Valley Forge: The Crucible of Freedom, 1777 – 1778

On December 19, 1777, General Washington led 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children to Valley Forge, about 25 miles outside of Philadelphia. Once the 1,500 huts were built, it became the fourth largest city in the colonies, with a very diverse population of free and enslaved African-American soldiers, civilians, wealthy officers, impoverished men, immigrants,…