Threshold to Valley Forge : The Six Days of the Gulph Mills Encampment

generals were in no condition to engage the enemy. The army was bruised, famished, and despondent. At the same time, the new nation was trying to secure its existence. The states began debating whether to adopt the Articles of Confederation that the Continental Congress had passed in the previous month. Benjamin Franklin and the members of the American Commission were in France, lobbying the King Louis XVI and his government to officially support the United States.From December 1219, 1777, WashingtonArmy encamped in the towering hills of Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, fifteen miles from Philadelphia. Known as the Threshold to Valley Forge, the Gulph Mills Encampment is often forgotten or minimized, falling as it did between the more famous military engagements of the Philadelphia Campaign and the well-known experience of the army at Valley Forge. Yet, the Gulph Mills Encampment was a significant microcosm of the Revolutionary War. It included encounters with the British and the local community; little food,

clothing, and shelter for the troops; the celebration of the new nationfirst Thanksgiving, and tough decisions by Washington, including his momentous decision to make Valley Forge the armywinter quarters. Based largely on writings and documents from soldiers, generals, local residents, the Continental Congress, the British Army, and others, this book reveals the fascinating details of George Washingtonand the Continental Armylast stand before and as they moved into winter quarters at Valley Forge. [Publisher's Text]