ESTABLISHED: JULY 4, 1976
- TIMELINE
- September 11, 1777: General George Washington’s Continental Army suffers a defeat against British forces at the Battle of Brandywine.
- September 18, 1777: A minor engagement occurs near Valley Forge as forces attempt to protect military stores.
- September 26, 1777: British troops march into Philadelphia, capturing and occupying the rebel capital.
- October 4, 1777: Washington launches a counter-offensive at the Battle of Germantown, which results in a retreat for the Continental Army.
- December 19, 1777: General Washington marches more than 12,000 soldiers into Valley Forge to establish their winter quarters.
- December 1777–January 1778: Soldiers and 400+ women and children construct roughly 1,500 log huts and defensive fortifications.
- February 1778: Prussian officer Baron Friedrich von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge and begins drilling and standardizing the training of the Continental Army
- May 1778: News reaches the camp of the Franco-American Alliance, boosting morale with formal French recognition and support. Pains me to say but the war would have been lost without the French.
- June 18, 1778: British forces evacuate Philadelphia.
- June 19, 1778: A transformed, better-disciplined Continental Army breaks camp at Valley Forge and marches out to pursue the British toward Monmouth.
These are the steps to fire one round back in the day. Imagine doing these steps in the chaos of battle. Von Steuben drilled discipline into the soldiers with practice, practice, practice.
REMEMBER THE PAST, STEVE