Valley Forge

Valley Forge
Part of the American Revolution
A 1907 portrait of Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge by John Ward Dunsmore
Date December 19, 1777 – June 19, 1778 Location Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, U.S. 40°05′49″N 75°26′21″W / 40.096944°N 75.439167°W / 40.096944; -75.439167

Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. It was the third and harshest of the eight winter encampments that Washington and the Continental Army endured during the war.

Three months prior to the encampment at Valley Forge, in September 1777, the Second Continental Congress was forced to flee the revolutionary capital Philadelphia to escape what they perceived was an imminent British attack on the city following Washington's defeat in the Battle of Brandywine, a key battle during the British Army's Philadelphia campaign, which sought to capture Philadelphia.

Unable to defend Philadelphia, Washington led his 12,000-man army into winter quarters at Valley Forge, located approximately 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Philadelphia.^[1][2][3]

At Valley Forge, the Continental Army struggled to manage a disastrous supply crisis while simultaneously retraining and reorganizing their units in an effort to mount successful counterattacks against the British. During the encampment at Valley Forge, an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 soldiers died from disease, possibly exacerbated by malnutrition.

In 1976, in recognition of the enormous historical significance of Valley Forge in American history, Valley Forge National Historical Park was established and named a national historic site, which protects and preserves over 3,500 acres of the original Valley Forge encampment site. The park is a popular tourist destination, drawing 1.3 million visitors in 2011.^[4][5]