George Washington’s Continental Army spent the winter of 1777–1778 at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.
The army entered the encampment on December 19, 1777, after British forces captured Philadelphia and Washington’s defeat at the Battle of Brandywine made the area around the revolutionary capital difficult to defend. Valley Forge offered high ground, defensible terrain, and a position close enough to monitor British activity.
The encampment lasted until June 19, 1778. Soldiers built huts and endured shortages of food, clothing, and equipment, while disease caused many deaths. Popular images often portray Valley Forge as a landscape of constant deep snow, but historical accounts describe a varied winter with rain, sleet, wind, and periods above freezing.
The army also trained there under Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, whose instruction improved discipline and battlefield organization. Valley Forge was not a battle site, and the army did not simply collapse there; it emerged better trained before marching toward the Battle of Monmouth.