What was George Washington's greatest challenge at Valley Force?
1 Answer
Washington's biggest challenge was keeping his men in camp and keeping them alive, troop morale.
Explanation:
Historically armies of Europe usually did not fight wars during the winter months for obvious reasons. But Washington understood from the outset in 1775 that if he were going to win the war with England, he needed to have a fighting force active for 12 months a year.
Washington desperately needed to keep his army together for the looming battle at Philadelphia which the English occupied during the winter of 1777-1778 when Washington arrived a Valley Forge which sits northwest of Philadelphia.
Washington's troops were desperately short of rations. Meat tended to be wormy and bread hard. Even so, his troops were constantly fighting hunger, cold and disease. Such conditions always negatively affect an army's morale. And in the case of the Continental Army, most were volunteers from state militias who believed they would fight during the summer months and then go home, free from further military service.
Washington was constantly cajoling his troops to stay on. It was while he was at Valley Forge that he got assistance from a Prussian General, Friedrich von Steuben, to train his troops. Washington had long known that his troops needed training and that this training during the cold winter months would help hold his force together, which it did.
