By: Mark Nunes

Valley Forge No actual battle was fought at Valley Forge. Although, it was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. It was here that the Continental army was desperately against the ropes tired from the battle, bloody, beaten, and just about ready to quit. Even George Washington, at one point, said "If the army does not get help soon, in all likelihood, it will disband." Early into the six-month encampment, the soldiers were riddled with disease and famine. Death was a common site on the camp. The raw weather stung and numbed the soldiers. Empty stomachs were common. The future promised only more desperation and hunger. Many could not take the cold weather, lack of food, and uncertainty of living. There were dozens of desertions. By February the weather calmed somewhat- changing from brutal to miserable. In March, General Nathaniel Green was appointed head of the commissary department and magically food and supplies began to trickle in. By April, Baron Von Stuebon , a mercenary who was not really a baron, began to magically transform threadbare troops into a powerful fighting force. Also in April, the Conway Cabral, a plot to remove George Washington from power, was extinguished permanently. May brought news of the French alliance, and with it the French military and financial support. On June 19, 1778, exactly six months after they first arrived, a new and improved army steamed out of Valley Forge. Eager to fight the British, they had been transformed from rebels to a mature and forceful army.

Word Count: 253