George Washington Writes from Valley Forge: On This Day, December 29, 1777

On December 29, 1777, badly in need of more supplies and troops, George Washington wrote to the New Hampshire legislature pleading for assistance. He describes the desperate state of the 9,000 Continental Army troops camped for the winter in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, counting many ill or wounded and noting that least one-third were braving the cold barefoot and without proper clothing. Washington sent a version of this letter to every state legislature, with the exception of Georgia.

In the six months the Continental Army was camped in Valley Forge, two thousand died from cold, hunger, and disease, while the survivors emerged as hardened and disciplined soldiers. 

Read a transcript of Washington’s letter here.