Valley Forge has become a place linked in the American mind with the virtues of courage, perseverance, and loyalty to cause. Some 9,000 of George Washington’s troops went into camp there in the late autumn of 1777. By the time the snows of winter were gone, only 6,000 remained. Here is a story of heroic resolve of ordinary men, as well as an example of how faith helped one extraordinary man lead the rest through.

During the Revolutionary War the British army seized Philadelphia, the “rebel capital” where the Congress had been meeting. They marched into the city with colors flying and bands playing and made themselves at home for the winter. George Washington could do nothing to stop them. Once the British were in the city, the only thing he could do was see that they did not get out into the countryside to do any mischief. So, he chose for his winter quarters Valley Forge, a place only a few miles from Philadelphia. There the American army could defend itself if attacked, and it could keep close watch on the British.

It would have been easier to fight many battles than to spend that winter in Valley Forge, a place only a few miles from Philadelphia. There the American army could defend itself if attacked, and it could keep close watch on the British.

It would have been easier to fight many battles than to spend that winter in Valley Forge. It was December, and there was no shelter of any kind. Men and officers bravely set to work constructing huts for themselves. They built some of the heavy logs, with roofs made of small trees wrapped with straw and laid side by side. Clay was spread on top of that. The windows were simply holes cut through the logs and covered with oiled paper.

Such a house was the height of luxury at Valley Forge. Most of the huts were made of piled-up sod, or fence rails held together by twisted twigs and daubed with clay. The snow sifted in at every opening, the rain dripped through even the best of the roofs, and the wind howled and roared and blew in at every crevice. There were few blankets, and many brave defenders of their country lay on the frozen ground because they had not even straw to put under their heads. Sometimes they sat up all night, crowding up to the fires to keep from freezing.

Their clothing was worse than their shelter. The whole army was in rags. Many of the men had no shirts, even more were without shoes, wherever they walked, the snow was marked with blood. Some cut strips from their precious blankets and wound them about their feet to protect them from the freezing ground.

Food was scanty. Sometimes for several days the soldiers went without meat, and some companies went without even bread. When the word went around “no meat tonight,” the soldiers groaned, but they never yielded.

Here is an entry in the diary of one of them: “There comes a soldier – his bare feet peep through his wornout shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings… his shirt hanging in strings… his face meager – his whole appearance pictures a person forsaken and discouraged. He comes, and cries with an air of wretchedness and despair… I am sick, my feet lame, my legs are sore, my body covered with this tormenting itch. My clothes are worn out, my constitution is broken, my former activity is exhausted by fatigue. Hunger and cold. I fail fast. I shall soon be no more.”

One cold day a Quaker farmer was walking along a creek at Valley Forge when he heard the murmur of a solemn voice. Creeping in its direction, he discovered a horse tied to a sapling, but no rider.

The farmer stole nearer, following the sound of the voice. There, through a thicket, he saw a lone man, on his knees in the snow.

It was General Washington. His cheeks were wet with tears as he prayed to the Almighty for help and guidance.

The farmer quietly slipped away. When he reached home, he said to his wife, “The Americans will win their independence! George Washington will succeed!”

“What makes thee think so, Isaac?” she asked.

“I have heard him pray, Hannah, out in the woods today,” he said. “If there is anyone on this earth the Lord will listen to, it is this brave commander. He will listen, Hannah. Rest assured, He will.”

As long as we have prayer and patriots we will prevail.

God bless those who have served, are serving and will serve in the future.

—CC—

Our enemies are both within our country and without. It is right versus wrong and everyone must decide which side they are on. One of my favorite scriptures is Joshua 24:15: “Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”