Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory (60 page)

History defines the Battle of Monmouth as a strategic victory for the British Army: They were successful in disengaging from the American forces opposing them; but it was a tactical victory for the American cause because at the end of the day the British had been driven from the field.

That is far too simplistic an analysis.

For the first time since the start of the Revolution, thanks to the training of “Inspector General” Baron Friedrich von Steuben, American infantry stood in line of battle against the heavy infantry and elite troops of the British Empire and beat them at their own game.

Mythology of the Revolution created long after the guns had fallen silent has created a fantasy, passed down to this day in poorly written books and poorly taught and often boring history classes, that wily Americans were forever plinking away at foolish, indeed idiotic, British troops who insisted upon marching in columns. This myth is absurd.

The successful tactics of that era were predicated on the effective range of the muzzle-loading smoothbore musket, which was not much more than seventy yards. The gun was best employed by lines of disciplined troops, firing in volley. If indeed the American side was so brilliant and the British side so foolish, why, then, did it take eight years to achieve victory?

As to the tactics of nonlinear open warfare, the British light infantry, combined with Hessian riflemen known as Jaegers and mounted Hessian and British dragoons, were every bit the masters of such warfare, and in nearly all engagements would contemptuously drive the allegedly wily Americans from the field in panic.

It was Baron Friedrich von Steuben (and, yes, contrary to detractors, he was indeed a baron; reference the seminal work of Paul Lockhart,
The
Drillmaster of Valley Forge
, for details on that subject) who, during the winter of 1777–1778, in less than three months taught the American Army the rudiments of professional drill and the methods required to stand up to assaults from highly trained and disciplined elite British troops.

In the searing heat of the Battle of Monmouth that new method was tested for the first time. It worked. Volley fire, delivered at close range, did collapse the charge of the famed Black Watch (gallant allies in future wars who claim never to have backed off in a field of action, but if you should meet one of them, do not mention Monmouth!) and the Coldstream Guards.

The Battle of Monmouth was fought in heat nearly unimaginable—except for our gallant forces facing action in the Middle East. It is estimated that the temperature reached 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This level of heat for armies wearing wool uniforms, the jackets alone for guard regiments of the British Army weighing nearly ten pounds. Water was nearly unobtainable except from filthy creeks and polluted wells.

The American side sustained approximately five hundred casualties, the British over a thousand. By the standards of later wars these numbers might seem small, but for the Revolution it stands as one of the bloodiest engagements across eight years of conflict. Not counted among the fallen, though, are men who were felled by the heat and its grim aftereffects, which usually hit within hours of drinking polluted water. Some estimates run as high as at least five hundred or more dead from heatstroke on each side, and upwards of half or more engaged in the battle collapsing while the battle raged, many of them taking weeks to recover.

As to the winter at Valley Forge: Figures are imprecise, but of the fourteen thousand men who marched into the completely unprepared encampment site on December 20, 1777, perhaps three thousand or more would die in the months to come from exposure, disease, and lack of even the most rudimentary shelter (the re-created cabins one sees there today were not completed for the majority of men until eight weeks or more after they arrived, since not even the most basic tools were available to them).

The role of women in the survival of our army is a subject only recently explored by scholars. For over two hundred years there has been a prejudice that “women of the army” were, as the euphemism of the times went, “of dubious virtue.” Our army of the Revolution had a very strong religious streak to it. A common theme was that God would indeed only show His blessings upon an army and a nation that turned to Him for salvation. The women of Washington’s army, perhaps upwards of a thousand of them at Valley Forge, were
mostly wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters of men who were in the ranks. That is not to say that all were, as was said at that time, “angels of virtue,” but regardless, their role was crucial, perhaps one of the most crucial of all in ensuring the survival of that army during its Calvary at Valley Forge. At Monmouth their role was crucial as well. Much has been made rightfully made of the legendary “Molly Pitcher,” who was given the honorary rank of sergeant by General Washington after the battle. She was but one of hundreds of women who served that day, carrying water, bringing up ammunition, and tending to the wounded and sick. If not for them, without doubt, American deaths on that day would have been infinitely worse and the American Army might have been defeated once again.

As to Washington as commander throughout these most crucial months of the Revolution: He showed remarkable genius and a gambler’s instinct, so crucial to victorious generals such as Patton, Jackson, and Robert E. Lee—no relation to Charles Lee, though descended from the famed “Light Horse Harry” Lee, who commanded Washington’s cavalry forces when he led the attacks at Trenton and Princeton. But then at Brandywine and Germantown that instinct played false and he met with devastating defeats. It is easy today to assume that our heroic image and memory of General Washington stood as solid then as it does now.

That belief is to ignore the reality of history throughout the ages.

Oftentimes, men who are later judged to be icons cast in marble were mistrusted and indeed even hated by their contemporaries. Only victory at the end proved their wisdom and thus their place in history. This was true of Winston Churchill, who throughout the 1930s was detested by many of his countrymen for simply speaking of the dangers of Hitler, the response being that it was he who would create a war because of his Cassandra-like warnings. Abraham Lincoln was scorned by many as a butchering, bumbling fool until the final days of a war that had to be fought to preserve the Union and end slavery. Such has recently been realized as well of Ronald Reagan, who so prophetically declared, to the derision of nearly all alleged academic intellectuals of the 1980s, that Communism would and should be cast into the dustbin of history.

And so it was with George Washington. The conspiracy to destroy his reputation and have him removed from command was indeed real. Former friends—tragically, one of them Dr. Benjamin Rush, who would later mournfully recant his actions—did indeed move to have Washington cashiered from the army, to be replaced most likely by General Gates, perhaps
indeed a Caesar waiting in the wings. If not him, most assuredly other Caesars did indeed wait.

Their efforts, thank God, failed.

The rest, as we know, is history. After looking at the reality of what did transpire during those crucial seven months of December 1777–June 1778, one can only conclude that it was nothing less than a miracle.

That it was indeed the Crucible of Victory.

Across the years of our collaboration and now writing this, our seventh book together, we are always profoundly touched by the help and advice so many are willing to offer. Trying to thank all would now require a chapter in and of itself, and it is difficult to even remotely attempt a listing of all, so if a name is missed, we hope you do not take offense.

First and foremost, a thank-you is due to our readers. With the launching of each new book all of us are on the road, doing interviews and going to signings. It reaches deep into our hearts when those of you reading this now take the time to show up to an event. The fact that so many hunger for stories about our shared experience as Americans is heartening and a constant reinforcement that love and pride for our country is still very much alive. There are hundreds of stories of friends we have met along the way and we wish we could share all those stories.

This series on the birth of our new Republic, the insurmountable odds we faced, and our legendary hero George Washington started with a suggestion from our editor Pete Wolverton. His wish to move forward on the project, his support and understanding when, as with any book, we hit some “speed bumps” along the way, and his suggestions were always appreciated, along with those of our publisher Tom Dunne, and the staff who work at St. Martin’s Press.

Our work is fiction, following in what we hope is the grand old tradition of such authors as Kenneth Roberts, Howard Fast, and others. Guidance was definitely found in Pulitzer Prize–winning works by David Fischer, David McCullough, and Joseph Ellis. As three historians with Ph.D’s, we believe that historical fiction can often serve as inspiration for readers to turn to the “real” story. We highly recommend that when finished with these pages you consider turning to theirs. A special thanks as well to Paul Lockhart, who just
prior to our starting this work released the seminal study of Baron von Steuben,
The Drillmaster of Valley Forge.
Paul and William Forstchen were graduate students together under the tutelage of the noted historian Gunther Rothenberg and it was a pleasure to reconnect after twenty years.

The launch of the first volume in this series,
To Try Men’s Souls,
was supported by the dedicated team at Mount Vernon. The home of George Washington is managed by a private foundation and one of the best examples today of how ordinary citizens can take upon themselves the preservation of a national treasure. Our thanks go to director James Rees, historian Mary Thompson, a most extraordinary docent, Sue Keller, and board member Gay Gaines.

Now in our second volume of this series, we are grateful to the Valley Forge Archives & Library, especially their amazing Archivist Dona McDermott for her assistance on much valuable research.

In the creation of a book, there are so many behind the scenes who work hard to ensure that all things come together. On Newt’s team, our thanks go to Randy Evans, Joe DeSantis, Stefan Passantino, Vince Haley, Liz Wood, Chris Paul, Rick Tyler, Sonya Harrison, Alicia Melvin, Bess Kelly, and that genius of organization al skills Michelle Selesky. Of course as always a special thanks must go to our agent Kathy Lubbers.

From William Forstchen’s side of the fence, the support of his school, Montreat College, must be recognized for dealing at times with the eccentricities of a professor under a publishing deadline! The very special Dianne St. Clair was always ready with advice, cups of hot tea, and red pencil. Bill Butterworth IV (W.E.B. Jr.), trusted editor with
Boys’ Life
for more than twenty years and lifelong friend, was always there with advice and encouragement as well.

Perhaps there should be some sort of conference for the families of authors. It would most certainly be an interesting session! The patience of our wives Callista Gingrich and Krys Hanser is legendary. As for Bill, the patience and support from Dianne and his daughter Meghan are invaluable. “Just give me fifteen minutes and I’ll be ready to go,” more often than not means hours of waiting until a chapter is done. Thank you for your understanding!

We hope that this story, as already said, triggers a deeper interest in the subject of our Revolution. Our greatest inspiration of all simply came from the accounts of those who did indeed forge a nation, bringing thirteen very different colonies into a single force that could defy an empire, endure eight long years of suffering for a higher ideal when all others thought it a forlorn
hope, and in the end stayed true to those ideals as they created the constitutional republic we have today.

We owe all to them, that their vision of America as a constitutional republic where the government as the servant of “we the people” shall continue on into the twenty-first century and that our children’s children will take pride in a nation that will forever be the hope and inspiration of the world.