This essay was submitted to Michael Trebert Chapter NSDAR for the 2003 NSDAR History Contest. It won the Washington State 5th Grade Division, and the Regional 5th Grade Division (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana).
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December 21, 1777
Dear Family,
Throughout these last few days it has been very hard for all of us. Several days ago the army crossed the Schuylkill River to Gulp Hill. Washington informed us that the valley was the best winter quarters to be found. He ordered every man to build huts. They are few and hardly sufficient to meet our needs. It is bitterly cold.
Our army is unwell from continual fatigue. We are suffering greatly. I've tried to maintain good courage, but it has been difficult and numerous men have been complaining regarding poor food, freezing weather, and that they are vomiting a great deal. Here at Valley Forge there is a surgeon, Albigence Waldo, but even Waldo is very ill.
We are running out of supplies. On Thanksgiving we ate boiled beef of poor quality and at present the army has no meat to eat at all so we have cakes and water. We may starve if we don't receive additional supplies soon.
Approximately twenty-five hundred men have no shoes at all. There are bloody tracks where we have stepped. Poor Waldo is making stockings. It has been difficult to scrounge materials, but I am attempting to make myself moccasins. The only clothes we are wearing are rags. Many men are shirtless.
George Washington estimated that over two thousand men have died here in Valley Forge. About nine out of ten deaths are from exposure to the elements and others are dying of smallpox and cholera. We are unable to keep clean and soap is scarcely used.
I am unsure we are capable of striking another attack. When we first arrived here there were ten thousand troops, but now over one quarter of the men have died. Many men do not sleep for fear of freezing while sleeping. Even though many men have died, Washington thinks the army is stronger now and more determined. I pray he is right.
I sincerely wish that I could come home, but I know that we are fighting a war that must be fought. Please pray for us that we will receive needed supplies to give us the strength we need to keep on fighting.
I think of you always. I look forward to be with you again. I love you dearly.
Your beloved father and husband,
John Edmonds