Winter Warriors: Some Lessons From Valley Forge

George Washington missed Gen. Potter during the winter at Valley Forge. “Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge,” 1907, by John Ward Dunsmore. Public domain

Christmas 2022 will be long remembered for the savage winter storm that struck much of the United States.

Buffalo, New York, saw four feet of snow and deadly low temperatures. A friend in Minneapolis-St. Paul told me that the weather service there once cheerily reported that the temperature would climb to 6 degrees the following day. Cities and towns around the nation suffered power outages and broken water lines.

In Northeastern Pennsylvania, where I spent Christmas with my daughter and her family, the thermometer registered single digits for nearly three days. One morning, coming back into the house, I wondered about the temperatures in the winter of 1777–78 at Valley Forge, which was less than two hours away. I searched online and found that the troops of George Washington had contended at times with weather nearly as frigid as our own.

Now, the 140-year-old house my daughter and her husband rent is a bit drafty on Christmas, but the fireplace with its blower pumped out the heat, and the radiators did their duty. The kitchen held an abundance of food and drink, the showers and sinks ran hot water, the grandkids played with their gifts, and we slept warm and well in the frozen nights.

Things were different for Washington’s army.

‘That Dismal Abode’

In “Valley Forge,” authors Robert Drury and Tom Clavin paint some vivid pictures of life in that winter encampment, which essentially became the fourth-largest American city of the time. In the snow and subfreezing temperatures, soldiers often lacked blankets, coats, socks, and shoes, so much so that they left a bloody trail on the drill ground. They were quartered in cold, primitive huts with fires that blackened the air with smoke. They frequently subsisted on a mixture of flour and water they called “firecakes”—hard, blackened biscuits. With little beef or pork, the dead maggots and weevils in the flour were often their only protein. Even by the standards of the time, medical care for the sick—and there were many sick—was abysmal, and poor sanitation practices felled hundreds of soldiers as well. Of the 12,000 soldiers who occupied that winter camp, nearly 2,000 had died of disease and privation by the time spring arrived.

Not all of them stuck it out that long. Desertions that winter were rampant, reaching such numbers that Washington ordered multiple daily roll calls to keep track of his soldiers.

But what, I wondered, of the men who remained loyal to the American cause? What caused them to stay the course despite these deplorable conditions? And might we learn some things from their ordeal that could put some steel in our spines in our own battles?

Leadership

Although his reputation was assailed that winter by his enemies within the army, George Washington receives the lion’s share of the credit not only for holding his troops together but also for improving their battlefield capabilities. With the help of foreigners such as Marquis de Lafayette and especially Baron von Steuben, who taught these citizen-soldiers the basics of drill and battlefield maneuvers, these patriots emerged from the trials of that winter disciplined and fit for war.

In our own troubles of 2023—given the events of the previous year, we can guess that the weather will be the least of our worries—our homes and workplaces will also benefit from strong leaders: calm and capable men and women who keep their heads about them, exude a cautious optimism, and instill in those around them the confidence to weather whatever storms may come.

That’s Lesson No. 1: In whatever capacity, whether as the parents of small children or the manager of a branch bank, we should seek to inspire hope in those in our charge.

Service to Others

At Valley Forge, there were roughly 400 women, camp followers of all sorts. Some wives accompanied their husbands to this bleak place. Other women, among them Native Americans and African Americans, both slave and free, sold goods as sutlers, laundered and mended clothes, cooked, and comforted the sick. Fifty-six-year-old Sarah Alexander, the wife of Maj. Gen. William Alexander, even helped put together a production of “Cato,” a play beloved by Washington, to rouse the morale of the men.

Among these gallant females was Martha Washington, George Washington’s wife, who managed his household, arranged important dinners, and most of all lifted the spirits of the officers with her presence and kindness.

When bad things happen, from a sudden medical emergency to dire news about the economy, we would do well to emulate these women in their devotion and care for others. A discouraged spouse, an employer struggling to keep his business up and running, an aging parent, or a mixed-up teen—all these and more need our presence and attention.

Lesson No. 2: When friends or family members are hurting, it’s time to rally around and bandage their wounds.

Comradery

Many of those Valley Forge troopers had known one another long before enlisting in the cause of liberty. They were friends and neighbors who now drilled, ate, and slept together as comrades in arms. The boys and men in those bleak circumstances surely found some solace in knowing that their comrades would care for them if they fell sick or would console them on the arrival of bad news from home.

In our own times of trouble, we can take from those men a lesson summed up by poet John Donne in this line: “No man is an island.” A woman I know recently lost her beloved husband. Rallying around her were her siblings, some old friends, and a score of people from her church. That support has helped carry her through her grief.

Lesson No. 3: Maintain and strengthen personal relationships.

A Cause to Fight For

Those soldiers and other patriots of the American Revolution fought for various reasons. For example, some of Washington’s men joined up for the wages offered or for a change in their circumstances. Some fought because the British army was in their backyard, so to speak, and they felt they had little choice other than resistance.

But many also believed they were fighting for their liberties and to establish a new country. This vision of a new and vibrant future led them forward, like the pillars of cloud and fire that guided the Hebrews during their desert exodus.

They may not recognize themselves as such, but many Americans are freedom fighters. In the face of government regulations and a broken economy, they open new businesses. Confronted by a “woke” culture, they battle for their children’s rights to a sound education. Mired in a culture of relativism, they work hard, honor their marriage vows, seek the true and reject the false, and live upright, moral lives.

Lesson No. 4: Like those winter patriots long ago, we—you and I—are the makers and protectors of our liberties.

Stepping Up to Our Challenges

Our admiration for those troops at Valley Forge may leave us wondering whether we have the sand to measure up to their heroism. After all, we’re not living in smoke-clouded huts, food is readily available for most Americans, and none are forced to walk the city sidewalks barefooted and leaving a trail of blood in the snow.

Yet we face challenges, tests of character, and circumstances unimaginable to those figures from 250 years ago. Technology, big government, and the reigning philosophy of relativism have broken down the families and communities which comforted our patriot ancestors. A decades-long torrent of federal laws and directives, more restrictive by far than any of those issued by Britain’s King George III, burden the American people with regulations and taxes. Our current typhoon of drug deaths, illegal immigration, lawlessness, censorship, confused sexual mores, and cultural collapse affects all of us, whether directly or indirectly.

So let’s not allow our admiration for our ancestors to become a contest of comparisons. Instead, let’s look to those devoted patriots as reminders that great odds can be overcome, that failure isn’t an option, and that winter itself eventually gives way to spring.