The Snow Melts
As the snow melts along the coastal areas of South Carolina my thoughts go to an episode in our history when the snow did not melt—for months. It is difficult to imagine the misery that resulted.
On December 18 and 19, 1777, the battle-weary Continental Army trudged into an area about twenty miles west of Philadelphia known locally as Valley Forge. Winter quarters were established along the south bank of the Schuylkill River on hilly, wooded terrain roughly two miles by one mile in area. After months of hard campaigning and over two hundred miles of marching, the army of about eleven thousand men was in tatters. Most lacked items of clothing and uniform, especially shoes. As the army marched over frozen ground, one soldier observed:
“The only alternative I had was to endure this inconvenience or go barefoot, as hundreds of my companions had to, till they might be tracked by their blood upon the rough frozen ground.”
Lack of supply, including almost constant shortages of food, would plague the army throughout its encampment, as hungry, ill-clothed troops lay on the bare ground in tents or roughly constructed huts. Over the winter approximately two thousand men would succumb to various illnesses brought on by poor nutrition and exposure to the elements.
During the encampment at Valley Forge, General Washington established his headquarters in a house rented from the Isaac Potts family. Mr. Potts would later reveal an incident which served to encourage himself and his family and which would become one of the enduring images of Valley Forge. As described by the historian, Mason Locke Weems:
“A certain good old friend, of the respectable family and name of Potts . . . had occasion to pass through the woods near headquarters. Treading in his way along the venerable grove, suddenly he heard the sound of a human voice, which, as he advanced, increased on his ear; and at length became like the voice of one speaking much in earnest. As he approached the spot with a cautious step, whom should he behold, in a dark natural bower of ancient oaks, but the commander in chief of the American armies on his knees at prayer! Motionless with surprise, friend Potts continued on the place till the general, having ended his devotions, arose; and, with a countenance of angelic serenity, retired to headquarters.”
We don’t know precisely what George Washington was praying at that moment when he was observed by Mr. Potts or on other occasions during those fateful months at Valley Forge. We only know for sure to whom he was praying. His faith in God was strong as he directed himself, his army, and his fellow citizens to God at that trying time, and on countless other occasions throughout his long and illustrious career.
We also know that the situation at Valley Forge finally improved during the later weeks of that winter. Under the direction of Nathaniel Green, the logistics situation gradually got better. Under the guidance of Baron von Steuben a new system of military drill and discipline was incorporated. As the French entered the war on the side of the Americans, the British decided to abandon Philadelphia and consolidate their forces in New York. On May 5, 1778 General Washington promulgated a General Order to be read to all his soldiers:
“It becomes us to Set apart a day, for fully acknowledging the Divine Goodness, and celebrating the important event, which we owe to his Benign interposition.”
In his own somewhat ponderous, Episcopalian way he was acknowledging that God had indeed responded to his prayer at Valley Forge. With God’s help he and his army survived hardships that we can hardly imagine in the aftermath of our own recent winter ‘event.’
(This story is told in more detail in Larkin’s recently released book: Prayers for Battle. Sources for the quoted passages are also found in the book. The famous painting of Washington praying is by Arnold Freiberg)