It was customary for Martha Washington to join her husband while the armies for both sides wintered in one spot and ceased fighting for a time. She encouraged George, bouyed the spirits of all who met her, mended uniforms, and made bandages with other officers' wives. The third winter of the Revolutionary War (1777-1778) was spent at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania (drawing above). What a difficult winter it was, too.
"The tired and tense faces of the lonely men brightened into smiles in her [Martha's] company, but she saw with pity and concern the threadbare coats and ragged breeches and stockings, the weather-stained buckskin and broadcloth worn by the officers...
She pitied too the gaunt, heavy-footed saddle horses, whose well-polished equipment and loving grooming could not hide their bones.
As for the men in the huts, they often went for days together without a mouthful of meat, and their clothes were indecent rags. Many were barefoot, and for lack of blankets they sat up around the fires all night to keep from freezing. The hospitals - inevitably - were the worst of all, and everyone did his best to keep out of them."
There were many things that contributed to the ultimate victory over Britain, but there are times when one must marvel at the seemingly impossible obstacles facing Washington and his men.
(text from Lady Washington by Elswyth Thane)
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