Larry Mendte Curtis Sliwa America 250th June 22

Larry shares the story of the harshest winter that George Washington and his troops had to deal with during the revolutionary war, and what those locations became in the current era.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Curtis and Latery celebrate two fifty stories that made America
on sevent ten Wars. The story of Washington's encampment at
Valley Forge in seventeen seventy seven is the stuff of legends,
but the only battles fought at Valley Forge were against
the elements and sickness. Twelve thousand men arrived at Valley Forge,

(00:25):
but after death from exposure, sickness, and desertions, only eight
thousand marched on to Philadelphia in the warmth of the
early summer. But Valley Forge was not the harshest winter
Washington's men would endure. That would come two years later
in seventeen seventy nine, when Washington and his troops would

(00:47):
camp for the winter in Morristown, New Jersey. It's important
to point out that the Revolutionary War was only fought
in the summer. It's fought in the summer, the fall,
and sometimes the spring. In the winter, dirt roads were impassable,
food was scarce, and the risk of losing men to
sickness was just not worth it. And the winter of

(01:09):
seventeen seventy nine in the Colonies was won for the
history books. The harshest winter of the seventeen hundreds, but
this time Washington and his troops they were ready. First,
they selected a much better location than Valley Forge. Valley
Fordge had very little homes around, just some Quaker farms
and eight stone houses for farmers. When Washington and his

(01:32):
men moved into Valley Forge, it went from being a
dot on the map to the fourth most populated city
in the New World, same with Morristown, New Jersey. For
a long and bitter winter, it became the second most
populated city in New Jersey after Newark. And Yes, the
winter was bitter, snowy, and windy, and much worse than
Valley Forge. But Washington had learned from the experience, and

(01:55):
now he had the brilliant Prussian general Frederick von Steuben
by his as both Inspector General and chief of staff.
He had the men gathering logs and building houses before
the worst of the winter hit. The twelve thousand men
constructed over one thousand log cabins in a clearing that
was called Jockey Hollow, but the locals renamed it log

(02:19):
House City. It is now Morristown National Historic Park. Unlike
Valley Forge, there was not the carnage from malnutrition in
unsanitary conditions that harbored disease. Smallpox was especially prevalent and deadly,
but Washington ordered inoculations that had been successful in Europe.

(02:40):
In Europe, the log cabins were much better built and
housed less men than the ones that were quickly and
shoddily erected in Valley Forge, and Inspector General von Steuben
implemented the same training and sanitation protocols that worked when
he showed up at Valley Forge. So while three thousand
died in Valley Forge, less than three hundred died in

(03:03):
Morristown in the winter of seventeen seventy nine. It's not
that they didn't have struggles. There was little food, and
soldiers took to eating dogs and horses, anything to stay alive.
None had received pay in months. It was astonishing that
only a handful deserted when the spring came. So came

(03:24):
the food, and combined with the troop's resilience and pure survival,
they were ready to march on New York. Over a
thousand British troops and somewhat cozier conditions died during the
winter of seventeen seventy nine from cold and disease, their
low morale fueled by homesickness and the false promise that

(03:45):
the war was going to be quick. On the other hand,
Washington was both proud and amazed at the resiliency and
fortitude of his men, and wrote in a letter to Lafayette,
they bore their suffering with a patience and strength that
ought to excite our countrymen. Not a shot was fired,
but the Americans won the winter of seventeen seventy nine

(04:09):
in Morristown, New Jersey, and the tide of the Revolutionary
War continued to turn. America was winning because this was home.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Outstanding again, Larry, we are the only station of any
type that is doing tributes to our Revolutionary War heroes
who fought against tyranny and got the crown off our back.
We're the only ones doing that. We are twelve days
away from our two hundred and fiftieth birthday and nothing

(04:42):
being talked about it. Nothing. You don't see anything in
terms of what's going to be done here in New
York City. So continue on with your focus on New Jersey.
I did not know that. I thought Valley Forge was
the epicent I forgot all about Morristown. Thanks for reminding
us and I'll handle it on the New York side,
So once again, outstanding work, Larry, and we'll continue until

(05:05):
July fourth, on Nation's birthday.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
And coming up next the DSA. The socialists are taking
over the country and they have some big names fighting
for them. Plus, head to seven ten WR dot com
for the special America two fifty cash contest and your
chance to win twenty five hundred dollars. That's after the
eight o'clock news. Little Nick