But the Americans owed more perhaps to Baron von Steuben than to
any other foreigner. Von Steuben was a German, and had fought under
Frederick the Great.
Washington had taken up winter quarters at Valley Forge, which is
a beautiful little valley. But that winter it was a scene of misery
and desolation. The cold was terrible, and the army was ragged and
hungry. The men had neither coats, shirts, nor shoes, and often
their feet and hands froze so that they had to be amputated. For
days at a time they had but one poor meal a day. Even Washington
saw no hope of help. "I am now convinced beyond a doubt," he wrote,
"that unless some great and capital change takes place this army
must inevitably be reduced to one or other of these three things:
starve, dissolve, or disperse."
Much of this misery was due to the neglect and folly of Congress.
It had sadly changed from the brave days of the Declaration of
Independence. It was filled now with politicians who cared about
their own advancement rather than with patriots who sought their
country's good. They refused to see that money, and still more
money, was needed to keep a properly equipped army in the field.
They harassed Washington with petty interference with his plans.
They gave promotion to useless officers against his wishes and
better judgment. There was plenty of food in the country, stores
of clothing were ready for the army's use, but they lay by the
wayside, rotting, because there was no money to pay men to bring
it to the army.
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