The six months that General George Washington and the Continental Army spent at the Valley Forge encampment marked a turning point in the war. Most of us remember learning about the encampment in school—the cold, supply issues, and vital training supervised by Baron von Steuben. However, here are a few fun facts you might not hear on a typical Valley Forge tour:
- 10% of Washington’s troops were Black: As befitting a colonial nation like the US, the Continental Army camped at Valley Forge was a multi-ethnic force made up of people from all over the world, including European immigrants, warriors from the Oneida, Wappinger, and Tuscarora tribes, and Black freemen, who ultimately made up about 10% of the army’s troops at that time. One of the most significant Black units in Valley Forge was the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, which offered freedom to enslaved men who agreed to enlist. The 1st Rhode Island served throughout the entirety of the war and over 100 enslaved soldiers were granted freedom, although many never received the money they had also been promised.
- Washington Enacted the First Government-Run Vaccination Program: During the colonial era, armies typically lost more men to disease than to battle, and the American Revolution was no exception. In an effort to battle the outbreak of smallpox, General Washington ordered mass inoculation of his troops, which provided immunity to the disease. Today, this is considered to be the first large-scale vaccination program in US history and significantly aided the war effort by protecting the Continental Army from the ravages of smallpox.
- Baron von Steuben Trained the Continental Army for Free: Baron von Steuben was an experienced military officer with a distinguished record in his native Prussia. However, as an openly gay man, he struggled to find work in Europe and offered his services to Benjamin Franklin, acting as envoy to the Continental Congress. Although the Americans couldn’t offer any payment, von Steuben was desperate enough to agree and arrived just in time to join Washington at Valley Forge. The two men quickly earned each other’s respect, and Baron von Steuben would spend the rest of his life in America as a celebrated war hero.
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