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Published: November 5th 2008
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Rich found a booklet in the RV park office yesterday. Its title was "Valley Forge". We hadn't even given a thought that Valley Forge was nearby. We got excited and read a day by day list of activities and found a Revolutionary War Re-enactment today. Sounds fun! Nancy started to plot a route on the map when Rich suggested that she look online at Mapquest. It said 29 miles and one and a half hours. That seemed like a long time, but we went forth with the map. We passed several big horse farms. There was a truck stop that had huge heater and air-conditioner tubes that the truck-drivers could connect up to. We had seen these last summer, too. Each tube is like a giant, yellow dryer hose, 20 feet long and about a foot in diameter. It gets put into the passenger window and then the driver can have heat or air conditioning while he/she sleeps, without having the engine running. We crossed the Delaware by a different bridge that only cost $4.00. As we headed into Philadelphia, our directions had us going off the freeways and onto surface streets. Many beautiful murals have been painted on the ends
of buildings. We went by lots of falling down houses and rundown neighborhoods and empty businesses. There wasn't much graffiti, which surprised us. Then, a while later, there were several young men in painting elaborate graffiti on a building as we drove past!Some houses and businesses were getting fixed up and looking good. We started driving along on the tracks for electric streetcars. There were many rowhouses. Some were identical ones. Others were individual styles all in a row. Some were even in a Dutch style. Farther on, weeds were growing up in the cracks by the houses and trash was blowing around. Residents were walking on the streets, dressed up, probably going home from church. What a diverse group of people as we drove on - Blacks, Latinos, Muslims - the women covered up except for their eyes, Asians, Whites. There were different languages on buildings, stores, and churches. You realize more what a big city is like when you actully drive through the neighborhoods, not just to the tourist attractions. We found we were driving through Germantown. There were some really beautiful churches. Then we went through Mt. Airy and there began to be big, beautiful, historic homes
with lots of stonework. It DID take us and hour and a half to go through town that way. We should have paid attention on Mapquest to shortest time, using the freeways, instead of shortest distance. Can't say it wasn't an interesting route! Hey, Phil. we thought of you in Philadelphia!
We reached Hope Lodge, a 1743 Georgian mansion that was used as a headquarters for George Washington's Surgeon general, John Cochran. The re-enactment was about the Whitemarsh Encampment, a six week time in 1777 when the Continental Army camped in the surrounding fields before moving on to Valley Forge. We went through the house and then ate a bite of lunch that we bought from a concession. We also went through the summer kitchen and saw how different dishes were prepared. The oven was a different kind. It had the fire IN the oven. then when there were just coals, the fire was pushed back in the oven and the food to be baked was set in the front. They had a chicken hanging up to be roasted and a pie in a Dutch oven. We went through the vendor's tents that had supplies and wares that would have
been available in those times in stores (about 70% of the right period, some modern toys and books) such as clothing, herbs and spices, furniture, and dishes. At 2:00 they had a skirmish in one of the fields. A historian did a running account of the skirmish and what each side was doing and why. It was quite interesting. The bottom line was that in a "gentleman's war", you didn't go to battle to see how many men you could kill to prove the victor. You went to battle and the officer with the best strategy was proclaimed the winner, with a few unfortunate casualties. Then the officers in charge talked to each other and decided that the battle was over and everyone walked away back to their camps. That's why the British didn't like it when the American militia had snipers behind barns and in the trees because we wanted to win completely. Can't you hear the British Generals stamping their feet and railing, "No fair!" Afterwards we wandered throught the camps to talk to the actors and to take pictures. Each person was definitely up on what their role would have been. There were women who followed their
husbands and cooked and sewed and did laundry for them. They brought their children, too. Unmarried women were not welcome, and a woman whose husband died was given 24 hours to remarry or to leave the camp. The women's camp was about a mile behind the men's. Corporals and sergeants could bring their wives. Men who didn't have wives could pay a husband to let his wife do laundry or cook for him as well. We also talked about their clothes. Buttons were expensive, so women's clothing was fastened with "tape" a woven strip of cloth that could be tied. They also fastened their shirts with straight pins, which were valuable since they were hard to replace during the war. We were so glad that we went! (Hi, Gary and Vernee.)
After that, we drove over to Valley Forge. We only had about an hour and a half until sunset, so we went through the museum quickly and then took the loop drive. We saw deer by the hundreds. Did you know Valley Forge was on a hill? Did you know the soldiers built 2,000 warm huts to sleep in, with fireplaces for warmth and cooking? They were very busy
getting firewood and provisions every day, as well as guarding their earthwork fortifications. Sickness killed more men than cold, and they weren't starving. Did you know the army was trained and drilled all winter to make them better fighters? Did you know the army was innoculated against smallpox? Did you know Valley Forge was not he coldest and worst winter of the war? Did you know why George Washington could throw a dollar across the Potomac River then, but not now? A dollar went farther then than it does now. One new wrinkle in the guided tour at an historic site: there were cell phone stops! We didn't have time, but at different spots marked by a little phone icon, you could call a number and get the full scoop on that location! We learned a lot today! We also learned to take the freeways back to our little house instead of the way we had gone earlier!
Back at the camper, we fell asleep with thoughts of 1777 and sounds of the Philadelphia airport.
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Barbra
non-member comment
WOW!
I would really have to love someone to follow him around in the cold, doing his cooking and laundry!