Martha Dandridge Custis Washington: The ‘Gracious Hostess’ of Valley Forge
Valley Forge. It was at this place that many argue was where the fate of the American Revolution was decided. The winter of 1777–1778 was brutal and frigid. The landscape was whitewashed, and the air was frozen. In December 1777, twelve thousand men serving under General George Washington marched to Valley Forge, where they would camp for the winter during a hiatus in warfare. The men arrived barely clothed and hungry, and many were ill. A trail of blood could be seen from the soldiers’ shoeless feet as they trudged through never-ending trails of snow and ice. For the men in George Washington’s regiment, this place was hell, and of the twelve thousand, two thousand succumbed to illnesses such as typhoid and pneumonia. Clothing supplies were nonexistent, food was scarce, and the men were exposed to the harsh winds, freezing rain, and snow. Without adequate shelter and clothing, the outlook of the Continental Army at Valley Forge was grim. Many soldiers huddled together, barefoot, with tattered clothes, starving, and sick; clinging to the smallest hope that they would not succumb to the immediate threats that were encamped among them. We learn of these valiant soldiers in our history classes, but the empathy and understanding of the brutality of these circumstances have paled over time. When the brightness and excitement over Independence Day…
