An Iconic American Moment: Amidst the Darkest Winter Moments at Valley Forge, General George Washington Laments the State of the Army and Seeks An Investigation into Two British Victories

Written just days before Baron von Steuben arrives, Washington writes General McDougall to investigate the loss of American forts along the Hudson

 

Letters of Washington from the winter at Valley Forge are great rarities, this being only our third ever and first in a decade

In September 1777, the Continental Army lost the Battle of Brandywine and was forced to retreat before a strong British force led by Lord William Howe. The victorious British then occupied Philadelphia, forcing Congress to flee the city. After another unsuccessful engagement at Germantown the next month, the Americans went to Whitemarsh, a town northwest of Philadelphia. This position proved untenable, and Washington determined to move his army to Valley Forge, a more defensible location from which he could keep an eye on the foe. After an exhausting march from Whitemarsh via Gulph Mills, the American force of 8,000 Continentals and 3,000 militia arrived at Valley Forge on December 19, 1777, and they were in a miserable state (just four days later nearly 3,000 men were reported sick or incapable of duty). The winter came on and the men suffered badly from the cold. According to the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, the weather at Valley Forge in February 1778 was “uncommonly cold”. There was a snowstorm in February 8 and snow remained on the ground for weeks. Except for officers, the men slept in six-foot square tents made of canvas, which were weak and cracked and didn’t provide sufficient protection from the bad weather. Clothing was in very short supply, and many soldiers had to go barefoot, missing clothing altogether, or wear only one layer of clothes (at one time 4,000 men were so destitute of clothing that they could not leave their tents). The food, when available at all, was inadequate. These shortages were especially bad during the heart of darkness for the American cause: from January into March 1778. Smallpox and other diseases also ravaged the army at Valley Forge. By mid-winter, 5,000 men had died or left because of illness or the awful conditions. The entire American Army thereafter consisted of some 6,000 men huddled on frozen ground around campfires. British general Howe, by way of contrast, had some 15,000 well-supplied men in and around Philadelphia, and many more available in nearby New York.

In those grim winter months of 1778, Washington had to maintain discipline among his soldiers and there were courts martial. On February 11, 1778, there was a Court-martial for Israel Davis of Colonel Wigglesworth’s regiment for defrauding the army of extra pay. The next day, there was a Court-martial for Captain Lane, for ordering a retreat in a cowardly manner while scouting. Washington also had to assess the condition of the army, as did his senior commanders. On February 12, 1778, General James Varnum wrote to General Nathanael Greene: “In all human probability the army must dissolve” and that desertions were “astonishingly great.” That same day, an officer, Richard Butler, described troops in a PA regiment at Valley Forge as “totally naked for body clothing.” Washington himself despaired about the condition of his army, as he wrote to the officers in charge of recruiting in Pennsylvania to express his concern that the state’s efforts would, unless changed, be insufficient to obtain more men for his dwindling force. On February 16, Washington wrote George Clinton, “I mean the present dreadful situation of the army for want of provisions, and the miserable prospects before us, with respect to futurity. It is more alarming than you will probably conceive, for, to form a just idea, it were necessary to be on the spot.” So Washington spent much time writing to Congress, demanding more supplies for his men and seeking additional recruits.

One ray of light was about to penetrate the darkness. Baron Friedrich von Steuben of the Prussian Army had been recruited in Europe to train the Continental Army, and by mid-February 1778 he was on his way. He arrived in Valley Forge on February 23, seated in a sleigh and holding a letter of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin. He offered his services to Washington, to train the Continental Army to be more professional and disciplined. He would drill and organize the men, and in time transform them into an integrated fighting force. Washington agreed and Steuben’s work, in time, proved a great success. By the time Washington departed Valley Forge in June, his army was better trained and ready to take on the British forces as they headed toward New York.

Though no battle was ever fought there, Valley Forge remains an enduring symbol of America’s struggle for freedom. The Continental Army could well have disintegrated from discouragement and hardship, but the soldiers’ faith in Washington kept it together. The name Valley Forge thereafter provided a rallying point, showing that the troops were determined to carry on the fight no matter what. Moreover, Washington used the time there wisely, from having von Steuben train the troops for future victories, to finding additional men and supplies.

Letters of Washington written from Valley Forge, specifically during the trying winter, have all but disappeared from the public market, with auction records showing just a handful of others in the last thirty years. We have had two others in our 33 years in the field, the last being a decade ago.

Working with Congress and Improving the Army’s Performance

With the outbreak of the Revolution, Alexander McDougall became actively involved in the New York City militia, becoming its commanding colonel. Commissioned colonel of the First New York Regiment in June 1776, he was appointed brigadier general in August. He took part in the battles of White Plains and Germantown, but rendered his most important service in the Hudson Highlands, where he was the commanding general during much of the war. Having been appointed a Continental major general on October 20, 1777, he succeeded Benedict Arnold as commander at West Point. McDougall had Washington’s confidence, and Washington, trusting his judgment, made him his choice to investigate two forts – Fort Mifflin and Fort Montgomery – that had been lost and become a matter of controversy.

During much of 1777, American and British military activity occurred around New York City, including the Lower Hudson River region from West Point to New York Harbor. American strategy was to prevent the British from sailing further north by building a river chain across the Hudson River, which included fortifications erected at Peekskill. Among the fortifications on the west bank of the Hudson River was Fort Montgomery below West Point. The intent of British forces was to seize control of the Hudson River with the intention of separating the New England colonies from the other American colonies. While British General Howe decided to attack Philadelphia, another British General, Henry Clinton, attacked and captured Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton on October 6, 1777, thus dismantling the Hudson River chain. The troops stationed at Fort Montgomery were under the command of General Israel Putnam. Putnam, fooled by a feint by Clinton, moved the bulk of his troops from the fort to the east side of the river, while Clinton landed his force on the west side of the river and easily captured Fort Montgomery along with Fort Clinton. Putnam was relieved of command and brought before a court of inquiry. Fort Mifflin on the Delaware River near Philadelphia was bombarded by the British Army and captured as part of their conquest of Philadelphia in autumn 1777. There were calls in Congress to investigate how these key forts were lost.

In this letter to McDougall, Washington informs him that Congress has directed him to investigate the loss of forts Mifflin and Montgomery in the fall of 1777. Washington directs McDougall, if his health permits, to lead a commission of at least three officers to pursue the inquiry into the loss of the Forts.

Letter signed, two pages, “Head Quarters, Valley Forge”, February 12, 1778, to McDougall, ordering him to head a commission directed by Congress to inquire into the loss of Forts Montgomery and Mifflin. The text is in the hand of Tench Tilghman.

“The Congress, so long ago as the 30th November last, directed me to have an enquiry into the Causes of the losses of Fort Mifflin upon the Delaware, and Fort Montgomery upon Hudsons River. The peculiar Situation of the Army has hindered me from attending to this matter before this time.

“As most of the principal Officers, up the North River, were immediately concerned in the defense of Fort Montgomery, or eventually so, by being very near it, there cannot, in my opinion, be a sufficient number proper to compose a Court, found upon the Spot. It is therefore my intention to send three at least from this Army, and it is my wish that you should be one, and act as president upon the occasion, if your health will permit you to attend. I shall therefore be glad to hear from you upon the subject, that I may either proceed to fill up the Commission for you, or appoint another, if your health should not be sufficiently established to go thro’ the Business.

“It is my wish to have this enquiry carried on, not only in obedience to the Resolve of Congress, but for other reasons which I need not explain to you. It is besides impatiently expected by the Gentlemen in the State of New York, who are in hopes that some beneficial Consequences will result from it. You are particularly well acquainted with many circumstances relating to the Situation of matters in that quarter, and therefore more capable of conducting the enquiry than any other Officer. I shall only add one Reason more to induce you to strain a point upon this occasion, which is, that the scarcity of General Officers is already so great, that supposing one as proper as yourself, I could not spare him without injury to the Service. I shall expect an answer by return of the Express and am Dear Sir, Yr. most obt. Servt., Go: Washington.”

McDougall responded to Washington’s directive in a February 17 letter, stating that his health had improved and reluctantly agreeing to head the commission looking into the loss of Fort Montgomery. As it turned out, on August 17, 1778, after reviewing the report of the court that Washington forwarded, Congress resolved that both forts were lost due not to any fault or misconduct by the commanding officers, but due to the lack of adequate forces to defend them. Congress decided not to pursue an investigation into the loss of Fort Mifflin.

Despite his doctor’s advice against it, McDougall reluctantly accepted the duty in a letter of February 17. His reluctance was in part due to his belief that whatever verdict came out of the inquiry, whether it be an acquittal or court-martial, the army would be blamed. McDougall’s deputies as appointed by Washington in March were Brig. Gen. Jedediah Huntington and Col. Edward Wigglesworth. On August 17, after consideration of the report from the court of inquiry, Congress resolved “that those posts were lost, not from any fault, misconduct, or negligence, of the commanding officers, but solely through the want of an adequate force under their command to maintain and defend them”.