Dysentery is an awful disease. I had it in Desert Storm. I did not care if i lived or died. On a more positive note, Valley Forge is a beautiful place with a bike trail.

Following many channels on the experiences of soldiers and their quality of their rations and it reminds me of an olf British comedy sketch which could be repurposed with soldiers of different American wars. Modern US Soldier: gripes about MRE's WW2 US Soldier: complains about C and K rations ACW soldier: laments Hard tack and salt pork Continental Soldier in Valley Forge: You guys actually had food?

One of my mother's ancestors--a Quaker, no less--lived near Valley Forge and gave so much food to the Continental Army that he was finally granted an army guard to make sure his farm wasn't raided during the winter, so he could feed his family.

Now that's what you would call a "struggle meal" in the 18th century. The pondering look at the bread that says, "I can't think of anything nice to say," at the end says it all.

If you are on your own or in a small gathering you might find something to eat and build a simple shelter but when 11000 men are trying to do the same then things become really difficult.

Valley Forge is where my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Great grandfather froze to death at the age of 24. How crazy is it that 24 yo man had three kids, before going to die in war. I'm Lucky to be here.

I will feel so lucky having beef stew on a rainy day in my warm house today. We have a lot to thank Washington for and I love the beauty of your cinematic glimpse of history.

I remember cutting through a cemetery in Connecticut and I stopped to look at an old headstone....it was written “ died at Valley Forge” I was just a kid but I had an excellent history teacher....it changed my life forever

I grew up near Valley Forge. My father took me there many, many times. I've come to love the history of this place. As a 5 year old, the Boy Scouts had one of their Jamborees there in 1960, and my Dad took me. I wanted to be a Boy Scout from that day. I did join up with a troop that was part of Valley Forge Council. I attained the Eagle Scout rank. One of the proudest moments of my life. I attended the US Naval Academy, and when I graduated, i became a Marine. Semper Fi!!!

I have studied a little about George Washington and the Continental Army. Washington struggled to get a good commissary general. First, he had to find someone who was competent. More than once he fired a commissary general for buying spoiled meant and spoiled forage. Second, he had to find someone who was not corrupt. Third, he fought Congress who wanted to appoint the commissary general themselves and profit from the appointment. Last, he had to persuade his commissary general to stay in the job without money or means to get supplies. On the other hand, the British lost the war because they handled appropriations so badly. In 1776, New Jersey was evenly divided: 1/3 for the Revolution, 1/3 loyalist, and 1/3 leave-me-out-of-it. The Americans took and paid with paper money or IOUs (receipts). The Brits just took. By 1777, New Jersey was solidly for the Revolution . . . or at least against the Brits. This pattern was not specific to New Jersey. When Cornwallis marched north from Charlestown, his army appropriated horses with the proviso that draft horses were exempt from appropriation because they were needed for plowing and other farm work. But there were not enough horses to meet the demand and this proviso was not enforced. Farmers were left without animals to work their farms and suffered for the lack.

I was with Washington at Valley Forge, shivering in the snow I said, "How come the men here suffer like they do?" "Men will suffer, men will fight, even die for what is right Even though they know they're only passin' through" Leonard Cohen.

I LOVE it when you do these Revolutionary War videos. It's so important for us to know what these men suffered through to give us our freedom. They were a different breed entirely then. I cannot even comprehend their misery yet I reap the benefits of their sacrifice daily through my freedom.

As a veteran, I love these videos. Reminds me how lucky I am. They had to make their homes in the winter, I almost always had my home with me in my Bradley IFV. They ate rice everyday, I had a selection of MRE's. They never were able to write home, I had access to the internet. They had to deal with an injury leading to death or amputation, I could have a helicopter come and take me away to a hospital in minutes.

One of my ancestors was a captain in Washington's army who died at Valley Forge of "camp fever".

I've been through times in my life where everyone in the household was bedridden on Christmas from food poisoning, been forced to do manual labor with only 4 hours of sleep, gone 6 days without food, and been so hypothermic that I had trouble walking. It's amazing to me that those soldiers at valley forge had the energy to do anything let alone build huts.

December Valley Forge has a reenactment day of the troops arriving. They build small huts made out of pine branches to start. They can hold a couple men and are just like a giant wreath with a top on it. Because not everyone had a tent. It's one of the great victories that had no combat. Ever grateful.

One of my forebears, last name of Bagley, was a surgeon in Washington’s Continental Army. He took grape shot in the hip, yet survived to respectable old age.

My many great grandfather was a butcher that smuggled supplies into Valley Forge

While I wouldn't have wanted to live through that winter at valley forge, what would I give to have a time machine to walk around there and talk to all those freezing starving men. What a momentum moment in history. They were so brave just to survive the winter, let alone to fight what at the time must have felt like a losing war. RIP, I hope you get all the hot soups and coffee you could want in heaven.

I knew things had been pretty bad but clothing being stole, a quarter with no shirts, a quarter with no shoes and the lack of food I knew of along with rotten meat or no meat...But only a bit of rice and vinegar and maybe fire cake with water...It's nearly impossible for me to not have tears coming down my face. Those poor, poor men. They really, really had it pretty darn hard. There must have been times when Washington sat down alone in private and put his face into his hands and just wept.

I literally grew up a mile from Valley Forge! My dad and I used to ride our bikes around the 6-mile loop, I spent so much time there fishing in the stocked creek and etc. My dad is actually buried in the cemetery by the old chapel. So cool to see you filming here!

I have a roast cooking in my crockpot and rolls rising on the counter for our Sunday dinner. We are truly blessed! Thank God for these men who gave their lives so we could live in a free country. 🙏

God bless those men, they were true heroes. If they saw what has happened to what they fought so hard for they would die of shame.

When I went back through my family history I found that some of my ancestors were with Washington at Valley Forge. This video really illuminated their struggles. Thanks for making it.

I find it very interesting that rice was a staple food that far back in American history. I think many people connect it with Asia, not something I would have expected to see Washington's men eating. Thank you for educating me.

At Valley Forge there's a stone chapel with stained glass windows featuring heroes of the Revolution.

Have others heard about how they got saved at this location from starvation by a sudden warming that triggered the American Shad into running, right at their location near the Schuylkill River that spring of 1778, it's a miraculous story if you are unaware of it!

I'm guessing that the vinegar ration was apple cider vinegar and was provided as a preventative for scurvy since it provides vitamin C?

Can you imagine going for days without food? A day or two is the most but even then it is usually miserable.

As an Afghanistan combat veteran, I am so grateful for the hardships these guys *chose* to endure. None of my family arrived in the US until around 1900 from England, Scotland and Ireland, but none of the comforts nor conveniences we all enjoy today would be possible without these amazing men.

I went to college near Valley Forge. I grew up on the route the Continental Army marched to get to the Battle of Monmouth. I've attended re-enactments of that battle, and also some of the stay in Valley Forge (we got there too late for the vittles). Thanks for doing your part to preserve our history.

You continue to be one of the best historical channels on YT! f this was another time before YT, I could see your videos as a PBS show - They are that good!

Greatest Channel on KZfaq. Keep Educating Americans.

I live 15 minutes from valley forge, used to walk that trail almost every week. It’s such a beautiful place

this whole subject deserves the full-on Ken Burns 10 or 12 hour movie treatment as it is a deservedly rich and pivotal time in our nation’s history…

Dude, that homestead looks so incredibly beautiful in the snow. Thanks for always delivering such immersive videos!

These stories bring tears to my eyes. God bless our brave heroes who fought, suffered, and died to give birth to the greatest country on earth. I truly believe every day is a feast for these soldiers in heaven, where they are always warm and are never away from their loved ones. God bless all those who have and do serve in our military as the sheepdogs, keeping the wolves at bay.

I live in the area, and have to take 23 through the park every day for work. Those mini cabins always catch my eye, and considering how cold it can get here, it must have been a miserable experience

Thanks for another video from the talented folks at Townsends. I love the campsite!

Went there on the way to Gettysburg. But it was in September. So I really could not grasp the difficulties.

Perfect video to watch on a Sunday morning while I'm enjoying my coffee.

If you visit Valley Forge the placement was advantageous. Mostly situated on a rise where you could see for several miles. Despite the state the army was in, over the winter, they formed a great army with the training under the Marquis De Laffeyett.

I’ll never take another bite of anything delicious without remembering this. Very humbling. Thank you for the history lesson.

Thanks for toning down the music

I love your channel because all these people matter. Their daily lives mattered. Our history is so far from inconsequential. Every event, year, day and achievement has shaped the way we think about technology, humanity, our spirituality and ultimately how we live our lives today. What we knew and didn't know, what we had and didn't have all matter in telling and shaping how we learned and grew up as people and a nation. I am so grateful to ever expand my picture of us as people, here in America and elsewhere. I am awed and gobsmacked at all we have learned and overcome. Thank you for making this tale so real.

As someone who grew up in Valley Forge, this video is spot on and fantastic!!!! Thank you for this!!!!

What a terrifying picture you’ve painted with this video. It really is hard to imagine hardship on the scale that those troops must have endured. Wonderful work on the research and re-creation as always!

I think that a comparison should be drawn between valley forge and the battle of Bastogne. Both during an extremely cold winter, both had supply, disease, and equipment shortages.

Good morning from Syracuse NY brother and everyone else thank you for sharing this live history video

It's truly amazing to me that the revolution survived winter ar Valley Forge. Yes, American history is full of complications, isms, and horrifying choices by our leaders, but these moments of perseverance and bravery are worth honoring!

Your videos are absolutely amazing. I wish we'd had this in-depth glimpse into the realities of Valley Forge when I was in school. Thank you for your continued efforts to bring history to life. ❤

I can’t get over how well produced your videos are. I watch every single one you post. Keep em coming!!

In Philadelphia the legend is at Valley Forge they pulled the scraps together, flour, a few vegetables cow scraps such as the stomach and invented Pepper Pot Soup. Of course Philadelphia Pepper Pot Soup is far older than the revolutionary war and existed in early colonial times but that is the legend and the story behind it.

I've been reading the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. I've been many times impressed by his meticulous planning, not just for battles but seemingly just as important, for supplying his men. He always knew how and where he wanted to fight and how he was going to feed and re-supply his troops. Washington had no such luxury.

As someone who grew up in Minnesota, moving to Philadelphia for school was an incredible experience for the handful of years I was there, especially the difference in history between the two places. In the summer I biked around the city any time I could, especially the bike paths that radiate for 10's of miles from the city. I particularly enjoyed the route along the Schuylkill River up to Valley Forge, which I biked probably a dozen times while I lived there - a lovely afternoon bike ride for a grad student, but a cold difficult march for an 18th century soldier.

You can't really tell the whole Valley Forge story in ten minutes but Jon gave it a VERY good try! Just a few things, during the Valley Forge winter there were snowfalls at times but on the whole the winter was fairly mild, temperatures mostly averaging in the 40's, although that's obviously damned uncomfortable if you're not dressed for it! The supply shortages were due to a horrendous bureaucratic breakdown in the supply chain, it would take the iron hand of Nathaniel Greene to put it right early in 1778. No-one actually starved to death during that winter BUT the malnutrition and poor understanding of the need for camp sanitation plus the above-freezing temperatures exacerbated the problems of disease. Diseases of various sorts would kill anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 of Washington's men. We DO have to give a lot of credit to Baron von Steuben and his training of the army for the "espirit de corps" the army developed over the time of the encampment. Folks, if you're ever in that part of the country visit Valley Forge! I've been there over a dozen times and love the place. Any time of year's a good time but visit in the winter for the full impact of the place. When the wind comes whipping though there? Wow.

That would have been a nightmare all the way around!

This is just amazing, evocative storytelling. No one makes history come alive like Townsend's.

Bless these gentlemen for giving so very much for us! I’ll proudly eat anything close to what they may.

We had so many differences, also, in WWII to overcome to make a unified fighting force and even then, we didn't fully integrate everyone in. You're going to get this every time men from different places are brought together and the dynamics change in intensity each time. But, what discipline these people had! At the end, they pulled it off.

Between modern army service and the primitive camping and hunting I've done over the years, I feel pretty dialed in to how awful this scenario would have been. Honestly, it had to largely be the scale of this effort that helped make it as successful as it was. There's no way that it was anything close to being a pleasant experience though. This is another fantastic video.

Love your work mate. Greetings from Australia

Another very thoughtfully done piece by the Townsends team! Most excellent, everyone! 🙂

From the accounts I've read, the winter at Morristown was equally horrendous.

Always a good morning when a new Townsends video drops

Now is the winter of our discount tent.

Great video! I had many ancestors involved in that war from both sides of my family. One of my mother's ancestors is buried here in Illinois about twenty five miles from where I live.

Thank you for this video! I grew up about 15 minutes from Valley Forge and my dad would take us on trips there all the time. I still like to go walk around and see the cabins and try to picture what it must have looked like in the late 1700s. I think those trips when I was young is what got me in to history. I need to visit again soon! Honestly maybe tomorrow since I have off haha

this series is killing me. thank you so much for making these videos. this might've been my favorite one so far.

There are some things that can be seen across all cultures across time, but I don't think it would be an understatement that one of those things is soldiers needing or wanting better quality food!

Thank you Jon and Crew.💕💕💕

Excellent video, Mr. Townsend. Thank you

I'm sure you've probably already been there, but I'd LOVE to see you do a video like this at Jockey Hollow in New Jersey!

Thank you, Jon! They were, unquestionably, far more hardy than I and they deserve tremendous respect and appreciation for their accomplishments.

One of my ancestors was a 16 year old boy just immigrated from Germany, who was at Valley Forge with the General in the bloody 7s. He joined up with his little brother, who was 13. He went home to die with yellow fever, but both he and his little bubby lived.

Thanks for sharing with us Jon. Keep up the great videos and HISTORY. Fred.

What a powerful and well told story. It really helps to realize what they went through. Beautifully made video guys. Nicely done. Thank you 🙏

I love this channel. Thank you. We really do have it easy, compared to hundreds of years ago.

It's always nice to see a nod to the wonderful works of Patrick O'Brian, and a very apt comparison it was too

Every video you and your team make is so informative and made with so much care. You are amazing, and I hope you're having a good day 😁

Townsend always delivers great historical content. Thank you so much.

Excellent. Thank you for reminding me.

Amazing timing. Just Friday I was out I476 in PA and saw the sign for Valley Forge.

Thanks for your hard work.

Mr. Townsend I just recently watched your baked bean video, wow I would have never guessed it came out 12 years ago. All this time later your still coming up with new ideas and quality filming.

Soldiers were stealing the wood fencing from my great, great, etc, grand parents farm near Philly and word got to General Washington, who rode his horse to the homestead, and stopped it.

Another great video produced by Jon and Company. Thoroughly enjoyed this one about the soldier during the winter introducing the ration situation as well the struggle to survive.

This video reminded me of a movie I saw. It came out in 1975, called Valley Forge, it's a fictional story based on the what happened there and Generals Washington, LaFayette and Howe are some of the characters, but the main ones are of a group of soldiers that are grumbling over the lack of food and one of them, Alcock, also complains about needing a pair of pants.

Pretty sure I've possibly had dissentery as a long haul trucker The food choices are horrific on the road and I'm sick several times a month from the awful food Yet the lives of these soldiers were 1000 times worse than mine I'm amazed at what they did for all the rest of us We have it easy Because they had it hard Thanks for honoring them in this way 🇺🇲❤️🥰❤️🇺🇲

Great story and part of history, thank you for sharing this with us!

Probably the BEST channel on youtube! Thanks

You are a great story teller, Sir. Thanks for sharing, appreciate it 👍 Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, TW.

I love your channel. It makes me great for our early soldiers who founded our country, and makes me great that I have never had to go hungry or miss a meal. Also, that we no longer have some diseases and illnesses that we had back then. I am a visual learner and your channel is perfect for my learning style I really appreciate the effort you and your team put into your videos. The clothing is amazing.

John Henry Scalf was there, and he made it through it. If not, I wouldn't be here.

Another outstanding video. Love your alls work, keep going, thank you very much for all that hard work you put into it.

I love watching all these historical videos and the food episodes are intriguing as well

Amazing, thank you.

Absolutely amazing content

wow please tell more stories like this. I didnt know anything about valley forge until now and it was scenic to watch as well

Making great use of the weather in this episode. Well done to the film crew xD