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Pennsylvania
Chester County · 1777-78
Valley Forge
Article
Chester County
1777-78
General Washington's winter encampment. The Continental Army arrived in December 1777 and spent six months training under Baron von Steuben. Nearly 2,000 soldiers died from disease and exposure, but the army that emerged was a professional fighting force.
Why It Matters
The birthplace of the American military. The army that marched out of Valley Forge in 1778 was fundamentally different from the one that marched in.