Continental Congress

Revolutionary War: Washington Battles Supply Shortage at Valley Forge

/ sandramervillehart

The winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge was rainy and moderate rather than snowy and cold, yet General George Washington’s colonial soldiers still suffered.

They were hungry. Provision shortages prompted Washington to write to the President of Congress, Henry Laurens, three days after their arrival at Valley Forge. His letter, dated December 22, 1777, reported alarming deficiencies in food supplies that, unless solved, must dissolve the army.

Incompetence in the Commissary and Quartermaster Department were partly to blame, though the practice of Purchase Commissaries working on percentages encouraged dishonesty.

William Buchanan served as Commissary General that winter. Washington asked Buchanan to rise to the challenge in a December 28th letter. He asked that at least a 30-day supply be stored near camp. Buchanan’s response wasn’t effective.

Nearby farmers, knowing the army’s great need, charged high prices. Local government passed legislation to fix prices to control this problem.

To supplement the food supply, Washington sent soldiers out to forage.

Members of the Continental Congress visited Valley Forge in mid-January. Washington reported the serious shortage.

In early February, Washington appealed to state governments for aid, who responded by sending droves of cattle to Valley Forge in March. One drove was captured by British soldiers.

The March 2nd appointment of Major General Nathanael Greene to Quartermaster General greatly improved the whole supply system along with the help of a new Commissary General, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth.

Greene and Wadsworth worked well together. Their previous commissary experience was a refreshing change and helped turn a bad situation around at Valley Forge.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

“Provision Shortages at Valley Forge,” UShistory.org, 2018/03/20 http://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/provisions.html.

 

“Ten Facts about Washington and the Revolutionary War,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2018/03/11 http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/ten-facts-about-the-revolutionary-war/.

Revolutionary War: Washington Fights a Smallpox Epidemic

/ sandramervillehart / 4 Comments

General George Washington had a problem—besides his British enemy. This time it was a silent killer—a disease known as smallpox.

Washington was no stranger to the disease. While in Barbados in November, 1751, he’d suffered through a bout with the disease. After he recovered, he was immune to smallpox.

Variola—the smallpox virus—was brought in by British and German soldiers. The virus caused about 17% of deaths in the Continental Army. The disease also scared off potential recruits.

The practice of inoculations was widespread in Europe. Fearing contamination from the inoculation process, the Continental Congress prohibited army surgeons from doing them. Besides, soldiers would be too ill to fight for about a month after receiving a less-potent form of smallpox.

Yet soldiers were dying. Washington had to do something.

On January 6, 1777, General Washington ordered Dr. William Shippen, Jr. to inoculate all soldiers that came through Philadelphia. He wrote that he feared the disease more than “the Sword of the Enemy.”

Washington then ordered a mass inoculation on February 5, 1777. Though he did this in secret so the enemy wouldn’t know that his soldiers were incapacitated for a time, he did inform Congress of his decision.

Some reports state that deaths from smallpox dropped to 1% in the Continental Army. Isolated infections occurred in the southern campaign but were not the overwhelming problem as had occurred early in the war.

Washington’s decisive actions had saved the army.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“George Washington and the First Mass Military Inoculation,” The Library of Congress, 2018/03/11 https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/GW&smallpoxinoculation.html.

“Ten Facts about Washington and the Revolutionary War,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2018/03/11 http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/the-revolutionary-war/ten-facts-about-the-revolutionary-war/.

Thompson, Mary V. “Smallpox,” George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 2018/03/11 http://www.mountvernon.org/digital-encyclopedia/article/smallpox/.