Day 102: Deep Freeze

Today we completed the circle of George Washington's sites in New Jersey, visiting Morristown, in which he twice established winter camps for the Continental Army. The second, the winter of 1790, was the worst on record. At the time of the troops' arrival on December 1, three blizzards already had blanketed the ground in snow. And by early spring, more than six feet of it had accumulated. The weather blocked supply roads and killed livestock and wild game, leading to a food shortage that came near to destroying the army. Many diaries of the soldiers give testimony to the multiple times when four days passed between one meal and the next...and those "meals" might be no more than a bite or two of bread, or a piece of jerky.

And yet of the 10,000 soldiers encamped at Morristown, only 100 died. Just two years earlier, at the winter encampment of Valley Forge, the death toll equaled one of every five men, and those deaths were mostly attributed to disease. The meticulous layout of the soldiers huts at Morristown ensured proper drainage and much better hygiene, greatly reducing the outbreak and spread of typhoid and dysentery.

Toward winter's end that year, the English army occupying New York City got word of the malnourished and weakened American camp and decided to attack...doing so three different times. They were pushed back on each occasion and eventually gave up on ever claiming New Jersey. Their final attempt, at Springfield, NJ, was the war's last battle in a northern state. From there, Washington moved his troops south and to the eventual end of the war in Yorktown, Virginia. The determination and strength of those men was tested to the breaking point at Morristown. We came away from our tour today with a gratefulness to them, and amazement at their courage, especially as we headed home to our cozy camper, hot meal and comfortable mattress. The longer we journey on this adventure, the more we realize just what a miraculous thing our country really is...this "great experiment" in democracy, built upon the sacrifice of so many.

Washington's "War Room" in Ford's Mansion, his headquarters near the army encampment.

Martha Washington joined her husband at his headquarters each winter...he didn't go to his home at Mount Vernon even once during the seven years of the war, even though he sent his chief officers to their homes for leave at least once every year.

The headquarters, and (below) four of the 1,000+ huts that were built by the soldiers. Each one housed 12 men for the duration of the awful winter.