Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the name of the camp where George Washington and his army camped in the winter of 1777/78 during the American Revolutionary War . It was located in southern Pennsylvania , about 35 km northwest of Philadelphia , in what is now Montgomery County . The place name is derived from a smithy on the Valley Creek . In the winter of 1777/78 Washington's troops were starving in Valley Forge. Chief Shenandoah of the Oneida led his tribe food from its reserves over several hundred kilometers procure walk. By February 1778, almost 2,500 soldiers died here of malnutrition, cold and disease.
The warehouse
After successfully driving the British out of Boston , Washington lost the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and retired to Valley Forge. Outside the British sphere of influence, the American troops should recover here. The Continental Army was in very bad shape at the time. The army officially consisted of 17,000 men, but only around 5,000 men were fit for duty. Uniform disciplinary and official structures practically did not exist. The Prussian officer Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben forced the training of the troops here. He took care of the discipline , organization and training of the army. The restructuring of the Continental Army at Valley Forge laid the foundation for it to withstand the British Army at the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778 , even if the battle itself ended in a draw.
Valley Forge is now the Valley Forge National Historical Park with recreated accommodations for American soldiers.
Others
- The Essex-class aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge (CV-45) , which was used in the Korean War and Vietnam , is named after the camp . After the aircraft carrier was decommissioned, the science fiction film " Silent in Space " (1972) was shot on the aircraft carrier , after which the aircraft carrier was scrapped. In honor of the location, the name Valley Forge was adopted for a spaceship in the film.
- The guided missile cruiser USS Valley Forge (CG-50) was also named after the camp.
- In Montgomery County there is a small settlement called Valley Forge.
literature
- Lorett Treese: Valley Forge: Making and Remaking a National Symbol. Penn State University, University Park 1995, ISBN 978-0-271-01403-6 .
Web links
- US history pages
- National Park Service (English)
Coordinates: 40 ° 5 ′ 49 ″ N , 75 ° 26 ′ 21 ″ W.