Text Selection #3 Let's start at the beginning. In the fall of 1777, the British had taken Philadelphia, the
American capital. Washington's army had attempted to stop the British, led by General
Howe, at the Brandywine River, but failed. Now the British Army occupied Philadelphia,
and settled in there for the winter.
The Continental Army,
as it had the previous winter, wanted to stay close to the British
during the winter hiatus. That way, when fighting resumed in the spring, the Continentals
would be ready
to stop the British from any further moves. Washington decided to make
winter camp at Valley Forge.
Remember, at that time there was
no shudder of doom at the very name of Valley Forge.
And in fact, it was a good location. Valley Forge was in a settled area, where local people
could provide food and clothing if they wished (Washington never forced locals to
contribute), and it was the area where the British would have gone outside Philadelphia to
forage for food. Cities weren't like they are today, with abundant food through the
winter. The British Army would quickly go through the stores of food in town, and would
want to go into the countryside to hunt game, just as the people of Philadelphia would
have done. Washington made that a lot harder. Valley Forge was also very well situated
for defense, making it very difficult for the British to pull off an off-season surprise
attack. (http://thehistoricpresent. wordpress. com/2009/10/21/what-happened-at-
valley-forge/)