It’s the winter of 1777. The British army had taken control of the capitol of the colonies, Philadelphia, in September. In an attempt to regain control, Washington led his troops into battle at Germantown and White Marsh. They were defeated both times. Now, with ragged clothing and little to no shoes, they march into Valley Forge. Washington knows that in order to win this war, his army will need serious, disciplined training.

The weather seemed even more brutal to the Continental Army who are barely clothed and barely fed. In December, they reach a low of 6° Fahrenheit. In February, the weather peeks at 16° before dropping back down to 8° at the end of March. The first thing they need to do is build shelters to help with the harsh conditions.

Washington gave explicit instructions. Each hut was to be built 14’x16’ made with logs cutdown from the area, with a wooden fireplace and clay in between the logs not only to secure them, but to keep the wind from blowing in. Twelve bunks were built into the walls. About a thousand huts were built in this new encampment. Soldiers wrote to their loved ones describing how comfortable they were. After all, they only had tents to compare them to.