If George Washington was so smart, why did he hole up in Valley Forge?  George Washington obeyed the 3rd amendment before it was ever written and it cost lives!  Here’s why.

Let me give you some facts to remind you of what happened during the winter of 1777-78.

• 12,000 troops encamped
• 2,500 died from dysentery, diarrhea, starvation, and freezing
• 1,000 horses died due to starvation or exhaustion
• 29,000 lbs of meat required every day to feed the men
• Arrived at Valley Forge in the middle of December

So why did he go to a place on the map that had no clear supplies, food, or availability of access to them?  Let me explain this so you will appreciate George Washington’s dilemma.

Washington had not wanted to take the army to Valley Forge for the winter encampment in the first place. Though Congress began pushing Washington to take his army there for the winter after the battle of Germantown in October, 1777, Washington argued strenuously against their choice.  The army should winter in a good-sized town, he asserted, where shelter and provisions could be had to sustain them through the winter.  But Congress, which had fled to York when General Sir William Howe and the British marched into Philadelphia in September, wanted the army nearby to defend them should Howe march out in pursuit. They insisted on the unsettled hills of Valley Forge, which lay between Philadelphia and York, even though they had no funds to feed, clothe, or house the army there.  Sharon Holt

So George was acting on orders from the Continental Congress.  The Congress felt it was better to have protection for themselves regardless of the hardships to the army!  Can you imagine the debate George Washington must have gone through in deciding whether or not to obey this order?

As he marched his army to the desolation of Valley Forge, Washington must have feared it would become a death-trap, but he was resolute that he and his army would obey the will of the Congress. So he set the soldiers to work building shelters and posting guards while he himself set about the business of command. He had to recruit more soldiers, supply the ones he had, gather the information he needed for the spring and summer offensives that would come, and plan, equip, and train the army to carry out those plans successfully.

Now Washington had his detractors in Congress.  Many openly criticized his tactics, questioned if he was fit to lead and thought he should be replaced.  George, seeing that he was fighting not only at against the enemy, he had to defend himself from the very folks that put him in charge.

One of the reasons for the Revolutionary war,  was the tyranny of the British army and how they treated the colonists.  This later spawned the 3rd amendment.

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Washington could have turned his troops loose to go find food from the surrounding area.  The British would come to your house, kick you out, eat up all the food and then leave.  But read what he elected to do… from Sharon Holt

Washington might have been excused, in such a situation, for wondering whether to use his military power to silence his civilian critics. More bedeviling still, Washington mulled the possibility of permitting his soldiers to seize the supplies they desperately needed and Congress lacked the power to purchase. But it is a remarkable fact of American history that Washington turned away from the temptation to overpower or maneuver around the weakness of American civilian government. He resisted so scrupulously, in fact, that thousands of his men starved or froze to death that second winter of the war. While their suffering and loyalty is justly recognized as the great legacy of Valley Forge to the nation, it is only part of the story.

It is clear that Washington did not want to act like the very force he was trying to overthrow.  What an terrible position he was put in by Congress and his own sensibilities.  How do you stay true to your principles and yet watch men die because of it.  While Congress was safe at home complaining about the fate of the War, the army was starving to death at Valley Forge.  Reminds me of Congresses that would come after them and the politicians that would only think of themselves instead of the country.

If you are reading this, it is because of George Washington and the decisions he made at Valley Forge.  He had to obey terrible orders, watch men die because of it, and birth this country into existence. 

Our country faces challenges that are almost insurmountable.  We need someone like George Washington to guide us.  Congress is ineffective, unemployment is at 10%, the debt is over 14 trillion, and there is the makings of a real civil war in this country.  Taxation is out of hand and voter unrest is evident everywhere.  That person is you!

I hope you will take the time to get involved in the political proccess this year.  Our country is at a crossroads.  Don’t sit back and complain… do something about it!  You are today’s George Washington’s.  Don’t blow it, your children are depending on you!

Visit my website and help me make the change to return Congress to the people. www.PaulSmithforCongress.org