Winter at Valley Forge

The Continental Army, under command of George Washington, haven't had much success during the Fall of 1777. His army had confronted the British under the command of General Howe two times-one in Brandywine (Sept.11) and other Germantown(Oct.4)-and had been defeated. Cold weather was approaching so Washington decided to move his men to winte head quarters. He chose Valley Forge, at Schulkill River, 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It was a stragetic place, since it was easily defensible but close enough to the city to maintain pressure on the British. The 12,000 members of the Continental Amry went to this place on December 19, 1777.

The winter at Valley Forge is popularly depicted with images of starving and freezing soldiers, but the situation at the winter quarters was, though not that adecuate, bearable in comparison to what the soldiers had passed through before. As soon as they got there, they built 2,000 log huts, defensive trenches, five redoubts, and a bridge over the Schuylkill. The soldiers suffered from hunger and cold because of scarce food, boots, and coats. Sometimes their food consisted on a mix of flour with water, which was not enough, especially during the winter. Washington wrote a letter to Congress reporting that nearly 10,000 of his soldiers didnt have boots nor coats. He saw that if things didnt change  for good, there were only going to be three options: starve, dissolve the army, or disperse in search of food and clothes. All options were terrible.

On February 23, 1778 Baron Friedrich Von Stueben arrived at Valley Forge. He was a German that had previously been a member of the Prussian General Staff. He had met Benjamin Franklin at Paris and had been moved to the American cause since then. He was accepted by General George Washington and soon began designing  training program for the soldiers of the Continental Army. He didnt speak English, but he worked with the help of interpreters. He selected 100 men from the army and began developing a "model company", in which he instructed this 100 men in drill, maneuver, and a simplified manual of arms. The 100 men Baron Stueben instructed were then sent to instruct other units on what they had learned. Baron Stueben also contributed in the improvement of sanitation of the winter quarters by repositioning kitchens and latrines. Overall, his teaching of discipline and organization changed the soldier´s way of behaving in and out of the field forever.

The Winter at Valley Forge was really hard to pass for the members of the Continental Army, but both their determination and the aid they received helped them pass through it. They had really taken advantage of the winter, because they emerged as a stronger fighting force. George Washington, their strong military and individual leader never gave up and von Steuben had done an excellent job strengthening the soldiers. On the 27 of June the Continental Army faced another battle, the Battle of Monmouth (remember Molly Pitcher from our last post?) after which they could celebrate their first victory in nmonths!

 

Battles of Saratoga

It started on september 19, 1777. The battle were fought 18 days apart on the same ground, 9 miles south of Saratoga, New York. This battles were the turning points of the Revolutionary War. This battles consisted of two military engagements, which is why The Battle Of Saratoga is divided two parts, which were the Battle Freeman's Farm and the Battle of Bemis Heights. The victory gave new life to the American cause at a critical time, it ended in October 1777 with the American victory. The succes gave France the confidence in the American cause to become their ally. Later American successes owed a great deal to French aid in financial and military assistance.

Starting on September 19, the british general  Burgoyne moved some of his troops in an attempt to flank the American position on Bemis Heights, Benedict Arnold anticipated the strategy, and placed significant forces in the way of Burgoyne. Burgoyne's forces succeeded in gaining control of Freemen's Farm, defeating the Continental Army under Horatio Gates. Disputes continued during the days following the battle, while Burgoyne waited for reinforcements that would arrive from New York City. On the other side, militia forces continued to arrive increasing the size of the American army.

Further on, American troops attacked British troops in the area of Fort Ticonderoga, and bombarded the forts. Another Biritish General called Sir Henry Clinton, began making plans to divert the attention of the Americans from Burgoyne. On October 6, he captured American forts in the Hudson River highlands. Sadly for him, it was already too late to help Burgoyne. On October 7, Burgoyne attacked Bemis Heights. The Continental Army had gained strength and had about 12,000 soldiers while the British had about 4,000 soldiers under Burgoyne's command. The Continental Army and the lobster backs engaged in heavy fighting. After the redoubt held by Colonel Breyman and his regiment was taken, Burgoyne decided to withdraw and takes his army to the camp they had built at Saratoga. Burgoyne began to hope that forces of Clinton of the South, would come to aid him. This clearly demonstrates how communication was a major difficulty between the British forces. Almst all British messengers were caught and hanged by The Americans.



Red=British, Blue=Patriots
 

Burgoyne waited for  news of Clinton’s advance until 17th October 1777, when he was forced to sign the convention by which his troops surrendered to Gates, who had by then between 18,000 and 20,000 men. This was the ending of the war. The British learned that the Americans would give everything to fight, and as mentioned above this motivated the French to ally with the Patriots. Keep in mind that before the battle the French had helped the Patriots with secret ammunitions, but after the Battles of Saratoga the French and Patriots signed the alliance.

Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley

If heard as Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley or the name might sound rare, probably "Molly Pitcher" sounds more familiar.

"Molly Pitcher" was a name given to the woman known for delivering water to the troops of the Patriots during the Battle of Monmouth. They did this during a time the Continental Army and the colonists were facing tough times. The Continental Army needed the most support they could get from the civilians, including the wives or partners of members of the troops. That is why at the time many women freed their sons and husbands for military service by running farms and shops. They also made blankets, socks, and clothes for soldiers. Mary Hays was one of these women, key to aid and help keep going the Continental Army.

Mary Hays was born in 1754, in New Jersey. Her father was a dairy farmer at that same colony. When she turned just 13, she became a servant and that same year she married a barber of the name William Hays. When the Revolutionary War began, William enlisted and became a gunner for the Pennsylvania Artillery. On 1777-1778 she eventually joined her husband as a camp follower on the Philadelphia Campaign in New Jersey, eventually wintering with the Army at Valley Forge. It was later on, during the battle of Monmouth in which she became known with the name "Molly Pitcher" as we described before, because she brought water to the troops. During this war, she operated canons in place of her husband when he, for some reason couldnt. An enemy cannon almost kills her but it passed directly through her legs. There was only one witness in this event.

When the war ended, William and Mary returned to Pennsylvania. Mary worked as a "charwoman" for the State House at Carlisle. When William died, Mary married another Revolutionary War vet named John McCauley. She was awarded a pension in 1822 by Pennsylvania State Legislature. On 1876 on the anniversary of the war, a marker was placed on her grave noting her exemplary service. She died on January 22, 1832.

Please scroll farther down to read about Margaret Corbin.
Just for fun here is a video about Molly Pitcher´s life:

Margaret Corbin
 

There was another women who is acknowledged by the name "Molly Pitcher". Her name was Margaret Corbin. She was born in 1751. She was married with a member of the colonists troops. When her husband got killed on Fort Washington on Manhattan Island, New York on 1776; during the war, she took up a cannon. She gave all she had to contribute to win the war. She got seriously wounded when her arm was almost severed and her breast was lacerated by grapeshot. She lived until about 1800 after receiving charity payments from the Invalid Regiment and later became the first woman to receive a small pension from Congress for military service. She was known throughtout her community as a bad-tempered, hard-drinking eccentric by the nickname of "Captain Molly!"

Events that lead to Independence

It took more than a decade to make colonists determined to seek independence. Here in timeline form, is the presentation of the events that lead them to do so:

1765-Stamp Act. This was the first Parliament attempt to tax the British colonists. This was when the whole Taxation Without Representation things started. Parliament just wouldnt understand or listen. If they had done it the American Revolution wouldve never take place.

1767-Townshend Acts. This were passed by Charles Townshend. It imposed taxes on everyday materials such as lead, paint, paper, and tea. The colonists protested and this taxes were repealed-except for the one in tea. That same year the "Declaratory Acts" were passed by Parliament which declared that Parliament had the right to tax colonists. As you see, this only caused more anger in the colonists.

1770- Boston Massacre. This happened between an angry mob of colonists and British sentinels. It started when the angry mob were picking on a British sentinel. The situation got so tense that more sentinels had to go for support. A shot followed another and 5 colonists were killed. This aggriavated tensions between the colonists and the British soldiers.

1773- Boston Tea Party. This wasnt a common tea party, in fact it wasnt even a tea party. A group of Patriots dressed as Mohawk indians dumped aproximmately 300 chests of imported British tea into the Boston Harbor. This was a symbolic action of the Patriots to claim for their rights. This was a spark of the American Revolution.

1774- Coercive Acts. This were passed after the Boston Tea Party. They were specially for Massachusetts. There were 5 Coercive Acts. You can read about them by clicking in one of our entries in the right of these page. The Coercive Acts lead to the First Continental Congress which united the 12 colonies that attended it (Georgia didnt attend).

1775- Lexington Battle. General Thomas Gage was the governor of Massachusetts. He sent troops to Lexington to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock. They had a stockpile of weapons hidden in there. When they got there, specifically Lexington Green the militia were waiting for them and told them to disperse. 8 militia were killed. When the troops got back from Lexington, some militia attacked them from hiding places and 200 lobster backs were either killed or wounded.  

Lexington Battle

1775- Common Sense by Thomas Paine. This was a 51 page pamphlet that exposed radical ideas about independence and separation from Great Britain. This greatly impacted the Patriots because some of the feelings they had were expressed in these pamphlet. It also influenced the colonists in general because of the radical ideas it proposed inclding the formation of a Republican government.

Spring 1776- Jefferson wrote the draft of the Declaration of Independence.

July 4, 1776- Delegates, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Samuel Adams, get together to write and sign the Declaration of Independence.