Continental Army at Valley Forge

Background. In September 1777, following Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine, the Second Continental Congress fled Philadelphia ahead of an imminent British attack. British forces had landed at Head of Elk in present-day Elkton, Maryland, on August 25, 1777, and maneuvered north as part of the Philadelphia campaign. After further British victories, including the Battle of the Clouds, Washington's army could not defend Philadelphia.

Choosing the Site. Political, strategic, and environmental factors shaped the decision to encamp near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in the winter of 1777–1778. Washington first raised the question of winter quarters with his generals on October 29, 1777, and the site was selected after he conferred with his officers on a strategically advantageous location. Valley Forge itself was a small proto-industrial village at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River, where quartermaster general Thomas Mifflin had stationed supplies in the summer of 1777.

Arrival and Early Conditions. On December 19, 1777, Washington conducted his 12,000-man army into Valley Forge, located about 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Philadelphia along the Schuylkill River in eastern Pennsylvania. The encampment became the Continental Army's first large-scale construction of living quarters. By the end of December 1777, supplies had dried up largely through congressional neglect, leaving Washington unable to feed or adequately clothe his soldiers.