The entry of Spain and France into the war would greatly boost the morale of the Continental
Army. Washington's troops were low on supplies, food, and clothing, and the recent loss of
Philadelphia to General Howe's army had dampened their spirits.
Rather than pursuing Washington, Howe opted to spend the winter in the comfortable confines
of the former Patriot capital. There the British enjoyed the city's taverns and theaters. Most
American supporters fled, leaving loyalists to attend parties and balls with the British
soldiers. Washington marched his men twenty miles west
of Philadelphia. There, at Valley Forge, the Continental Army would face their biggest
challenge of the war. That winter, the Patriots endured four months of terrible suffering.
The men, facing the coldest winter of their lifetime, lacked adequate food, clothing,
and shelter. Most had no blankets, jackets, or shoes. Joseph Plumb Martin, a young private,
remarked in his diary that if the British had wanted to find Washington's army, they
could have tracked it down by following the bloody footprints left in the snow.
As winter progressed, extreme hunger set in. Martin wrote that night after night, they dined
"upon a leg of nothing and no turnips." Even water was scarce. One Connecticut surgeon
wrote, "I am sick, discontented, and out of humor. Poor food, hard lodging, cold weather,
fatigue, nasty clothes, and hasty cookery. I vomit half my time. Here, all confusion,
smoke and cold, hunger and filthiness." Soldiers starved as the American supply system
fell into chaos. Farmers sold crops to the
British in Philadelphia because Congress couldn't afford to buy them. Around 2,000 soldiers
died of disease and malnutrition. Several officers resigned, but surprisingly few men
deserted (left without permission). Only the soldier's commitment and Washington's leadership
held the Continental Army together. While the soldiers fought off hunger and disease,
a miraculous transformation also took place thanks to a man who could scarcely speak a
word of English. Like the Marquis, Baron Friedrich Von Steuben (Stoy-ben) came to the United
States as a volunteer. Steuben had literally been born into the Prussian army, and by the
age of 17, he was an officer in the army of Frederick the Great.
Steuben knew more about training troops than anyone in America. He, along with Alexander
Hamilton, developed a training regimen to whip the American troops into a well-disciplined
army. Steuben turned the ragged Continental Army into a formidable fighting force. This
raid training was critical, as it kept the men busy and focused amidst their horrible
conditions.
When spring arrived, Howe, fully aware of the American suffering at Valley Forge, confidently
strolled out of Philadelphia to destroy what was left of Washington's army. When the two
sides collided at Monmouth, where the temperature soared past 100, the Steuben-trained Patriot
army fought the astonished British to a standstill.