VALLEY FORGE

11.17.1897 The advocate, Topeka, Kan., p. 7 in print,
image 7 in LOC Chronicling America.
p. 376 in print, p. 4 in LOC Chronicling America.
See The advocate.

Some years ago the Centennial and
Memorial Association of Valley Forge,
with the aid of the Patriotic Sons of
America, purchased the house in which
Washington spent the dreary winter of
1777. This substantial structure of the
gray granite which was used so much
in building in Colonial times has withstood
the storms of more than a century
past, and is to-day in a perfect state of
preservation.

On the surrounding hills the Revolutionary
soldiers builded their earthworks
and forts so strongly and well that the
changing seasons of all these years have
not obliterated them; many portions of
them are standing, and in as good a
state of preservation as those of the late
war.

The little village of Valley Forge is in
a corner of Montgomery county, Pennsylvania,
formed by the conjunction of
the Valley creek and the Schuylkill river.
It is an extremely picturesque spot. A
mountain ridge on the opposite side of
the creek shuts it in. The village street
that is scarcely more than a road rambles
along toward the valley formed by
the two ranges that narrow it, until it
becomes nothing more than a canyon,
with the waters of the creek sparkling
in the dark shadows of the wooded hills.

The village consists of an old mill that
has gone to decay, a few stone houses
and an antiquated hotel called the
"Washington Inn." Leaving this and
following the road, the visitor comes to
the historic ground where the foundations
of the huts, the rifle pits and the
earthworks are still to be seen. This
road is one of the favorite bicycling
tracks from Philadelphia, which is only
twenty miles away. The passing of these
"silent steeds" or the rattling of a country
wagon, and occasionally the sound
of oars as rowers pass up and down the
little stream, are the only ones that
awaken the echoes of the secluded spot.
The autumn-touched forest, that descends
to the verge of the placid waters,
makes pictures of rarest beauty such as
the soul of an artists would revel in.

Some distance up is the old forge originally
called "The Valley Forge." It was
burned by the British two months before
the army of Washington was encamped
at this place, and new works
were erected soon after the Revolutionary war.
The iron used at the Valley Forge
was made at Warwick, Chester
county, and hauled there by teams. From
1757 the place seems to have been known
as the Valley Forge, though in most
legal documents of the day it retained
the name of "Mount Joy." This name,
it is said, was given it by William Penn,
who, while exploring the place, lost his
way on the hill south of the valley creek,
which he named "Mount Misery," but
when he reached the top of the opposite
mountain and found where he was he
named it "Mount Joy."

It was upon this mountain that Washington's
army was encamped in the severe
winter of '77 [1777]. It was impossible for
them, poorly clad and poorly fed as they
were, to reamin longer at Whitemarsh
in their tents. Realizing this, the great
commander took them into winter quarters
in this more sheltered spot, nineteen
miles from Whitemarsh. Here he
ordered huts to be constructed, assuring
the soldiers at the same time that
he himself would "cheerfully share in all
their hardships and partake of all the
inconveniences."

Hundreds of soldiers made that dreary
march with bare feet, and the pathway
of these suffering patriots might have
been traced all the way by their bloody
footprints in the snow. And yet at this
very time, according to a contemporary
writer, "hogsheads of shoes, stockings
and clothing were lying at different
places along the roads and in the woods,
perishing fo want of teams or money
to pay the teamsters," so handicapped
was the commissariat by the interference
of Congress.

The day on which the army arrived
at Valley Forge, Congress had ordered
set apart as one of thanksgiving for the
victories at Saratoga, Washington and
his whole army engaged in religious exercises.
On the following day the soldiers
began the construction of their
huts. The commander, methodical in all
things, directed their operations, by giving
orders that the parties should be
divided into twelve each, and that they
should have enough tools to build with.
He also promised a reward of $12 to the
party in each regiment that finished its
hut the soonest. A reward was also offered
of $100 to the officer or soldier who
would substitute a covering for the huts
cheaper and more quickly made than
boards.

Until his troops were all comfortably
settled in their huts, Washington
remained in his cheerless marquee. After
this he made his headquarters at the
house of Isaac Potts, a Quaker, which is
the one standing now near the Schuylkill,
and not a stone's throw from the
little railway station. This place was
the headquarters of Washington for six
months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19,
1778; Martha Washington, who was
such an unfailing support to her husband,
both at home and in camp, was
with him most of the time of his sojourn
here. It is said that she rode over from
Whitemarsh on a pillion. They were
both mounted upon his powerful bay
charger, who carried them with perfect
ease. It appears that Martha did not
remain long upon this first visit, but she
returned to the headquarters again on
the 10th of February.

In a letter to her friend Mercy Warren,
written in March, she said: "The General's
apartment is very small. He has
had a log cabin built to dine in, which
has made our quarters more tolerable
than they were at first."

This apartment is a small room. The
cavity in the window seat that Washington
had hallowed out to hold his papers
is still shown. It was covered by a
cushion, and no one would guess that
his most valuable possessions were concealed
there. The old log cabin still
stands at the rear of the house.

In February the wives of several of
Washington's officers came to visit Mrs.
Washington. Lady Stirling and the wife
of General Knox were of the party. It
is said that they were not idle visitors.
They spent most of the time spinning
yarn and knitting stockings for the soldiers.

The winter of '77 was one of the darkest
and dreariest of Washington's whole
life. There was a conspiracy to supplant
him and to put General Gates at
the head of the army. The Continental
Congress interfered with his military
operations, and there was dissatisfaction
among his troops, especially those of
foreign birth. the whole country that
surrounded him was filled with Tories.
Fortunately there was that in his personality
that attached his men to him
so strongly that no distress could
weaken their affection for him, nor impair
the respect and veneration in which
he was held by them. Their sufferings
had tried their fidelity to the utmost,
and, be it said to the credit of those of
American birth, they stood to their post
nobly. It was the Europeans that deserted
in great numbers and escaped to
Philadelphia with their arms.

Isaac Potts, in whose house Washington
was quartered, was a Quaker, and,
like many of his kind, was disposed to
be loyal to the King, but he became a
Republican in the course of time. He
related this characteristic story of Washington.
One day while the solders were
in camp at Valley Forge, he strolled up
the creek towards his forge. When not
far from his dam he heard a solemn
voice, and walking quietly towards the
sound, saw Washington's horse tied to
a sapling. In a thicket near by was the
beloved chief in prayer, his eyes suffused
in tears. He felt that he was upon holy
ground and withdrew unnoticed. He
was deeply impressed, and upon entering
the room where his wife was, burst into
tears. When she inquired the cause, he
told her what he had seen, saying: "If
there is any one whom the Lord will listen
to, it is General Washington; and I
feel that under such a commander there
can be no doubt of our eventually
establishing our independence, and that
God in his province hath willed it so."

The "Headquarters House," as it is
termed, is in a marvelous state of preservation,
and appears from cellar to
attic just as it did when Washington
was domiciled there. The doors with
the quaint, old-fashioned locks, are just
as they were when his hands opened and
closed them; the floors, except a portion
of one in the office room, are those over
which his feet have trod in many a
weary hour; the window glass and
sashes are alike unchanged since the
days when his anxious eyes looked
through them at the huts of his soldiers
on the near-by hills. Under the house
is a deep cavern-like cellar, that the
attendant lights a lantern for the visitor
to view. The well called "Washington's well"
in the log cabin yields a cool, clear
draught. The house is not entirely
furnished, but the articles that have been
placed there are those of the Colonial
or Revolutionary period, and give the
place the appearance that it had when
America's great chieftain was resident
within it. - Globe-Democrat

To view the entire article, go to The advocate, Topeka, Kansas, November 17, 1897, image 7.

Found and digitized by Heidi Sproat 12/22/2022.