A Winter Day at Valley Forge, 1778
The Illustrated Journal of Private Samuel Hewes
Samuel Hewes, age 18, from a modest farming family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Third of five children. His father, a wheat farmer, sent him to join the Continental Army in August 1777 after the Declaration inspired local enlistments. Samuel can read and write passably—taught by his mother using the family Bible. He enlisted as a private in the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment. Before Valley Forge, he survived the defeats at Brandywine and Germantown. He stands 5’8”, lean from months of poor rations, with brown hair worn long and tied back, hazel eyes, and a face aged beyond his years by exposure and hardship.
Date/Time: January 28, 1778 — 4:45 AM
Location: Interior of Hut #7, 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment encampment, Valley Forge
Near absolute darkness inside the 12-by-14-foot log hut. Twelve men sleep on straw pallets arranged along the walls, three to a side, feet toward the central hearth. The fire has died to embers, providing no warmth. The temperature inside hovers near 15°F. The air is thick with the smell of unwashed bodies, wood smoke residue, and the sour tang of illness—Private Elihu Marsh has had bloody flux for three days. The sounds: labored breathing, coughing fits, the wheeze of congested lungs, and the scratch of rats in the corner where a half-eaten firecake was hidden. Samuel wakes to the cold, his blanket—shared with the man beside him—stiff with frost from their combined breath. His feet throb; the rags wrapped around them are damp. He can feel the man next to him shivering violently.
Date/Time: January 28, 1778 — 5:30 AM
Location: Outside Hut #7, company street, 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment area
