Winter at Valley Forge

With the recent onset of the cold weather I ride in each morning while the car warms up - it takes very little to remind me of how easy I really have it. Not more than a long stone throw from my home lies the Ridge Pike and down that road to the east, lies the Gulph Road, the route General George Washington and his men walked from White Marsh, near present day Plymouth Meeting, PA into Valley Forge on December 19, 1777.



Valley Forge, 25 miles (40 km) west of Philadelphia, was the campground of 11,000 troops of George Washington's Continental Army from Dec. 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778.



Because of the suffering endured there by the hungry, poorly clothed, and badly housed troops, 2,500 of whom died during the harsh winter primarily from typhus, typhoid, dysentery, and pneumonia; Valley Forge came to symbolize the heroism of the American revolutionaries.



Despite adverse circumstances, Baron Friedrich von Steuben drilled the soldiers regularly and improved their discipline. Today the historic landmarks and monuments are preserved within Valley Forge National Historical Park. When the wind gusts and the snow flurries whirl, the Park, with its crude log huts is living history for all five senses.

While I shuffle my feet and blow on my fingers to warm them - I know I have a warm shelter, plenty to eat, and little likelihood of contracting any of the killing diseases that the patriots of Valley Forge battled.

Merry Christmas Eve George...and thank you.

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