Jonathan Klemens, MS, FSA-Scot Author and Historian The poorly trained and ragtag Continental Army, unable to prevent the British forces from taking Philadelphia, retreated to Valley Forge for the winter of 1777-78. It was selected for its strategic location between Philadelphia and York, along the Schuylkill River. This was the 3rd encampment of a total of 8 for the Continental Army. There were 200 – 450 women at the Valley Forge encampment plus a minor number of children. This was not R&R – not a winter vacation. This was intensive, disciplined, military training. Valley Forge had natural defensive positions, access to water, enough land to support the army, and was far enough from Philadelphia to prevent a surprise attack by the British. Due to freezing temperatures, Washington ordered the construction of 360 cabins or huts as expediently as possible. The Colonels, or commanding officers of regiments, with their Captains, are immediately to cause their men to be divided into squads of twelve, and see that each squad have its proportion of tools, to build huts for themselves. And as an encouragement, the General promised to reward the party in each regiment which finished their hut in the quickest, and most workmanlike manner, with twelve dollars. Boards for covering were scarce. Washington offered one hundred dollars to any officer or soldier, who in the opinion of three Gentlemen, he shall appoint as judges, shall substitute some other covering, that may be cheaper and quickly made. The Soldier’s huts were to be of the following dimensions, fourteen by sixteen each—sides, with ends and roofs made with logs. The roof was to be made tight with split slabs with the sides made tight with clay. The fireplace was to be of wood and secured with clay on the inside eighteen inches thick, to be in the rear of the hut, with the door to be in the end next to the street. The doors were to be made of split oak-slabs, unless boards could be procured with side walls to be six and a half feet high. The troops were trained by Baron von Steuben, a German-born American army officer and temporary inspector general. He played a leading role in reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined and professional fighting force that crossed the ice-laden Delaware to surprise the Hessian troops, in Trenton, on December 26, 1776.
By Jonathan Klemens, FSA-Scot Author and Historian Marquis de Lafayette Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, was born in 1757 into a wealthy land-owning family in Chavaniac, south-central France. He had no siblings. He once joked, “I was baptized like a Spaniard, with the name of every conceivable saint who might offer me more protection in battle.” At the age of twelve, his mother and grandfather died, leaving him a young, very wealthy orphan. He followed the family’s martial tradition and was commissioned an officer at age 13. When he was sixteen, Lafayette married Marie Adrienne Francoise de Noailles (age 14), allying with one of France’s wealthiest families. On June 13, 1777, the 19-year-old French aristocrat left his home against the King’s order. He sailed on the La Victoire and eluded two British ships sailing into Charlestown, SC. He intended to serve as General Washington’s second-in-command. He asked for two favors: to serve as a volunteer and at his own expense. Meeting George Washington George Washington, at age 45 (26 years his senior), first met the 19-year-old Marquis de Lafayette at City Tavern in Philadelphia on July 31, 1777. They immediately became friends, but more like a father-son relationship. On August 5, 1777, the Continental Congress appointed Lafayette as a volunteer Major General, assigning the Marquis to serve on Washington’s staff as his aide-de-camp. The Marquis later named his only son George Washington Lafayette out of respect for Washington. After recovering from a leg wound during the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777, Lafayette returned to aid the American war effort in Virginia, serving in the successful siege of Yorktown in 1781. After maneuvering more than a thousand miles, Lafayette cornered Cornwallis at Yorktown. On October 19, Cornwallis surrendered after nine days of intense artillery fire. Visiting Pittsburgh On Lafayette’s nostalgic return trip, he was greeted by massive crowds of citizens. From August 1824 to September 1825, Lafayette visited all 24 states of the Union, covering over 6,000 miles. He visited the tomb of his dear friend and comrade George Washington at Mount Vernon, a testament to their enduring friendship. In Massachusetts, he renewed his friendship with John Adams, and in Virginia, he spent a week visiting Thomas Jefferson. He traveled through Lawrenceville, the Allegheny Arsenal, into Pittsburgh. Lafayette passed through the future Shaler and Hampton townships via the “Pittsburgh-Butler Turnpike” section on Mt. Royal Blvd. He traveled in his coach up S. Pioneer Road, past what is now the Depreciation Lands Museum entrance. To see more of Jonathan’s writing or to send him a comment, contact him below. [email protected] Facebook: Ravencrest Historical Writing
