"Washington Began To Make The Highways Around Philadelphia So Unsafe With Parties From His Fortified Camp:" The Strategic Importance Of The Valley Forge Winter Encampment—A Historical, Archaeological, And Landscape Perspective

Summary

The now infamous site of the Valley Forge winter encampment consists of the location where roughly 12,000 soldiers of the Continental Army camped during the winter of 1777-1778. Valley Forge is located just twenty miles northwest of Philadelphia. This position enabled the Continental Army to be close enough to the city to maintain pressure on the occupying British forces as well as being far enough away in a high-ground position just outside the city to avoid the immediate threat of attack. Located in a natural limestone sink and on rolling farm fields, Valley Forge was a prime position. Using the accounts of British activities during the occupation of Philadelphia by Captain Johann Ewald, this paper will examine the archaeology and the landscape of the Valley Forge winter encampment to understand why the decision to encamp at Valley Forge was so important for the survival of the Continental Army. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Not A Trade For One To Follow Who Has No Knowledge Of It": Captain Johann Ewald And The Historical Archaeology Of The 1777 Philadelphia Campaign   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 551