Should Soldiers Be Required To Enlist Or Encampment?

“No meat! No meat!” was a cry from a tired, desperate general in the suicidal camp at Valley Forge. On March 1st of 1778 is when I get to decide whether to reenlist or not from the army, but I have been thinking to myself why soldiers would want to re-enlist for 9 months at the Valley Forge Camp. The conditions in the Valley Forge encampment were terrible. First off, there wasn’t really any good and healthy food at the camp. Second, soldiers had been getting sick and dying from lack of food, and other conditions I will be talking about. Therefore, I have decided to not re-enlist from Washington’s army is because of poor living conditions, soldiers were getting sick and dying, and because General Washington was losing trust.
After the Boston
Tea Party in 1773, the colonies and Britain have been showing hatred towards one another. And when the Declaration of Independence was created by Thomas Jefferson in 1776, it led to war. In the summer of 1775 the Continental Army and I have seen hard times- we had retreated from Boston and New York City. Recently, in October of the year 1777 General Washington decided to march towards the capital of Philadelphia. After a couple of months, we settled at Valley Forge, just before the week of Christmas. I really missed my family at that time, and I was starting to become homesick. But I had two choices, and I asked myself, “Do I really want to reenlist for another 9 months in the Army, and possibly die in the harsh winter, or be with my family? I decided to not reenlist from the army. The first reason why I have decided to not re-enlist is because of poor living conditions. The season was winter when we (Continental Army) got to Valley Forge. And as you all probably know, winter is probably the most brutal season. A man by the name of Levi Zendt was asked if he could supply us with supplies. But I think he might not because the Red Coats are offering more shillings to the man.Our first job at the Valley Forge camp was to build 16’ by 14’ huts that had a fireplace at one end, a door at the other, and no windows. Each night, we rotated around where we slept, and it seemed like I was always sleeping near the fireplace! So much smoke was causing me to have breathing problems. “Each hut slept twelve men. There were no beds, just straw on the mud floors. Cold was another problem: Smoke was another.” (Valley Forge) To be honest, our “huts” were terrible, and that the our living conditions were in need of an upgrade.Our clothes at Valley Forge were terrible. Most of the soldiers only had 1 pair of clothing. “There comes a Soldier, his bare feet are seen thro’ his worn out Shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tatter’d remains of an only pair of stockings.”(Dr. Albigence Waldo) Dr. Waldo is just describing how us soldiers look like at Camp (we look dreadful) The food at camp was the most distasteful thing I have ever tasted. One time, I ate something for dinner (I don’t know what it was). At night, I started vomiting everywhere! After experiencing the poor living conditions at the Valley Forge Camp, I have decided that it is one of the three reasons why I should not reenlist from Valley Forge.
What I’ve been noticing that’s disgusting lately is that soldiers are vomiting everywhere! A bunch of soldiers are getting sick at the camp. Many soldiers, sadly, have also died of the cold weather, and not enough food. “The army which has been surprisingly healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly from the continued I fatigues they have suffered.” (Dr. Albigence Waldo). Now, our doctor is seeing a rapid change in our nature. The army used to be filled with joy, now he has been seeing filth in our eyes. Many of us have been getting sick at camp. The food the army supplies us is unhealthy, and we have only a little bit of it. And the cold has frozen many of the soldiers. Luckily, I haven’t experienced being frozen. There is continual smoke from the fireplace in our huts, and outside of the huts. The smoke has fogged the army, and my own, vision.“Poor food-hard lodging-Cold weather-fatigue-Nasty Cloaths-nasty Cookery-Vomit half my time-smoak’d out of my senses- the Devil’s in’t-I can’t Endure it-Why are we sent here to Starve….”(Dr. Albigence Waldo). Even Doctor Waldo is getting sick of Valley Forge! The death estimate at camp (December 1777-February 1778) was 1,800-2,500 out of 12,000 died.. One of those soldiers who died was my hut mate, he said there wasn’t enough healthy food! Notwithstanding of the evidence, becausemany soldiers were getting sick and dying at camp, I have decided to not re-enlist.
I have been thinking to myself lately,” General Washington has not been doing a great job of keeping us soldiers intact.” I think General Washington is losing hope and trust.
Our General hasn’t been doing a real good job of fulfilling the army’s needs. I mean, if Washington would have brought more materials to build bigger huts, having shelter would not have been a problem. If Washington could have asked for more supplies, like food or clothing, we would not have been starving or freezing to death. “ Not surprisingly, Washington was having trouble keeping his soldiers.”(Valley Forge) It is true that Washington was having keeping us troops,he even may possibly be losing me. Some troops decided to abandon, or leave and never come back from the army. “To make matters worse, Washington’s own position was uncertain. Some members of Congress did not trust him.” (Valley Forge) Like I said, it seemed like Washington was losing trust. Even our congress is starting to lose trust in Washington. To my hut friends, and I, it seemed like Washington was leading a lost war already. So, the third reason why I have decided to not reenlist from camp is because Washington is losing hope and
trust.
On the other hand, some people might not reenlist from the camp because of the same reasons as mine- poor conditions, sickness and death, and because Washington was losing trust. No one would want to reenlist from camp, but many others would because they were proud they were serving the colonies. “The first job of the men was to build log “huts.” Each hut was 16’ by 14’ with a door at one end, a stick and clay fireplace at the other, and no windows.” (Valley Forge) I don’t think anyone in the army liked sleeping in these huts.“The army which has been healthy hitherto, now begins to grow sickly from the continued fatigues they have suffered this campaign.” (Dr.Waldo) Since Dr. Waldo has seen many soldiers getting sick,some of those soldiers probably died. Consequently, I have decided to not reenlist from the army because of the many complications and struggles at Valley Forge. I have decided to not re-enlist for Washington’s army because there were poor living conditions, soldiers were getting sick and dying, and Washington was starting to lose trust. Reenlisting for the Continental Army would be a risky idea. But many of my friends are reenlisting, and I wish them good luck. I think it is important for me to share that I have reenlisted because it is good to know that you're not a bad person for not reenlisting. Many soldiers may stressing out at camp whether they should reenlist or not. I think I have made a great decision to not reenlist from Valley Forge. My family will be so happy when they see me!