History Short: Winter at Valley Forge

The winter at Valley Forge, the heroic Delaware crossing . . . and the man, George Washington.

250 years ago, Washington's Continental army wintered at Valley Forge. His army was suffering from exposure, disease, lack of food and warm clothes. Nearly a third of his army had no shoes. They wrapped their feet in rags and left many blood-stained tracks in the snow. I can't even imagine it.

Even though their morale was low, they kept on. They believed in their cause. 💗 🇺🇸 Out of 11,000 soldiers, nearly 3,000 died from the harsh conditions that winter. But they kept on. 

Washington's heroic crossing of the Delaware in frigid temperatures was a turning point in the Revolutionary war. On the night of Christmas, December 25, 1776, Washington led his men across the icy Delaware River and then led them on a ten-mile march in the snow into Trenton, New Jersey, where they surprised a garrison of 1,500 Hessians. The Continental army prevailed. This victory won the loyalty of his soldiers and revived the Continental Army's morale.

George Washington often encouraged his men with prayer. He was seen many times on his knees praying for his army and the country he loved. Unlike Thomas Paine and some of the other Founding Fathers, Washington was not a Deist (as some history scholars would have us believe); he believed he had a personal relationship with God, as is evidenced in his own writings, documents and self-penned prayers. He sourced his bravery from a Higher Power.

We need to be reminded of these heroes and keep our history alive . . . 💗 🇺🇸