My Decision To Re-Enlist In The Continental Army

Deciding whether to re-enlist or not was one of my most difficult decisions. Here at Valley Forge, life is horrible. In one winter at Valley Forge, one third of the army has died. Some soldiers do not have enough money or materials for shoes, let alone an entire uniform. The soldier’s huts in the camp were so small and filled with smoke, that the soldiers could not even see. For these reasons, I have decided to not re-enlist in the Continental Army, for if I did, I would have to endure through sickness, suffer in bad conditions, and watch my fellow soldiers walk away from the army.
In 1773, the Boston tea party occurred. I actually participated in it! This basically caused the Revolution to start. The Continental Army, which is the Patriot army, won battles at
I snuck a look in Dr. Waldo’s journal, and it read, “I am sick...vomit half my time,” (151). This quote shows that many soldiers in Valley Forge were getting very sick. One of Dr. Waldo’s co-workers stated to me, “Dr. Waldo suffered during his winter at Valley Forge but...he helped other surgeons care for sick soldiers (151). According to this surgeon’s words, even the surgeons got sick, even though they were supposed to care for the soldiers. By February 1778, an estimated 1800 people died of illnesses (Busch, 147). Valley Forge is a deadly place, because tons of soldiers have died here, not even fighting in battles. In December 1777, there was 1200 soldiers, now in February 1778, there are 8000 soldiers (Busch, 147). That means that 4000 of my fellow soldiers died...in two months! These arguments are causing me to not re-enlist because there is a good chance I will get sick and die. In conclusion, if sick people leave, less people will die. I’ll leave just in case to not risk getting