KEVIN McCORRY, HOST: I’m Kevin McCorry and this is ‘Jukebox Journey.’
[MUSIC MONTAGE: “Cold As Ice” by Foreigner, “ATLiens” by Outkast, “In The Cold, Cold Night” by The White Stripes]
KM: We’re unstuck in time, jumping through decades and genres, meditating on a theme.
This week: Winter in Valley Forge.
America celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year on July 4th.
But that date is only one of several key moments in the formation of the country. Another came 18 months later, as the revolutionary cause was teetering by the winter of 1778.
[MUSIC: “Winter in my Heart” by The Avett Brothers]
KM: From 2012, The Avett Brothers.
By the fall of 1777, the British had beaten the patriots at the battle of Brandywine and then seized control of the capital in Philadelphia. After another loss in Germantown, Continental Army Commander George Washington led his troops 18 miles northwest to recoup for the winter in Valley Forge.
A group of twelve-thousand exhausted and ill-supplied soldiers, with another 400 women and children in tow, set about building a makeshift encampment to survive the harsh conditions.
[MUSIC: “Cold Weather Blues” by Muddy Waters]
KM: From 1964, Muddy Waters.
Through January, troops built 2,000 log cabin huts in long parallel lines in what could be considered America’s 4th largest development at the time.
Many went without proper shoes and clothing and, with limited rations, they were pushed to the limits of malnutrition by February.
[MUSIC: “Nobody” by Bert Williams]
One of Washington’s diary entries from the winter admired the “patience and fidelity” of the troops, but worried soon of a “mutiny” that would lead to “catastrophe.”
[MUSIC SWELL]
[MUSIC: “Nobody,” as sung by Johnny Cash]
KM: Bert Williams singing his song in 1905…covered by Johnny Cash nearly a hundred years later for his American Recordings series.
While there was never a battle at Valley Forge, death was frequent. As influenza and typhoid spread, 2,000 people perished during the encampment.
Conditions improved as Washington rallied the Continental Congress, which had fled to York, to increase supplies and provide better logistical support.
Through the winter, women played a key role too. Although Washington had originally opposed them following their partners into battle, he came to see how vital they could be as nurses and contributors to the day-to-day success of keeping the operation running.
[MUSIC: “Roses in the Snow,” by Emmylou Harris]
KM: Emmylou Harris from 1980.
As the season thawed, morale improved. A former Prussian officer was brought in to train the troops and teach them to fight as a unified army. And a military alliance with France was secured which changed the entire calculus of the war.
[MUSIC: “Winterlong” by Neil Young]
KM: From 1973, Neil Young.
The added might of the French Navy spooked the British into abandoning control of Philadelphia, and the continental army marched out of the encampment and retook the city without bloodshed.
The British surrendered three years later, and the Americans’ ability to withstand the winter in Valley Forge is considered a major turning point.
Washington’s troops went from a rag-tag militia on the run, to a professional army capable of winning independence against the odds.
[MUSIC: “Right Hand Man” by the Original Broadway Cast of “Hamilton”]
KM: From 2015, a track from Act One of the musical “Hamilton.”
[MUSIC SWELL]
KM: I’m Kevin McCorry and this has been a Jukebox Journey on WHYY.
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