[Water trickling, wind howling]
[Wagon wheels clattering, footsteps, hoofbeats]
[Horse neighs, wings flapping]
♫
[Indistinct conversations]
NARRATOR: It is winter,
the third year of the war for American independence.
The Continental Army under General George Washington
has suffered a series of defeats against the British,
who have now captured Philadelphia.
Washington seeks a strong defensive location
where he can regroup and retrain his weary army,
defend vital farmland,
and monitor the enemy only 20 miles away.
He must also protect Congress and the Pennsylvania government,
who have fled west to central Pennsylvania.
General Washington chooses the best strategic location
for a winter encampment — Valley Forge.
The Continental Army's survival is uncertain.
Valley Forge is the place
where their endurance and perseverance
will determine the fate of the army.
♫
[Footsteps, drumbeats]
A freezing wind blows as Continental regiments
march into the farmlands bordering the Schuylkill River.
Almost one in four soldiers are unfit for duty,
lacking food, clothing, and even shoes.
Hundreds of civilians follow the army,
including soldiers' wives and their children.
Freezing rain changes to a heavy snowfall.
The need for shelter is urgent.
[Wind howling]
Tents and brush huts are erected first...
but are little comfort
from the harsh winds sweeping over empty fields.
[Fire crackling]
Meals consist of fire cake,
a meager bread made of flour and water
cooked over a fire.
SURGEON ALBIGENCE WALDO: The Lord send
that our Commissary of Purchases
may live on Fire Cake and water,
'til their glutted Gutts are turned to Pasteboard.
[Footsteps, indistinct conversation]
[Chopping, sawing, hammering]
NARRATOR: To protect against the elements,
soldiers begin building log huts,
cutting down every tree for miles.
[Chopping, sawing, hammering]
With a fire in the hearth,
the huts provide tolerable comfort
for those inside.
Washington rents a nearby stone house for his headquarters,
where he meets regularly with his officers,
including Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene,
and later Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette.
With food, provisions, and funds lacking,
the army is in a desperate situation.
Washington has requested immediate assistance
from the President of Congress.
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON: Unless some great and capital change
suddenly takes place,
this Army must inevitably be reduced
to one or the other of these three things:
starve, dissolve, or disperse.
NARRATOR: The arrival
of more than 12,000 soldiers and camp followers
and the building of more than 1,000 huts
transforms the rural farmland into a kind of city,
now the fourth-largest population in the 13 states.
[Indistinct conversation, footsteps]
To defend against a potential British attack,
engineers oversee construction of miles of trenches
and five earthen redoubts at strategic high points.
[Hammering, shoveling, scraping]
Muddy roads and a lack of wagons
often prevent supplies from reaching camp.
[Knocking on door]
The Continental Army seeks food from local farmers,
offering devalued paper scrip, which many initially refuse.
MAN: I don't want -- I don't want that scrip.
FARMER: I got apples...
NARRATOR: Instead, some civilians
sell their goods to the British Army
in exchange for Britain's hard currency.
If caught, they face arrest and a military court-martial.
Continental soldiers and officers
had expected greater assistance from the local civilians.
GENERAL NATHANAEL GREENE: We are almost ready to think sometimes
that our services are despised
and that our Country are determined we shall struggle
with cold and hunger without their aid.
[Wind howling]
NARRATOR: A foul stench hangs over the encampment,
and unsanitary conditions contribute to epidemic disease.
Up to 2,000 soldiers die during the Valley Forge encampment,
not from any battle
but from typhus, typhoid, dysentery, influenza, and pneumonia.
Washington understands
that outbreaks of disease could incapacitate the army
and issues strict orders to improve sanitation.
Smallpox also plagues the Continental Army,
killing one-third of those infected.
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON: Smallpox is more destructive
to an army in the natural way than the enemy's sword.
NARRATOR: Washington orders inoculations against smallpox.
It is one of the first mass immunization programs in history.
Its success fortifies the army for the remainder of the war.
In January, a small Congressional delegation inspects the camp
and witnesses the army's deprivations firsthand.
[Wind howling, fire crackling]
[Coughing, indistinct conversation]
Some in Congress have labeled Washington a tyrant
and have questioned his ability to command.
The visiting delegation finds Washington
to be a calm, decisive leader.
Ultimately, Congress supports Washington's requests
and adopts his recommendations,
including the appointment of Nathanael Greene
as the new Quartermaster General.
Greene immediately begins overhauling the supply chain,
increasing deliveries of food and equipment to camp.
♫
In February, Martha Washington arrives to join her husband
and begins managing the household
and entertaining officers and their wives.
She is assisted by General Washington's personal cook,
Hannah Till, an enslaved woman
who is able to purchase her freedom before the end of the war.
Throughout the war, thousands of African American men and women
sacrifice and serve to win American independence.
Free men of color enlist as soldiers in the Continental Army.
Some enslaved men also enlist for the promise of freedom
in exchange for their military service,
while others are forced to serve in place of their slaveholders.
[Wind howling, fire crackling]
In late February, a prestigious Prussian volunteer
arrives to fight for the American cause —
Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben.
SERGEANT ASHBEL GREENE: Never before or since
have I had such an impression of the ancient fabled God of War.
He seemed to me a perfect personification of Mars.
[Drumming, flute plays "Yankee Doodle"]
NARRATOR: Von Steuben's impression of the Continental Army
is not favorable.
BARON FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON STEUBEN: With regard
to their military discipline,
I can safely say that no such thing exists.
NARRATOR: The Continental Army is composed
of more than 75 regiments from 11 states,
each with different training.
Von Steuben recognizes that the army requires
standardized training, additional drilling,
and improved discipline
to more effectively combat the British.
Von Steuben's knowledge of European military tactics
impresses Washington.
He appoints the Prussian Baron to transform his troops.
MAN #2: Cock firelocks!
NARRATOR: Von Steuben speaks little English...
MAN #2: Take aim!
NARRATOR: and issues commands through translators and gestures.
MAN #3: Aim levelly!
MAN #4: Over the right shoulder!
MAN #3: Level!
BARON FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON STEUBEN: [Speaking German]
We say to our soldiers, "Do this," and he does it.
But I am obliged to say to the American,
"This is the reason why you ought to do that..."
MAN #5: Fire!
BARON FRIEDRICH WILHELM VON STEUBEN: and then he does it.
NARRATOR: Translators carefully record each drill.
Von Steuben later publishes his drills and standardized training
in a manual known as the "Blue Book."
Soon, the army is executing drills with precision,
loading and firing muskets,
maneuvering in disciplined formations...
and effectively charging with bayonets.
SOLDIERS: Huzzah!
[Cannon fire]
NARRATOR: The army also needs to improve
the transportation and use of its artillery.
GENERAL KNOX: Commander, elevate two degrees.
MAN #7: Elevate barrel two degrees.
NARRATOR: Crews are retrained
under the supervision of General Knox
to improve their speed and accuracy.
MAN #8: Fire!
[Cannon fire]
NARRATOR: On May 6th,
Washington assembles his army on the Grand Parade
to celebrate a new Treaty of Alliance
established by Congress with France.
[Cannons firing]
France now officially recognizes
the legitimacy of American independence.
The celebration includes artillery fire
and a volley of muskets
known as a feu de joie — "a fire of joy."
[Gunfire]
The new Alliance ensures that the army will be provided
with essential weapons, equipment, financial assistance,
and experienced French soldiers and sailors
to better combat the British.
MAN #9: Hip-hip!
MEN: Huzzah!
MAN #9: Hip-hip!
MEN: Huzzah!
MAN #9: Hip-hip!
MEN: Huzzah!
NARRATOR: Congress also establishes military alliances
with the Tuscarora, Delaware, Stockbridge-Mohicans,
and Oneida tribes.
A delegation of 47 Oneida warriors
arrives to support Washington's Army.
According to oral tradition,
the Oneida bring valuable corn for the encampment.
An Oneida woman named Polly Cooper instructs the Continentals
how to forage and prepare edible roots and berries.
POLLY COOPER: [Speaking indistinctly]
NARRATOR: The Oneida warriors scout, intercept British supplies,
and report on enemy movements.
Nearby, at Barren Hill, British forces move into position
in an attempt to capture 2,000 Continental soldiers
out on a patrol led by General Lafayette.
To allow time for the Continentals to escape,
Oneida warriors and French volunteers ambush the British.
[Oneida warriors shouting]
[Shouting and gunfire]
Six Oneida warriors are killed
and two are captured in the skirmish. Their valiant efforts help prevent a disaster.
Washington recognizes their bravery
and contributions to the American cause.
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON: Brothers,
you have been with us a long time and behaved faithfully.
I would confirm to you the good will of my heart
towards all of your nation, the good Oneidas.
NARRATOR: On June 18th, the British abandon Philadelphia.
They must divert troops to protect their territories from France
in what is now a global war.
[Drumbeats]
The next day, with renewed confidence and resolve,
nearly 14,000 troops depart Valley Forge
in pursuit of British forces.
Over the last six months,
the Continental Army has transformed itself
into a more professional and formidable fighting force.
Still, General Washington, his army, and its followers
face five more years of war and even harsher winter encampments.
ELKANAH WATSON: My heart bled
at the recital of their sufferings the past winter.
Exalted virtue and patriotism
and the strong attachment of the officers
to General Washington only
held the army together.
NARRATOR: The outcome of the war remains uncertain...
but the men and women of Valley Forge
are determined to persevere
in their fight for American independence.
PRIVATE JOSEPH SMITH: The well-fed, well-clothed
British soldiers
have not the slightest idea of our sufferings and deprivations,
but my countrymen possess the spirit to conquer...
or die.
[Shouting]
♫