Valley Forge was the Continental Army’s famous winter encampment and headquarters from December 1777 to June 1778.
George Washington’s army entered the Pennsylvania site on December 19, 1777, after the British captured Philadelphia. The encampment was close enough to monitor British movements while offering a defensible position west of the city.
The winter brought shortages of food, clothing, and supplies, along with disease and difficult weather. Thousands of soldiers died during the encampment, although the popular image of every hardship being caused by extreme cold simplifies a more complicated crisis of logistics and disease.
Valley Forge also became a place of military reorganization. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben trained troops in standardized drills and discipline, helping improve the army’s effectiveness before the 1778 campaign.