A short presentation about the difficulty of the winter camps for the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

1. Longwinters

2. Not so harsh With a victory at Saratoga in October, 1777, the Continental Army and the English troops prepared winter quarters for themselves.

3. Not so harsh The British spent the winter of 1777-1778 in relatively good conditions in Philadelphia, while Washington led his troops to Valley Forge, PA, 18 miles outside of Philadelphia.

4. Not so harsh The winter of 1777-1778 was not terribly cold, but that was almost worse for the Continental Army as the rain that fell on to the non-frozen ground made the muddy roads almost impassable.

5. Not so harsh Any supplies that may have been sent to Washington’s troops were inexorably slowed by the awful road conditions.

6. opportunity What the winter at Valley Forge did do was to provide an opportunity for the soldiers to be trained by European military leaders who understood the kind of war that England was conducting.

7. opportunity Baron von Steuben had come from Prussia with a strict style that guaranteed all of the soldiers in the Continental Army would be drilled the same way.

8. opportunity This training brought with it a degree of confidence in the soldiers at Valley Forge and convinced them that they could succeed.

9. opportunity As the Continental Army emerged from Valley Forge in the spring, 1778, they did so with a renewed hope and positive outlook in their battles against the English.

10. difficulties It was the winter of 1779-1780 that was perhaps worse weather wise for the Continental Army, which they spent in Morristown, New Jersey.

11. difficulties This was their second stop there, having stayed there after victories at Trenton and Princeton, but the conditions then were better than they would face this time around.

12. difficulties The winter was by far the worst winter of the war, and was complicated by the fact that the soldiers had not received pay in some time.