Lets in the friends, or sickly throng.57
Christmas Day saw the soldiers slowly finishing their huts, still shivering in their tents, with hot smoke in their eyes when they tried to warm themselves by a fire, and with cold, piecing wind to greet them when they tired of the smoke.
By New Years Day, many soldiers were covered with good huts, as the soldiers worked like “a family of beavers.”58 But all huts still were not finally finished until February 7, 1778.
THE SOLDIERS’ SUFFERING AT VALLEY FORGE
Alongside the battle for shelter was the battle for clothing. The need for clothing—since uniforms were utterly impossible to find—was dramatized by the order that required the soldiers immediately to return their tents once their hut was completed, lest they cut them into clothing. Clothing was so scarce that Washington was forced against his will to seize it from the surrounding countryside: “His Excellency regrets the necessity of the measure of seizure of Cloathing. It was unavoidable. The alternative was to dissolve the Army.”59 The capture of a British Brig enabled the arrival of some officers clothes.60
The lack of clothing became so severe that “The unfortunate soldiers are in want of everything; they have neither coats, hats, shirts or shoes. Their feet and legs have frozen until they become black, and it is often necessary to amputate them.61 The Cloathing of those who have died in the Hospitals is to be appraised and delivered to those who have recovered and who stand in need thereof.62 “We still want for uniformity of Cloathing. We are not, like the Enemy, brilliantly and uniformly attired. Even soldiers of the same Regiment are turned out in various dress; but there is no excuse, as heretofore, for slovenly unsoldierly neglect.63 The insufficiency of clothing impacted everyone: Our sick are naked, our well naked, our unfortunate men in captivity naked!”64
There were not enough shoes. “As reported the 23rd inst., not less than 2898 men are unfit for duty by reason of their being barefoot and naked. We want for shoes, blankets, stockings…65 Troops are still wanting in shoes. While we have hides, gained from the slaughtering of beef, there are few shoemakers.”66 No soap or vinegar had been had by the troops since the Battle of Brandywine, which was three months past. “Soldiers have no kettles for boiling oil and soap.”67 The lack of salt gave a whole new meaning to the saying “with a grain of salt”—that’s the most that anyone had.68 Leather and wax were almost unavailable. “Writing paper is still in short supply.”69
Since there was no cattle, there was no meat.70 One soldier wrote, “Our present situation is the most melancholy that can be conceived. No meat, and our prospect is of absolute want.”71 This scarcity of food created soldiers’ chants and imprecations. One soldier wrote, “Provisions are scarce. A general cry thro’ the Camp this evening among the soldiers, ‘No meat! No meat!’ The distant vales echoed back the melancholy sound, ‘No meat! No meat!’” One of the soldierly cadences heard at Valley Forge was the antiphonal chorus of hungry soldiers chanting.
‘What have we for dinner boys?’
‘Nothing but Fire, Cake & Water, Sir!’”72
“Our situation for want of Cloathing, while mending, is yet distressing. Supplies are scanty; to give one part of the Army is to take from another. The Soldiers also say, ‘No bread, no soldier.’”73
The very essentials of the military were in short supply. “This army is short of powder….There is a deficiency of wagons.”74 The horses had starved due to lack of forage.75 Consequently, artillery was simply left because it could not be moved.76 “The carcasses of horses about the Camp, and the deplorable leanness of those which still crawl in existence, speak the want of forage equal to that of human food.77 Forage is wanting. Our horses starve, as do their masters. If help does not arrive, and forage does not appear, we shall not have one horse left.”78 Wood was becoming scarce due to the huts, and the need to heat them. “Now the trees have been burnt and firewood is being carted from a distance.”79
Medical issues were always a concern. Fortunately, it could be said that “Sanitation has not become a Camp problem.80 The Commander in chief urges caution with the drinking water, hitherto gathered from the little springs about the Camp.”81 Prevention of small pox was a critical concern. “More than two thousand men in Camp are to be inoculated for the Small Pox.”82 The lack of blankets and the insufficiency of straw contributed greatly to the mortality of the troops. “Unprovided with straw or materials to raise them from the cold earth, sickness and mortality have spread through the quarters of the Soldiers to an astonishing degree.”83 One of the tools to soften the pain and to lighten the burden was an occasionally generous ration of spirits. “This morning a gallon of spirits was drawn for each Officer’s mess, in all Brigades, against these raw and bitter days. Each man is to have a Gill of Rum.”84
But there were many other nagging problems that Washington’s army had to face, which meant they were ever before the commander in chief. “The discontent prevailing in the Army, from various causes, has become all too prevalent. Unless some measures can be adopted to render the situation of the Officers more comfortable than what it has been for some time past, it will increase.85 The whole Army in general has three months pay in arrears, not counting the months extra pay voted by the Congress.86 His Excellency expressed his superabundant sentiments of compassion for the miseries of the soldiery which are neither in his power to relieve or prevent. He is said to have written his doubt that unless some great and capital change suddenly take place in the Commissary Department, this Army must inevitably be reduced to one or the other of three things: starvation, dissolution or dispersal in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner it can.87 The soldiers are scarcely restrained from mutiny by the eloquence and management of our officers.88 Unless our future efforts to provide clothing are more effectual it will be next to impossible to keep our Army in the field.89 Even our Officers are tempted to steal fowls,—if they could be discovered, perhaps even a whole hog.90 Diverse soldiers, some on horseback, have been plundering the inhabitants; this probably arises at least from the rolls not being regularly call’d.91 To prevent the commission of those crimes, the Genl positively orders: 1st, That no Officer, under the degree of Field Office, or Officer commanding a Regiment, gives passes to non-commissioned Officers, or Soldiers, on any pretence whatever; 2nd, That no non-commissioned Officer, or Soldier, have with him Arms of any kind, unless he is on duty; 3rd, That every non-commissioned Officer or Soldier, caught without limits of the Camp, not having a pass, or with his Arms, shall be confin’d and punish’d. 4th, That the rolls of each Company be called frequently, and that every evening, at different times, between the hours of eight and ten o’clock, all the men’s quarters be visited…”92 Extortion in the name of Washington even began to occur: “…making use of his Excellency’s name to extort from the inhabitants by way of sale (or gift) any necessaries they want for themselves.”93
Problems with officers began to surface. Resignations, often prompted by complaints from home, began to occur. “Patriotism is not enough to carry men through a long war which makes demands on the families and men.94 Yesterday upwards of fifty Officers of Genl Greene’s Division resign’d their Commissions. Six or seven in the Connecticut Regiments did so today. This is occaision’d by Officers families being so much neglected at home…95 One of the complicated causes of complaints in this Army is the lavish distribution of rank.96 Major Genl John Sullivan was today refused leave of absence. Strenuous exertions of all the Officers are wanted to keep this Army together. Personal disputes should be settled amicably and they should not be brought to Court Martial or to the Genl as arbiter and referee.”97
Problems from the non-military people also appeared. “Sutlers have been selling spirituous liquors near the several pickets and out-lines of the Camp, which practice is to be stopp’d.98 Our money daily grows more worthless, and prices have become so excessive as to cause infinite difficulties. This proceeds more from currency depreciation and from general avarice than from real scarcity of many essential articles.”99 Prostitutes disguised as nurses100 and incidents of venereal disease101 prompted various attempts to correct the problem. “Pernicious consequences have arisen from suffering [permitting] Persons (women in particular) to pass and repass from Philada to Camp under pretence of coming out to visit Friends in the Army, but really with an intent of luring the soldiers and enticing them to desert.”102 But the arrival of the women could also mean that needed supplies were available. “Ten teams of oxen, fit for slaughtering, came into Camp, driven by loyal Philadelphian women. They also brought 2000 shirts, smuggled from the City, sewn under the eyes of the enemy.”103
POLITICAL INTRIGUES AT VALLEY FORGE
And on top of all of the enormity of the human struggle for life itself, there were the political intrigues of those who desired to remove Washington from power. The blame game was in full force at Valley Forge. “The want of Provisions in this Army stems in part from the defect in the system, but more from the indolence, disaffection & arrogance of the Commissaries.104 Some are disposed to ask why cannot Genl Washington grasp Genl Howe in the same fashion that Genl Gates seized Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne.105 Rumors circulate that Genl Conway wrote to Genl Gates with these words: ‘Heaven has been determined to save your Country, or a weak General and bad counselors would have ruined it.’ It is said that the Commander in Chief himself copied these words into a paper and introduced them with “Sir” and concluded with “I am your humble servant” and sent it to Genl Conway.106 Genl Lee [who had been captured by the Britishin New Jersey the previous year] will be formally exchanged tomorrow…Genl Gates continues his machinations.107
“Rumors late today that Congress has appointed the Marquis de la Fayette, Genl Conway and Brigadier Genl Stark to conduct an eruption into Canada. This comes from the Board of War, of which Genl Gates is the President, and was made without the knowledge of his Excellency. Rumors also come that Genl Lee is to placed at the head of this Army. The calm of his Excellency in face of these efforts to detach valiant Officers from this Army or to replace them, move him not. He says that as soon as the public grows dissatisfied with his services in an office he did not solicit he will quit the helm with much satisfaction and retire to a private station with as much content as ever the wearied pilgrim felt upon his safe arrival in the Holy Land.”108
Even though the enemy armies were in winter quarters, the hostilities never completely ended. “News today that Dr. Franklin was assassinated by a person who had concealed himself in his lodging room. The good Doctor was not wounded so as to be mortal, although this was thought to be so by the perpetrator.109...The Senecas and Cayugas can no longer be regarded as friends.110 They are endeavouring to ensnare the people by specious allurements of peace.111 The Tory paper…presents a scandalous forgery. Under the guise of a genuine Act of Congress it puts forth a statement that all men drafted to serve in the Continental Army are to be forced to serve for the whole war. The Enemy seeks thereby to encourage desertion.”112
The pacifist Quakers refused to take an oath or affirmation of allegiance to the American cause.113 Loyalists or Tories sought to hamper the American cause.114 Punishments of civilians occurred giving instances of whippings, confiscation of personal property and real estate. Active Loyalists even faced military judges in court martial with severe sentences that could result in “hard labour” or even execution.115
Ultimately, the battles at Valley Forge were fought in big and small ways. Sometimes the humor of Washington helped.116 But the biggest help was in the hope for the assistance of France and her allies due to the loyalty of Lafayette: “…the accounts from France are that the French, Spanish, Prussian and Polish Courts all have declared for the Independency of America by acknowledging them, and that a Treaty of Commerce was concluded by Dr. Franklin and the French Court for thirty years.”117 Eventually British support for the war would have to end given the debt they were accumulating.118 Oaths of allegiance were signed forcing out Loyalists.119 Morals were enforced, “But for the virtuous few of the Army, we are persuaded that this Country must long before this have been destroyed. It is saved for our sakes, and its Salvation ought to cause Repentance in us for all our sins, if evil and Misery are the consequences of Iniquity.”120
Military discipline was dramatically increased through the arrival of Baron Von Steuben. “The impression which our Camp has made upon the Baron is another matter. Our arms are in horrible condition, covered with rust…A great many of the men have boxes instead of pouches,…His description of our dress is not easily repeated…121 Baron De Steuben…drills them himself twice a day, seeking to remove the English prejudice which some Officers entertain, namely that to drill a recruit is a sergeant’s duty and beneath the station of an officer.122 The old system of manoeuvres is today suspended, as uniformity of disciplinary exercises is being established under the new Inspector Genl.123 Daily this Army looks more like a military force and less like an armed horde. We parade clean, dressed in proper regimentals, with proper arms and accoutrements.”124
And through it all, Washington sought to never lose his grace. When one hundred medical books intended for a British physician were captured, the record states “His Excellency magnanimously allows these volumes to be return’d to the Doctor to show that we do not war against the sciences.125 I have not indulged myself in invective against the present rulers of Great Britain, nor will I even now avail myself of so fruitful a theme.”126 The presence of Mrs. Washington made a difference.127 The ministry support of the women of Bethlehem also helped.128 And there even was an occasional dance, or play to provide some entertainment.129
And finally the day came when “the Genl addressed his warmest thanks to the virtuous Officers and Soldiery of this Army for that persevering Fidelity and Zeal manifest in all their conduct.”130
Washington expressed his sense of gratitude at the end of this long winter when he wrote to fellow Virginian Landon Carter from Valley Forge on May 30, 1778,
My friends therefore may believe me sincere in my professions of attachment to them, whilst Providence has a joint claim to my humble and grateful thanks, for its protection and direction of me, through the many difficult and intricate scenes, which this contest hath produced; and for the constant interposition in our behalf, when the clouds were heaviest and seemed ready to burst upon us.
To paint the distresses and perilous situation of this army in the course of last winter, for want of cloaths, provisions, and almost every other necessary, essential to the well-being, (I may say existence,) of an army, would require more time and an abler pen than mine; nor, since our prospects have so miraculously brightened, shall I attempt it, or even bear it in remembrance, further than as a memento of what is due to the great Author of all the care and good, that have been extended in relieving us in difficulties and distress.131
As we conclude this chapter, we turn our attention to the question of whether Washington really prayed at Valley Forge. Given all of the above, it seems to us that a more legitimate question to ask is how he could have survived Valley Forge without prayer!
DID WASHINGTON PRAY AT VALLEY FORGE?
When Washington was at Valley Forge, during the brutal winter of 1777-1778, it was alleged that he was overheard in prayer by a Tory-sympathizer, a Quaker named Isaac Potts. This man supposedly came across General Washington in prayer in the woods and then came home and declared to his wife, “Our cause is lost.” He feared that the rebels would win the war, because he heard their leader in earnest audible prayer and had become convinced there was no way that God would not honor that prayer.
Boller discounts this story as part of unreliable oral tradition.132 Earlier generations of Americans, however, accepted it as historically reliable. Consider, for example, the 1903 Episcopal Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge built to commemorate the story; a 1928 two-cent U.S. postage stamp of Washington in prayer at Valley Forge; a 1955 stained-glass window of the scene in the Prayer Room in the U.S. Capitol building; and a bronze rendition of Washington’s “Gethsemane” in the Sub-Treasury Building in New York City.
George Washington praying at Valley Forge
.
The eyewitness Isaac Potts can be seen illustrated behind the trees on the left side of this etching
.
Why does Boller think this story is apocryphal? In part, because of differences that exist in the traditional story. One version has the man’s name as Isaac Potts. Other versions have a different name for the Quaker as well as his wife. Moreover, the Potts family that owned the house, still known as Washington’s Headquarters, have no records that would indicate that Potts made a trip that winter to Valley Forge, where he would have had the occasion to have stumbled on Washington kneeling in the snow in private prayer.
As Boller presents it, there is no hard evidence that the story ever occurred. All we have is the mythic legend preserved in the unsubstantiated story told by the Reverend Mason Weems. Yet, Boller admits that there were others who gave evidence to the account.133 Rather than engage them, he simply dismisses them with his uncritical remark, “…scores of witnesses attesting to the event (many years later) have been dug up by champions of the story; and many details have been added by later writers to Weems’s original account. . . .The Valley Forge story is, of course, utterly without foundation in fact.”134
What is the extent of Boller’s proof? Only the words just cited. That is all he has to say about the subject that built a million dollar church, created one of the best selling postage stamps in history, is reflected on two U.S. government buildings, and prompted President Ronald Reagan to say, “The most sublime picture in American history is of George Washington on his knees in the snow at Valley Forge. That image personifies a people who know that it is not enough to depend on our own courage and goodness; we must also seek help from God, our Father and Preserver.”135 Doubt and criticism are good tools for the historian, but when they allow a historian to fail to do his work and to reach a scientifically justifiable conclusion, they are no longer tools, but expressions of a hostile, prejudicial philosophy.
Our purpose here is not to do the extensive research that would be required to demonstrate what elements of truth are extant in the oral history and accounts that have preserved the tradition of Washington’s prayer at Valley Forge. Moreover, our argument for Washington’s Christianity is not dependent upon the validity of this anecdote in any way. The evidence we have employed is built directly on Washington’s own words. However, we believe that a respectable, historical discussion of this matter at least requires an awareness of the information that Boller simply sweeps under the rug of his skepticism.
All told, there are five different individuals who gave an account of Washington praying at Valley Forge. They are: Reverend Mason L. Weems,136 Washington historian Benson J. Lossing,137 Reverend Devault Beaver,138 Dr. N. R. Snowden, who claimed to have heard it directly from Isaac Potts himself,139 and General Henry Knox.140
Could this story be true? By the strictest, critical standards of historical investigation, we cannot establish its validity. We have no letter from Washington or Isaac Potts declaring that this is what happened. There is no contemporary newspaper account that relates these facts. By the standards of oral history, however, it appears to have a legitimate claim for being considered as a possible historical event. Oral history recognizes that rigorous, critical, historical proof is not the only way history is preserved. It is one thing to say that an oral report of an incident cannot be proven by an eyewitness or a participant’s written report; it’s another thing to say it did not happen. The multiplicity of testimony and the claim of a remembered interview recorded for posterity suggest that something may well have happened in the snowy woods of Valley Forge.
Our purpose here is not to prove the story, but to show that Boller’s cavalier approach to the facts of oral history also reflect his lack of consideration of the written record of Washington and his contemporaries. So even though Boller asserts, “The Valley Forge story is, of course, utterly without foundation in fact,” we wish to determine what are the critical and historical facts that we do know about George Washington as a man of prayer? And what we know argues decisively that Washington prayed at Valley Forge, whether Isaac Potts saw him or not.
First, there is indisputable, written evidence from George Washington that he fervently prayed for himself and for the success of his army only months before the painful winter of Valley Forge. In a letter to Landon Carter that Washington wrote from Morristown on April 15, 1777,
Your friendly and affectionate wishes for my health and success has a claim to my most grateful acknowledgements. That the God of Armies may Incline the Hearts of my American Brethren to support, and bestow sufficient abilities on me to bring the present contest to a speedy and happy conclusion, thereby enabling me to sink into sweet retirement, and the full enjoyment of that Peace and happiness which will accompany a domestick Life, is the first wish, and most fervent prayer of my Soul.141
Clearly, Washington wanted the war to end and had already been longing to go home. If Washington fervently prayed for this before the sufferings of Valley Forge, it seems certain that he prayed at Valley Forge, when all he had to count on for victory was the bare hope that God might answer his prayers. To show that this was not a misstatement on Washington’s part, it is significant that virtually the same words were used by Washington just three days earlier in a letter to Edmund Pendleton,
Your friendly, and affectionate wishes for my health and success, has a claim to my thankful acknowledgements; and, that the God of Armies may enable me to bring the present contest to a speedy and happy conclusion, thereby gratifying me in a retirement to the calm and sweet enjoyment of domestick happiness, is the fervent prayer, and most ardent wish of my Soul.142
Second, there are dire circumstances of Valley Forge found in Washington’s description already quoted of the sufferings of his men that winter of defeat and despair. The capitol city of Philadelphia lay in the conquerors’ hands, and Congress had been forced to flee to Lancaster and York. Clearly, this was an occasion for the deepest groanings of prayer for a man of faith. Given that Washington’s life and writings show he practiced daily prayer, it is no stretch of historical credibility to affirm that Washington was praying at Valley Forge. The point here is that we don’t need the alleged Quaker to prove that General Washington was given to “fervent prayer.” His own pen tells us that such was the case.
Also, if we are looking for testimonies of Washington’s prayer life by those who observed it, why pursue Isaac Potts, when there are so many other historical examples that are readily at hand? There are other traditional accounts of Washington praying at Valley Forge beyond those that we’ve mentioned so far, such as his prayer for a dying soldier at Valley Forge.143 But we will not appeal to this account, even if it may have an element of authenticity. After all, we have already seen that there are over one hundred written prayers in Washington’s writings, which we have already addressed in the chapter on Washington and prayer. Beyond this, there are the historical affirmations that Washington was a man of prayer.
