User:Jkincaid2pstcc

·Lives in Knoxville, Tennessee

·Student at Pellissippi State Community College

·Born in Mesa, Arizona

·Loves watching football and baseball

·Favorite baseball team is the Pittsburgh Pirates

·Favorite football team is the New York Giants

·Annotated Bibliography “The Women Present at Valley Forge.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/historyculture/valleyforgewomen.htm. This source from the National Parks Government website goes into detail of the women present at valley forge, as well as provides names and things they did. Provides insight on Martha Washington, who is one of the most prominent women at valley forge. Martha Washington was documented from Pierre Etienne Duponceau, she kept spirits high at the camp.

“Patriots of Color at Valley Forge.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/vafo/learn/historyculture/patriotsofcoloratvalleyforge.htm. This source from the Government page provides a detailed account of African American and colored soldiers present at valley forge. Describes many colored soldiers with split heritage because African Americans and Pequot Indians intermarried. States there is a monument at Valley Forge to commemorate the contributions of black soldiers.

Paragraph: During the Revolutionary War, Martha joined her husband for part of each winter encampment he attended, including the 1777-1778 encampment at Valley Forge. Martha arrived in the beginning of February and left in early June. Much of Martha's time at the encampment was spent running the household at Washington's Headquarters. This would include organizing daily meals for the staff and entertaining guests and officers' wives. She played a vital role in keeping spirits high with the officers of the army. According to Pierre Etienne Duponceau, secretary to Baron von Steuben, "In the midst of all our distress there were some bright sides of the picture which Valley Forge exhibited...Mrs. Washington had the courage to follow her husband to that dismal abode…"

Summary: Martha Washington was one of many important women at valley forge. She organized meals for the people there and also helped keep spirits high in the rough times at the encampment.

Paragraph: According to the Valley Forge Muster Roll Project, the Valley Forge encampment included at least 115 Black soldiers, who had enlisted into segregated companies within the larger, integrated 1st Rhode Island Regiment.5 The state legislature purchased freedom for 117 enslaved recruits before wealthy slaveholders forced a repeal of the law, with a cutoff date of June 10, 1778.6 Nonetheless, free Black people continued to enlist and those already in the ranks remained. In July 1781, they earned accolades during a military review of the Continental Army. An aide-de-camp to General Rochambeau in the French Army, Baron Ludwig von Closen stated that “three-quarters of the Rhode Island Regiment [present] consists of negroes, and that regiment is the most neatly dressed, the best under arms, and the most precise in its maneuvers.”7

Summary: Although there were not many, there were African Americans at valley forge. There were at least 115 African American Soldiers who joined segregated companies. State legislature bought freedom for 117 enslaved soldiers before the law allowing them to do so was repealed, but even then these free African American Soldiers continued to enlist into the military.

From the Article with added facts:

Lucy Flucker Knox, Catharine Littlefield "Caty" Greene, and other senior officers' wives journeyed to Valley Forge at the behest of their husbands. On 22 December, Martha Washington predicted that her husband would send for her as soon as his army went into winter quarter, and that "if he does I must go."[44] Indeed, she did, traveling in wartime with a group of slaves over poor roads, reaching her destination in early February. Washington's aide-de-camp Colonel Richard Kidder Meade met her at the Susquehanna ferry dock to escort her into the encampment.[44] Over the next six months, Martha hosted political leaders and military officials, managing domestic staff within the confined space of Washington's Headquarters. Martha was one of many important women at Valley Forge. She also organized meals and kept spirits high during the rough times at the encampment.

From the article with added facts 2:

Although Native and/or African American men served the Continental Army as drovers, waggoneers, and laborers, others fought as soldiers, particularly from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.[1] The smallest of the states, Rhode Island had difficulty meeting recruitment quotas for white men, spurring Brigadier General James Mitchell Varnum to suggest the enlistment of slaves for his 1st Rhode Island Regiment. Over a four-month period in 1778, the Rhode Island General Assembly allowed for their recruitment. In exchange for enlisting, soldiers of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment gained immediate emancipation, and their former owners received financial compensation equal to the slave's market value. They bought freedom for 117 enslaved recruits before the law allowing them to do so was repealed, but these free African American Soldiers continued to enlist in the military. By January 1778, nearly 10% of Washington's effective force consisted of African American troops.[45]