Everyone learns in school that one of the biggest turning points of the American Revolution is George Washington's ability to motivate his troops and survive the winter at and around Valley Forge. What people don't often talk about, is just how was this feat done? The year is 1777 and Washington was leading the Continental Army against the British. Throughout the first two years of the war, the Continental's were suffering defeat after defeat. The army was demoralized, frustrated and losing faith and hope in the cause. Washington, being a hard-working farmer, started realizing a few contributing factors. On one occasion Washington walked up to a group of men sitting at a fire preparing a deer they had recently killed. He overheard one arguing that he was frustrated with the way they were approaching the fighting. "Sneaking up and learning ambush tactics is challenging. I never know where I am supposed to be or when to strike. I wish we went back to standing in lines and just shooting at each other face to face. It was so much easier". Days after, Washington had reports of men sneaking crates of tea into the camp, saying they have felt they're having withdraws since the Tea Party. Men had been exchanging letters so that when they got back home they could stay in contact and bring their families together for meals and celebrations. In one bizarre instance, two soldiers left the army to return home because they said they didn't agree with the choice of material for the uniform and they didn't approve of the armies pick up and move frequently lifestyle. Later, Washington was talking to some of his leaders and was asking them about plans for the next day (which happened to be the day before a battle). Lieutenant Redmond told him that he couldn't wait until after the battle, they were having a dice competition and the winner got to pick a name for the loser that everyone else in the company had to call them. Washington was floored. His soldiers were complaining left and right, they were ignoring the cause and even his closest leaders were more focused on games than the war. With winter around the corner he devised a plan that would instill a sense of family and support, as well as spark up the passion to fight and win.
"For the past couple years we have fought and lost battle after battle. The British are making us look like fools (to which a man remarked, "some of us don't need the British to make us look that way" and more men sniggered). I have heard people complain about the conditions, complain about how they think things should be done and complain about the people around them. I am tired of the complaining. Officers Johnson, Williams, Green, Shepherd, L. Swiley and P. Swiley, will all take men in groups. You will be participating in some training's and exercises to work on our camaraderie and team building. As soon as we are done we will leave Valley Forge and continue on our task of defending the liberties of our fellow colonists." (this was met with many groans). The colonists participated in the different activities. They were required to link arms with large groups and twist around so they were in a knot. The task was to untie the knot without breaking hand holds. Other tasks were to participate in games were you were asked personal questions about other soldiers, participated in relay races and had venting sessions where soldiers were encouraged to talk about any situations at home or with neighbors or family. Soldiers were required to take turns sleeping in wet canoes, traveling through thick snow and eating soggy or frostbitten food. The reward for all of this, a competition to build the best snow fort (which was won by Jeremy Anderson, Steven Johnson, William Jefferson, Zachariah Smith, and their surprise teammate, Benjamin Franklin, who made the voyage from France specifically for this competition before returning. The following picture is of their creation with Johnson and Smith putting on finishing touches. Following the getaway retreat..... Er... experience, the soldiers were incredibly close and strong. They had such a memorable trip and journey that they wanted to show Washington thanks by fighting harder than they had ever fought and refusing to complain. They collectively decided to tell everyone they had a tough and arduous winter, that they were willing to fight through the most hellish conditions, all to intimidate the British. The British, having heard about the resolve of the Continentals, immediately became fearful. They would not go through such harsh conditions to win this war, why continue dying for such a cause? They quickly started losing battle after battle and Washington's army marched farther and farther south. We all know how this ended. What many do not know, is that without Washington challenging his soldiers, most likely, the Continental Army would never have had the focus and determination to overthrow England, and the United States as we know it would no longer exist.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Sir Cory the GreatRandom Thoughts. Archives
August 2016
Categories |