The Continental Army’s main Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. George Washington led the army into winter quarters at the Pennsylvania site after the British captured Philadelphia.
Valley Forge was chosen for its defensible high ground and its position near the Schuylkill River. The army built log huts and maintained outposts while facing severe shortages of food, clothing, medicine, and other supplies. Disease and exposure caused many deaths, although the popular image of universal starvation simplifies a complex winter marked by both suffering and organizational problems.
The encampment also became a training ground. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben helped introduce standardized drills and discipline, strengthening the army’s battlefield effectiveness. When the British abandoned Philadelphia in June 1778, Washington’s army left Valley Forge and followed them into New Jersey. The site remains one of the best-known locations associated with the Revolutionary War.