If you don’t know anything about Valley Forge, the short version is that shortages in food, a cold winter, lack of hygiene, and poor medical knowledge created a bonafide military clusterfuck for the Continental Army who managed to later turn the tide of the revolutionary war with the help of a Prussian drill master named Baron Friedrich von Steuben.
Soldiers arrived in Valley Forge in December of 1777, without proper clothing (some without shirts, hats, coats or shoes) and they struggled with supply lines all winter, leaving them short on food. About 2,000 (they’ve estimated 1 in 6) Continental Army members (and hanger-ons) who wintered with George Washington in Valley Forge PA, died from scurvy, typhus, influenza, pneumonia, smallpox, and dysentery – and stealing clothes from the deceased made the problem worse.
I can’t even comprehend this level of misery. I mean, sure in the past two weeks I was…
- whining daily about the “excruciating” pain from a toenail cut too short and the jagged end digging into my big toe.
- overly concerned about the price of avocados and what my friend would do without his daily avocado toast.
- irritated by mosquitoes, even though I’m the one who chose to live in an RV in the wilderness.
- cranky with Lululemon designers for still not realizing as a woman we just need pockets dammit and
- complaining about how slow my free internet was.
We’ve all got life challenges but pitting my misery against a Continental soldier’s would be like pitting my dog’s intellect against Stephen Hawking’s (were he still alive) in a debate about multiverse theory. Literally, no comparison.
The only reasons more didn’t die was thanks to the first mass smallpox vaccination, the building of shelters, new rules about burying dead horses and using latrines, and the arrival of Prussian drill master Baron Friedrich von Steuben. In fact, the principles that Baron von Steuben taught the Continental Army regarding improved battle and formation techniques while at Valley Forge eventually helped win the war against England and formed the backbone of US military training manuals still in use today!
The Valley Forge Visitor Center was eye-opening, but what we enjoyed most, despite the rain, was using the bikes to ride through the park to see the exhibits – the home used by Washington to plan the war, the replica cabins built for shelters, and commemorative statutes, including von Steuben.
von Steuben 
Washington Residence 
This visit gave me pause and reminded me to stop and appreciate the basics – health, food, clothing, a place to call home, love, and freedom. We live in the greatest country in the world and we do so because these men and women, and countless others in other wars suffered and died to ensure it. It’s was a good reminder that I need to be grateful, humble, and appreciative of all that I have, which is oh so much!
