How long was George Washington and his army in Valley Forge for?
The plains of Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the last place that the defeated American army could go. The enemy was in Philadelphia forcing the Americans to the plains, so in retreat Washington led his troops to Valley Forge for the winter. It was one of the worse winters in history with temperatures below zero and the Americans were without shoes, food and clothing. More than 3,000 died and were buried in unmarked graves. On December 23, 1777 Washington wrote ,”There are 2, 898 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked…..” The men lived in 900 small huts built out of logs and clay with a dozen in a 14 by 16 foot hut. Many of the men were forced to sit up all night by the fires because of lack of blankets. The men went weeks without meat. Eventually supplies began to arrive and in June the men marched out the the valley to defeat the British at Monmouth, NJ. So, they were there from late Oct to June.
