"it is a general Calamity"
Hundreds of letters and documents written at Valley Forge have been published in collections that represent the best-remembered men of the Revolution. There are also documents of uncounted numbers by lesser officers and staff functionaries that have never been published, or have been printed long ago and are no longer readily available.
The intent of this effort is to present a selection of these, in the third of several such volumes, to allow greater understanding and appreciation of the Valley Forge Encampment. Tardy and insufficient pay is the cause of frequent complaints from the common soldiers, as was the problem of the "country people" trading with the enemy in Philadelphia. In contrast, from the distance of more than two hundred years, the bickering and jealousies of some of the officers seem both trivial and all too human.
Documents are arranged chronologically, and the original spelling and punctuation has been retained. A descriptive note at the foot of each entry gives the source location of each document, and identifies the writer and recipient the first time each individual appears. The author scoured the National Archives and more than 20 other state archives, university libraries, and historical societies in his search for these rare papers.
An index to full-names, places and subjects adds to the value of this work.
Joseph Lee Boyle
(2002), 2008, 5½x8½, paper, index, 186 pp.
ISBN: 9780788420276
101-B2027
