spectacular and flattering to him. The Commander-in-Chief made him his personal guest. He at once gave him the command of the right wing of the Army. Lee's subsequent conduct proved him unworthy of the plaudits of his fellow- soldiers or of the confidence of Washington. Regarding Lite's reception, Elias Boudinot wrote upon the same day: "All of the principal officers of the Army were drawn up in two lines, advanced of the camp about 2 miles toward the Enemy. Then the Troops with the inferior officers formed a line quite to head-quarters — all the Music of the Army attended. The General with a great number of principal Oflicers and their Suites rode about four miles on the road toward Philadelphia, and waited until Gen'l Lee appeared. General Washington dismounted and rec'd Gen'l Lee as if he had been his Brother. He pas.sed thro' the lines of OflScers and the Army, who paid the highest military Honors, to Headquarters, where Mrs. Washington was 42 VON STEUBEN MONUMENT ERECTED BY THE NATION.\L GERMAN AMERI- CAN ALLIANCE, 1915 UKADQIAI! I Kits or MA.IOR (.KNKRAI. .MAK(^riS l)K I.AIA^KTTK HEADQUARTF.HS OF BRIGADIER GENERAL THOS. BRAUEORU PILLARS MARKING LEFT OK THl. TKN NS^ L\ A.NLV BRIGADES Upon Outer Line Boulevard and here he was entertained with an elegant Dinner and the music playing the whole time." By Washington's orders, April 22nd was observed in the Valley Forge Camps as "a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer." The answer of Divine Providence was already upon the seas, and borne by hard-riding couriers from sea-cost to the inland hills it came to the knowledge of Washington upon May day. One week later he issued the following general order, which was the beginning of the end in a war destined to continue nearly three years longer before its objects were effected: NEAR FORT WASHINGTON CHAPTER XI THE FRENCH ALLIANCE See Note upon page 75 ■' It having pleased tlie Almighty Ruler of the universe to defend the course of the United States, and finally raise up a powerful friend among the princes of the earth, to establish our Liberty and Independence upon a lasting foundation, it becomes us to set apart a day for gratefully acknowledging the Divine goodness, and celebrating the important event which we owe to His Divine interposition. The several brigades are to assemble for this pur- pose at nine o'clock to-morrow morning, when their chaplains will communicate the informa- tion contained in the postscript of the Peiin- syhania Gazette of the 2nd instant, and offer up a thanksgiving and deliver a discourse suitable to the event. At half-past ten o'clock a cannon will be fired, which is to be the signal for the men to be under arms. The Brigade inspectors will then inspect their dress and arms, and form the battalions according to the instructions given them, and announce to the commanding officers of the brigade that the battalions are formed. The commanders of brigades will then appoint the field officers to the battalions, after which each batallion will be ordered to load and ground their arms. At half-past seven o'clock a second cannon will be fired as a signal for the march: upon which the several brigades will begin their march by wheeling to the right by platoons, and proceed by the nearest way to the left of their ground by the new position. This will be pointed out by the Brigade Inspectors. A third signal will then be given, on which there will be a discharge of thirteen cannon; after which a running fire of the infantry will begin on the left of the second line and continue to the right. Upon a signal given, the whole army will huzza, 'Long Live the King of France.' The artillery then begins again and fires thirteen rounds; this will be succeeded by a second general discharge of musketry, in a running fire, and huzza, 'Long Live the Friendly European Powers.'' The last discharge of thirteen pieces of artillery will be given, followed by a general running fire and huzza, ' The American States.'" The Commander-in-Chief and staff were the guests of the New Jersey troops during the religious services of the day, after which the general officers of the command joined him at the Potts mansion, whereat was served one of those famous dinners for which Washington always manifested a fondness. The length and breadth of Washington's exuberance upon the arrival of the good news cannot be more effectively shown than in the fact that two soldiers awaiting execution in the camp were pardoned and restored to the ranks by him in testimony of his joy. When we consider how rarely the Commander-in-Chief modified or reversed the finding of his courts-martial and how vainly, at Newburgh, it was sought to save Andre, we may realize the meaning of this gift of life to men who, perhaps, did not deserve it. Official confirmation of the great fact that Benjamin Franklin and his associate Commis- sioners had succeeded in their mission to the French Court had arrived upon April 13th, when 45 Benjamin Franklin To whose Diplomatic Skill was Largely Due the Sending of French Assistance to America tlic Krencli frig?ito La Sensit)U' sailed into I'almoutli (now Portland) harbor, bringing, as bearer of dispatches, Simeon Deane, brother of Commissioner Silas Deane. The news reached Congress at York upon May 2!2d. One of the most difficult problems in the administration of this far scattered camp was that of the control of liquor. Most of the courts-martial had their origin in quarrels caused 1\V drunkenness. The sutlers were held accountable, and all taverns, except a few under special license, within a wide territory around the camp, were proliibit(>(l from selling any- MAJOR GENERAL NATHANIEL GREENE thing drinkable. Occasionally, as upon January 1, 1778, the Commander-in-Chief ordered grog for the whole army. Prices for liquor .sold in the camp were determined by Boards of Officers. Spring found the camps still destitute of blankets and clothing, those best provided having come hither from the Northern Army. There were sick in every hut, and a good bedding of straw was the best that most of the men could hope for. As the season advanced the mud was removed from between the logs to afford ventilation, and details were paraded for bathing in Valley Stream and the river. One week before the camp was abandoned a I)ortion of the army resumed its tents. 46 The men were drilled hard and often under the watchful eye of Steuben. It is said of the old martinet that he was up at three o'clock, took a smoke, had his coffee and, before daylight, was about the camp watching the process of starting the day's routine according to every proper formality, and short-comings were not tolerated in either officer or man. ' MAJOR GENERAL PALL .L G. M. DE LAFAYETTE Washington's spies warned him soon after the announcement of the French Alliance that there were evidences of activities upon the part of the enemy in the city. Upon May 8, at a council of war held at Valley Forge, the Commander-in-Chief stated that upon that date the Continental force numbered 15,000, not including horse and artillery, and that of this number 11,800 were at ^'alley Forge, the remainder being at Wilmington, and on the North River. • CHAPTER XII THE MARQUIS DE LAFAYETTE See Notes upon pages 75 and 70 • Eight days after the Alliance celebration the General issued an order, which began the active campaign of the year 1778. Major General Lafayette, a youth of but twenty years, was placed in command of a picked force of 2,500 men, infantry, artillery and horse, to proceed in the direction of Philadelphia and observe the enemy. This young French nobleman had proven the sincerity of his admiration of America and advocacy of the struggle, by leaving behind him his yoimg wife, a daughter of the Duke de Noailles, and coming to America at the head of a party of other foreigners, including Baron de Kalb and eleven other French, German and Polish officers. The leaky ship in which they ventured narrowly escaped wreck upon the South Carolina coast. .\fter a long journey through the Southern forests to Philadelphia, Lafayette and his associates were met with a cold rebuff from the consequential chairman of the Committee of Congress on Foreign Affairs (Lovell). Lafayette appealed directly to Washington, and upon July 31, 1777, he was appointed by Congress a Major General. Like Washington, he served without pay. Lafayette, while acting upon W'ashington's staff, was wounded at Brandywine. Later in the year, at White Marsh, he was given a command of a division whose Commander, General Adam Stephen, had been dismissed from the Army. It must have been inspiring to those who witnessed the "forward march" of the resolute column, which the dashing boy commander led down from the hills of Valley Forge. Barren Hill was reached upon the 18th of May. This expedition narrowly escaped capture upon the morning of the iOth, by a large force of British which approached from two directions. Lafayette succeeded, by almost a miracle, in regaining the west shore of the Schuylkill River, the army at Valley Forge pouring down tumultuously to help him. The column of 5,000 men under General Grant having marched all night from Phila- delphia, had gained the rear of Lafayette's camp undiscovered at daybreak. Wlien first observed they were ranged along the Matsons Ford Road, the head of the column at the junction with the Ridge Road. The distance from this point to the ford is two miles. It is an equal distance southward to Barren Hill. A body of light cavalry discovered the Americans hastening in disorder across the fields and through the woods toward the ford, which was by this rough "short cut" three miles from Barren Hill. The British commander had only to advance his force down the hill in the direct course of his march to certainly intercept and capture the flying Americans, but once more Fate intervened to assist the cause of Free- dom in the person of a thick-headed British general, who insisted upon guiding his sleepy and tired soldiers down the Ridge Road toward the Church at Barren Hill. Probably upon no event during the course of the war did the future history of America depend more truly than upon the decision made, that summer morning, at Harmonville crossroads, and seldom in the history of warfare has a commander been blessed with such unhoped-for "good luck" as attended Lafayette that same morning. Lieutenant John Marshall wrote from Valley Forge of the hard ride of Washington and a large party of officers to a point commanding a view, several miles distant, of the retreat of Lafayette's column at sunrise. Lieutenant Colonel Simcoe, in command of the Queen's Rangers, led the column of General Grant which was sent out from Philadelphia to cut off the troops of Lafayette, and explains the failure to do so to a halt made due to an uncertainty regarding the proper road. Among the soldiery sent to the Valley Forge Camp from the Northern Army were a considerable party of Oneida Indians. These men were employed largely as scouts. The 48 y Brigadier Genehal John Glover Massachusetts Major General Lord Stirling (William Alexander) New Jersey Lieutenant John Trumbuli. Soldier and Artist Pennsylvania Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton BRIDGE OVER THE VALLEY STREAM Oneidas were the only "Nation" of the famed Iroquois Confederation which took sides with the Colonists, the Five "Nations'" to the westward, in New York State, having been under the influence of Butler and other Tories, declared for the British. In the ceaseless attrition of outposts and raiding parties these aborigines were doubt- less the objects of much wholesome dread upon the part of the predatory enemy. General Greene had been appointed Quartermaster General in March, much to the advantage of the service. With the preparations for the summer large quantities of new equipment were received and distributed. The army still remained a picturesque thing of patches, but there was an end to inefficiency in the commissary service. Washington's numerous spies in Philadelphia confirmed his own intuitions that the enemy was contemplating a move from a position rapidly becoming untenable. In the patriot camp the warm weather restored the spirits and energies of the soldiers, who were constantly drilled, inspected and marched up and down the hills to fit them for battle or the pursuit of the enemy, as the case might require. HEADQUARTERS OF BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN KNOX HKADQUARTERS OF MAJOR GENERAL BARON DE KALB ■-^h' MEMORIAL TO THE TROOPS OF MASSACHUSETTS Dedicated June l!)th, 1911 CHAPTER XIII DEPARTURE OF THE ARMY FROM VALLEY FORGE See Notes upon pages 77 and 78 The movement of the army from Valley Forge began upon June 18. immediately upon the receipt of news brought by George Roberts that Clinton's forces were leaving Philadelphia, 18,000 strong. Maxwell's brigade was rushed across the country into New Jersey to burn bridges ahead of the slow moving column of the enemy, hampered as it was with many miles of wagons containing all kinds of plunder and a large number of Tory followers. The army left Valley Forge with such haste that half-baked bread was left in the ovens and the country people found many forgotten implements in the huts. On the 21st the main army crossed the Delaware Ri\-er at Coryell's Ferry, and a week later came upon the flanks of the enemy. Then was fought the Battle of Monmouth. We may well imagine the fierce joy with which the Americans, now for the first time the pursuers, and with the memories of Paoli and the sufferings of Valley Forge fresh within them, threw themselves upon the great red serpent of the enemy now crawling painfully across the hot sands of New Jersey toward the sea and safety. It is said that about three thousand Tories left Philadelphia upon the British fleet. Clinton's column was heavily impeded by not only baggage, but by additional Tory families and their possessions. Extending along the Jersey roads for many miles it offered an easy mark for the Continentals. General Charles Lee, whose strange behavior at Monmouth brought upon him the wrath of Washington and deprived the patriots of a decisive \4ctory, was proven, nearly eighty years after the event, to have been a traitor and a tool of the enemy. S&. '■ 1 ^s '^M mm ■1^ i- ... \\<^ ' m wfKtBSB^^^ \ em - ' * ''^1 r a II ■ m i^^^J^^^a ^i^jMBim ■BB ■■n^ OLD SCHOOL HOUSE ON WASHINGTON LANE Built in 1705 by Letitia. a daughter of William Penn. Tradition has it that the building was used as a hospital by the army surgeons. This interesting structure forms a convenient place of refuge for visitors in the vicinity in case of showers. It M'as only after painstaking research upon the part of ex-Governor Pennypacker and the Valley Forge Park Commissioners that the historic value of this quaint little relic of Colonial days was brought to light. It is located in the Valley to the south of Mount Joy, upon Washington Lane. Nearly opposite is the school house in which the children of the neighborhood are now instructed. The artillery was parked in this immediate vicinity, which was the centre of the cantonment. INTERIOR OF OLD SCHOOL HOUSE Arranged as a Typical Country School of Colonial Days. A Free Collection of Interesting Relics is to be ^ Seen Here CHAPTER XIV VALLEY FORGE IN AFTER YEARS The army turned its back upon a ruined region. Fences, forests, farm animals, domestic utensils, all had disappeared. In payment for their supplies and toil the residents held only wads ofdirty Continental script, which was afterward repudiated by the government without a shadow of justice. Where the blare of the trumpet or the roll of the funeral drums had echoed, where fires had glowed along the hills at night, silence and desolation reigned. It was only after a generation that the people roundabout fully recovered from the iron heel of war. About 1794 the Headquarters Mansion was sold by Isaac Potts to Jacob Paul of German- town, whose family lived there until IS'iG. It was then bought b\- a co-operative community from Scotland, upon the failure of which James Jones, one of its members, acquired it and occupied the place until 1850 or later. (Wood- man's History of Valley Forge.) Washington visited the old camp ground in 1787, and it is stated by Woodman, in his history, that in the summer of 1796 he again came, one day, accompanied only by a negro servant and walked over the hills of Valley Forge, conversing with persons he met, one of whom was the historian's father. Doubtless many others of those who dwelt here in the winter of our darkest days as a young nation, also revisited the spot with emotions of both sadness and triumph as long as veterans of the Revolution continued to live, but in course of time a busy nation all but forgot Valley Forge and its heroic story. The Tribute of a British Officer Eleven years after the close of the war, Stedman, the English historian of the struggle, himself a soldier under Howe, Clinton and Cornwallis, had the courage to conclude his two volumes (quoted upon other pages of this book) with the following impartial summary. "While the natural strength and spirit of Great Britain were embarrassed and encum- bered with the disadvantages and errors now enumerated, the Americans, in spite of a- thou- sand difficulties and wants, by the energy of liberty, the contrivance of necessity, and the great adv^antages arising from the possession of the country, ultimately attained their object. The Americans indeed were not fired with that enthusiastic ardour which nations of a warmer temperament, in all ages, have been wont to display in the cause of freedom. But they- were guided by wise councils, they were steady and persevering, and, on all great occasions, not a little animated by the courage of General Wa^ington, who has been proverbially called a Fabius, but in who.se character courage, in fact, was a feature still more predominant than, prudence. The American generals, having the bulk of the people on their side, were made acquainted with every movement of the British army and enabled, for the most part, to penetrate their designs. To obtain intelligence, on which so much depends, was to the British commanders a matter of proportionable difficulty. The Americans had neither 54 A SOLDIERS BAKE OVEN TYPE OF BRITISH SOLDiKKV OK (iEXEUAL HOWES ARMY IN PHILADELPHIA, 1777 78 1. Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (Paoli Massacre) 4. Forty-second Highlanders, Black \Vatch (Paoli Massacre) 2. Twenty-second Foot 5. Grenadier 3. Seventeenth Light Dragoons 6. Sergeant, Cold Stream Guards i. Twentieth Foot money nor credit: But they learned to stand in need only of a few things; to be contented with the small allowance that nature requires: to suffer as well as to act. Their councils, animated by liberty, under the most distressing circumstances, took a grand and high-spirited course, and they were finally triumphant. "The Revolution in America, though predicted by philosophy, was generally considered as a remote contingency, if not a thing wholly ideal and visionary. Its immediate causes were altogether unforeseen and improbable. It came as a surprise upon the world: and men were obliged to conclude, either that the force of Great Britain was ill-directed, or that no invading army, in the present enlightened period, can be successful where the people are tolerably imited." GENERAL RETURN OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY ENCAMPED AT VALLEY FORGE, DEC. 31, 1777 First Maryland Brigade 1st Maryland Regt. (Col. John H. Stone). 3d Maryland Regt. (Col. Mordecai Gist). 5th Maryland Regt. (Col. William Rich- ardson). 7th Maryland Regt. (Col. John Gumby). Delaware Regt. (Col. David Hall). Second Maryland Brigade 4th Maryland Regt. (Col. Josiah C. Hall). 6th Maryland Regt. (Col. Otho Williams). 2d Maryland Regt. (Col. Thos Price). Col. Hazen's Regt. (The names of commanders of the Mary- land Regiments are taken from the roster of July, 1778.) Brig.-Gen. J. Peter G. Muhlenberg's Brigade of Greene's Division 1st Virginia Regt. (Col. Richard Parker). 5th Virginia Regt. (Col. A. Buford). 9th Virginia Regt. (Lieut. Col. Burgess Ball). ^ Virginia State Regt. (Col. George Gibson). German Regt. (Lieut. Col. Lewis Weltner). 13th Virginia Infantry (Col. William Russell). Brig.-Gen. George Weedon's Brigade of Greene's Division 2d Virginia Regt. (Lieut. Col. Charles Dabnay). 6th Virginia Regt. (Col. John Gibson). 10th Mrginia Regt. (Col. John Green). 14th Virginia Regt. (Lieut. Col. Wm. Davis). 13th Pennsylvania Regt. (Col. Walter Stewart). (Raised as State Regiment of Foot March 1st, 1777.) 56 Brig.-Gen. Wm. Maxwell's Brigade of Sullivan's Division 1st New .lersey Regt. (Col. Mathias Ogden) . 2d New Jersey Regt. (Col. Israel Shreve)- 3d New Jersey Regt. (Col. Elias Dayton). 4th New .Jersey Regt. (Lieut.-Col. David Rhea) . Brig.-Gen. Wm. Woodford's Brigade 3d Virginia Regt. (Col. Wm. Heth). 7th Virginia Regt. (Col. Alex. McClana- chan). 11th Virginia Regt. (Col. Daniel Mor- gan). 15th Virginia Regt. (Col. David Mason). Brig.-Gen. Charles Scott's Brigade 4th Virginia Regt. (Col. Isaac Read). 8th Virginia Regt. (Col. Abraham Bow- man) . 12th Virginia Regt. (Lieut. Col. Levin Joynes) . Col. Wm. Grayson's Regt. (Infantry at large) . Col. John Patton's Regt. (additional In- fantry Regt., Pennsylvania line). First Pennsylvania Brigade Wayne's Division 1st Pennsylvania Regt. (Col. James Chambers). 2d Pennsvlvania Regt. (Col. Henry Bicker). 7th Pennsylvania Regt. (Lieut. Col. David Grier). *Col. Thos. Hartley's (additional Regt. Lieut. Col. Morgan Connor). ♦Acting Brigade Commander. Second Pennsylvania Brigade Wayne's Division 4th Pennsylvania Regt. (*Lieut. Col. Wm. Butler). 5th Pennsylvania Regt. (Col. Francis Johnston). 8th Pennsylvania Regt. (Col. Daniel Brod- head). 11th Pennsj^lvania Regt. (Col. Richard Hampton). * Acting Brigade Commander. Brig.-Gen. Anthony Wayne acting Divi- sion Commander. Brig.-Gen. John Patterson's Brigade of DeKalb's Division 10th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Thos. Marshall). 11th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Benj. Tupper). 12th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Saml. Brewer). 14th Regt., Massachusetts Infantrj', (Col. Gamaliel Bradford). Late Brig.-Gen. Conway's Pennsylvania Brigade of Stirling's Division 3d Regt., Pennsylvania Infantry, (Col. Thos. Craig). 6th Regt., Pennsylvania Infantry, (Lieut. Col. Josiah Harmer). 9th Regt., Pennsylvania Infantry, (Lieut. Col. George Nagel). 12th Regt., Pennsylvania Infantry, (Col. Wni. Cooke). Col. Malcolm's Regt. Col. Spencers Regt. Brig.-Gen. Enoch Poor's Brigade 1st Regt., New Hampshire Infantry, (Col. Joseph Cilley). 2d Regt., New Hampshire Infantry, (Col. Nathan Hale). 3d Regt., New Hampshire Infantry, (Col. Alexander Scammell). 2d Regt., New York Infantry, (Col. Philip Cortlandt). 4th Regt., New York Infantry, (Col. Henry Livingston). Brig.-Gen. John Glover's Brigade 1st Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Joseph Vose). 4th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Wm. Sheppard). 13th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Edward Wigglesworth). 15th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Timothy Bigelow) . Brig.-Gen. Ebenezer Leamed's Brigade Baron DeKalb's Division 2d Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. John Bailey). 8th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Michael Jackson). 9th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. James Wesson). 16th Regt., Massachusetts Infantry, (Col. Henry Jack.son). Brig.-Gen. James M. Vamum's Brigade 1st Regt., Rhode Island Infantry, (Col. Christopher Greene). 2d Regt., Rhode Island Infantry, (Col. Israel Angell). 4th Regt., Rhode Island Infantry, (Col. John Durkee). 8th Regt., Rhode Island Infantry. (Col. John Chandler). Brig.-Gen. Jedediah Huntington's Brigade 1st Regt., Connecticut Infantry, (Lieut. Col. Samuel Prentice). 2d Regt., Connecticut Infantry, (Col. Charles Webb). 5th Regt., Connecticut Infantry, (Col. Philip B. Bradley). 7th Regt., Connecticut Infantry, (Col. H. Swift). Brig.-Gen. Lachlan Mcintosh's Brigade, (Sullivan's Division) 1st North Carolina Regt. (Col. Thomas Clark). 2d North Carolina Regt. (Col. John Pat- ton). 3d North Carolina Regt. (Col. Jethro Sumner). 4th North Carolina Regt., (Col. Thos. Polk). 5th North Carolina Regt. (Lieut. Col. Wm. L. Davidson). 6th North Carolina Regt. (Col. Gideon Lamb) . 7th North Carolina Regt. (Col. .James Hogun) . 8th North Carolina Regt. (Col. James Armstrong) . 9th North Carolina Regt. (Col. John Williams). The returns of the artillery and cavalry arms with the army at Valley Forge are not included in the above Department Records. 57 NOTES AND CITATIONS The British Army at Valley Forge Sept 18 1777 A man sent out discovered upwards of 3800 Barrels of Flour, Soap and Candles, 25 Barrels of Horse Shoes, several thousands of tomahawks and Kettles, and Intrenching Tools and 20 Hogsheads of Resin in a Barn 3 miles from here at the Valley Forge. Sept 20th 1777. Weather extremely fine. At 2 o'clock in the morning the guards moved and posted themselves with the Light Infantry at the Valley Forge. Waggons employed in carrying off from the magazine there the rebel stores. This morning at 5 the rebel centries fired on the guards who took the whole. They slightly woiuided one of our officers. — Journal of Capt. John Montressor, Chief Engineer British Army. (This was the night of the Paoli massacre.) Upon September 21st, 1777, 14,000 British troops were camped along the road from Fountain Inn to the Fatland ford. The soldiers plundered all the houses and barns in the vicinity. Journal of Capt. John Montressor, Chief Engineer British Army. Sept 21st 1777 At 5 this morning the Army moved, marched to the Valley Forge and 2 miles more to Moor Hall making 5 miles and there camped. We found the houses full of military stores. "The elegant seat of the late William Moore, Esq., near 600 acres, a very valuable grist mill; the River Schuylkill which bounds the lands for some distance affords a great shad fishery during the season." — Rental adver., 1783. Among the active troops in the British service in front of Philadelphia, the Queen's Rangers, a regiment composed of loyalists, was sometimes troublesome. They were com- manded by Lieut. Col. J. G. Simcoe, an English officer of enterprise, whose story of the achievements of his command in America was published for the edification of his friends in England and reprinted in 1844. The Rangers were among the soldiery upon this march and they probably burned the Valley Forge mills, as Simcoe claims to have occupied the Potts residence before Washington selected it as his headquarters. Bread for the Army The army bakers occupied Col. Dewees" house and built their ovens in the basement. This structure forms a part of the existing Washington Inn. Many of the country people baked bread for the camp upon the basis of a pound of bread for a poimd of flour. The Ravage of the Forge Wayne Orderly book, April 29th, 1778. "Complaint having been made by Mr. Dewees, the proprietor of the Valley Forge that the Soldiers pull down the houses and break up the Fore Bay of which is called the Valley Forge the Commander-in-Chief strictly forbids all Persons from Further Damages to the said Buildings and Works, which he hopes will be particularly attended to especially when they consider the great loss that Mr. Dewees has already suffered by the great Waste which our Army has been under the Necessity of Committing upon the Wood and other improve- ments." Where Southern Soldiers Rest It is said that upon the north side of "rear-line hill," which must have been in the vicinity of Mcintosh's command, a large number of skeletons of soldiers were exposed to view by the washing away of the ground years after the camp was abandoned, and it is also affirmed that those buried there were Southern soldiers. 58 PUBLIC OBSERVATORY UPON MOUNT JOY HEADQUARTERS OF BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES M. VARNUM The Barn was a Revolutionary Ho*' SITC OF OLD FORGC DA "'^>J ^.U Y- :^«.ri)8i V wrrrrrs moopcs. >MMHvwniMwe«MK«ew«l«»^'tHil9^^ {:.-.vi-.;={;:ss;'St.-roi*4W;»«.-*-- ja. [ i|ii iw»wi»mwi|i|Wi iu.iiW H » ■ l\'"^ (Udsbington -^ Tnn T T^ISITORS to Valley Forge will find the utmost in comfort ' and convenience at this beautiful Inn. Excellent accom- modations, food and service always available for the unexpected guest. Garage. DANIEL J. VOORHEES Proprietor FRANKLIN PHOTO ENGRAVING HOUSE 632 Chestnut St., Philadelphia The illustrations in this book were made by us. We invite attention to them as examples of our workmanship. Estimates for all kinds of illustrations for publishers and business advertising. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 011 800 097 3