Font ResizeValley Forge is not - in park lingo - a "cannonball park." There were no blazing artillery fights or bloody infantry battles here. Only minor firefights between skirmishers stirred the quiet but harsh winter landscape.
Casual historians - accustomed to nearby Gettysburg and Antietam Civil War sites where about 75,000 people were killed or wounded - are often surprised to hear there were no deaths here because of an infantry battle.
Valley Forge was nothing more than a winter encampment of about 12,000 soldiers. In fact, it was the third of eight winter camps of the war. So, why has Valley Forge become the single most famous Revolutionary War site of American courage and renewal?
"It's the story of the soldier's bleeding feet and the weather the army suffered through," says ranger Bill Troppman, in his 11th year here. Under the fire of adversity, this army came out of camp stronger than it went in.
"Just about every visitor who doesn't know much about the Revolution thinks a big battle was fought here," he says.
But the
Maybe 200 soldiers were killed during foraging raids and skirmishes, Troppman says. But about 2,000 died during the army's six-month stay, most from disease. Six inches of snow was on the ground when the army marched in. Food and supplies were scarce. A lack of shoes during the first month made it possible to
"track the army by the blood from their feet" said one soldier.
But despite that, "We had engaged in the defense of our wounded country and ... we were determined to persevere," said Pvt. Joseph Plumb.
When the British army marched into Philadelphia, the Continental Congress moved to York, where it made its winter home. Washington shivered in Valley Forge, which was close enough to watch the British and intervene if they made any move toward Congress.
Former Prussian army officer Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustus von Steuben was commissioned into the Continental Army in York in February and began training his new forces. He wrote the first military manual for the army and drilled his soldiers "tirelessly," said one soldier.
In June, exactly six months after arriving in Valley Forge, a better-trained and better-supplied army left in pursuit of the British.
"Washington lost six of the major nine battles he commanded," reminds Troppman. "But he never lost a battle after his winter at Valley Forge."
The Colonial Army's victory at the Battle of Saratoga, N.Y., is hailed as one of the 15 most decisive battles in world history. But only 110,000 people a year stop there, a fraction of the more than 1 million visitors at Valley Forge.
That number is somewhat misleading. Troppman says about two-thirds of the people aren't here for the Valley Forge history but the trails, woodlands and the open air just outside Philadelphia. Open every day of the year 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the paths and roads through the park offer visitors something to do in every season.
Hikers and bikers share six miles of paved trail that winds through the 3,500-acre park. A map showing the 10-mile self-guided car tour is available at the visitors center.
A staff of about 25 rangers and living-history volunteers answers questions at the visitors center, Washington's Headquarters or some of the replicas of huts. And some of those questions are about the big battle that was never fought here.
IF YOU GO
It's about 100 miles, mostly high-speed four-lane highway, to Valley Forge. The easiest route is north on Interstate 83 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike east. Drive east 84 miles to Exit 326 for Valley Forge. From the exit, keep a close watch for signs to the park.
To drive fewer miles, take the route through Reading, but heavy construction along state Route 222 there continues.
Valley Forge National Historical Park's schedule gets into full swing during the busy vacation months, but the park is open all year.
The Muhlenberg Brigade huts are always staffed on weekends 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., showing typical Continental Army living quarters. Also on Saturdays throughout the year, the park hosts a Kids Corner, a free hands-on program at the visitors center at 11 a.m.
The summer's park schedule begins on June 19. Historic interpreters will be on hand daily to answer questions at the huts. A daily, guided 40-minute walk begins at the visitors center.
A 90-minute tour takes visitors on a mini-bus tour of the park, narrated by park rangers. The bus stops at important points throughout the park, including the Muhlenberg Brigade, Washington's Headquarters and the Washington Memorial Chapel. Cost for this tour is $15.50 for adults, $10.50 for ages 12-16 or National Park pass holders and $7.50 for children. For more information, call (610) 783-7503.
ON THE WEB
For more information about Valley Forge, visit http://www.nps.gov/vafo
