Last updated: May 29, 2026
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April 1778 - From the Journals of Valley Forge
NPS Graphic / G. Purifoy
April 1, 1778
"Some Brigades were late in sending their men on the Parade this morning; The General is willing to attribute this to the difference in Watches, and to the end that greater punctuality may be observed in future with respect to time, the Adjutant General is to regulate his Watch by the Clock at Head-Quarters, the Brigade Majors by his and the Adjutants by their Brigade Major.”
—George Washington's general orders
April 2, 1778
As the Stumps and brush in front of the New Lines afford an excellent obstacle to the approaches of an Enemy, it is expressly forbid that any part of it should be burnt by the fatigue parties or any others for the distance of extreme Musquet range in front of the Lines, of which all officers commanding Regiments are to take particular notice—There is a sufficiency of wood within the lines to furnish Stakes for the works.
April 3, 1778
"There is a certain Mr Bankson, late of the Continental marines, who has a family at Princeton. We suspect him to be a spy to Mr Howe, though he offers himself as one to us. We wish to find out his true history. He left this camp the 24th of March, on pretence of making a visit to his family, and is now returned with renewed offers of service. It is doubted whether he has not, in the mean time, been at Philadelphia. The General wrote some days since to Governor Livingston, requesting he would take measures to explore Mr Banksons conduct and views. He directs you immediately to see the Governor and learn from him, if he has been able to make any discovery, and to take cautious methods to ascertain whether Bankson has been at home, since he left camp—how long—and when he left home—in short any thing that may throw light upon his designs.”
—Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton to Colonel Stephen Moylan
April 4, 1778
“The whole Division to parade on Monday morning at 10 o’clock, fresh shaved, well powdered, arms and Accoutrements in the best order possible; the officers at the head of their respective Corps. It is the Genls positive orders, that all the Invalids be paraded at the same time, and that the Officers take care that they appear clean, and that the whole are paraded. The Genl being determined to examine every man himself, to the end that if any of the soldiers are suffering for want of necessaries or proper care or attention, either in the Officers or Surgeons, that these defects may be remedied. The Genl wishes the Commanding Officers of Regts or Corps, to see that their men are completed to 40 Rounds per man immediately.”
—Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's division orders
April 5, 1778
Gen. Washington with all his attendence went to the Lines to Meet Gen. Lee and to Accompany him to Head Quarters where they arrived at two of the Clock in the afternoon where they was receved with a kind salute of arms Drums fifes and Band of Musick.
April 6, 1778
“Pleasent Clear Spent Some Time in writeing on the Grand Parade in the morning Saw Gl Lee on There with a Number of Gel officers”
—diary of Captain Paul Brigham
April 7, 1778
Baron Stüben has condescended to Act the Drill Master as well as the Inspector in Camp, he has hit the taste of the Officers, gives universal satisfaction & I am assured has made an amazing improvement in discipline. A Young correspondent of mine who is a very honest Man & not very ignorant & who had always regretted the deficiency of discipline, tells me if I were present I should be enchanted by the change suddenly made in the grand Camp.
April 8, 1778
"Our army is well recovered of the Small Pox. Thank Heaven and Gen. Howe’s supineness for permitting us to lay still under innoculation. Cloathing is coming in, so that I hope we shall be able to cloath our brave, patient soldiers (the most virtuous men living) in a short time. Recruits begin to come in, & I am in hopes the foundation laid for a plentiful supply of provisions & forage. The Baron Steuben sets us a truly noble example. He has undertaken the discipline of the army, & shows himself to be a perfect master of it, not only in the grand manœuvres but in every minutia.”
—letter from Colonel Alexander Scammell to Major General John Sullivan
April 9, 1778
“Nothing does, nor nothing can contribute more to the health of soldiers than a clean Camp, clean Cloathes and Victuals well dressed; these (however deeply involved in rags an Army may be) are to be effected by attention in the officers”
—George Washington's general orders
April 10, 1778
The increasing warmth of the Season requires that the greatest Care should be taken to keep the Hutts of the men clean, their beding air’d every day and the Streets and Alleys of the Camp free from all kind of Filth; The Commander in Chief therefore earnestly requests both the Brigade & Regimental officers of the day to see these duties regularly and punctually performed; All bones, putrid meat, dirty straw and any other kind of filth to be every day collected and burnt.
April 11, 1778
"If we were as virtuous as we ought to be, we should have those who are enriching themselves by commerce, privateering and farming, supplying the army with every necessary convenience at a moderate rate; but as experience proves that it is in vain to expect this, all I would demand of Congress, is that they would contrive some means of furnishing us with articles which nature cannot forego, and which are useful in giving respectability to the military state, at such prices as bear some proportion to our pay.”
—letter from Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens to his father and President of Congress, Henry Laurens
April 12, 1778
“What are Congress doing – why is the Establishment of the Army put off to this late season? – why have not the Respective states their Quota of men in the field? – why this torpor – why this supineness? – when the whole power of Britain is exerting itself to pour in Troops in Order to Effect a total Conquest – now is the time to strike before that force arrives – is it Possible that America means to submit – or does she expect that her Militia will be able to Crush the Enemy? – has the easy Conquest of Burgoyne lulled Congress into a state of security?”
—letter from Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to secretary for the Board of War Richard Peters
April 13, 1778
“Philip Culp an Inhabitant of Pennsylvania tried for attempting to carry flour into Philadelphia, found guilty and sentenc’d to receive fifty lashes and to be employed in some publick work for the use of the Continent while the British Army continues in this State, unless he should choose to inlist into the Continental Service during the present War.”
April 14, 1778
"The General was very much pleased in a ride through the Lines yesterday to see what attention some of the Brigadiers had paid to his orders respecting the Neatness and Purity of their Camp, He wishes it had been general, but the case was otherwise and (notwithstanding repeated orders enjoining Cleanliness) the smell was in some places intollerable, owing to the want of Necessaries or the Neglect of them; He therefore and for the last time (without proceeding to Extremities) requests that all kinds of Dirt and Filth as well that in Front, Rear and between the Hutts as what shall be found on the Parade and before the doors be raked together & burned or buried as the Case may require.”
—George Washington's general orders
April 15, 1778
"Raind very fast last night and this morning at nine O Clock the Court met and adjourned till nine to-morrow mor 12 O Clock commens to rain very fast this afternoon I receivd a ticket for the Play to be acted this evening at the Bakehouse in the evening went down in company with Major Bloomfield Lieuts Curtis Wayman & Kersey but the house was so full that I could not get in then a number of Gent went to Major Parkers hut in the fourth where we spent the evening very merily”
—diary of Ensign George Ewing
April 16, 1778
"At a General Court Martial whereof Colonel Vose was President … James Gorden a soldier in 2nd Virginia Regiment tried for 1st desertion a third time—2nd Forging a discharge—3rd reinlisting in 12th Pennsylvania Regiment, found guilty of the several charges exhibited against him, being breaches of the 1st and 3rd Article of the 6th section of the Articles of War and sentenced to receive three hundred lashes at three different times—one hundred for each crime.”
—George Washington's general orders
April 17, 1778
But when I think how I have spent three years in the war, have been exposed to every hardship, ventured my life & limbs, broke my constitution, wore out all my clothes & have got nothing for it, & now not to be thanked, it seems two much for any man to bear.
April 18, 1778
"On the 2nd of April the rebels completed the bridge across the Schuylkill at Fatland Ford. They have chosen a good place, for the current of the river is hardly noticeable there. On the bank this side they have erected a tête de pont with four cannon and manned it with 250 men. They intend to use this bridge in proceeding from the recently fortified camp at Valley Forge to Whitemarsh and Bristol and, after crossing the Delaware, to Jersey.”
—Hessian Major Karl Leopold von Bauermeister to Major General Friedrich Cristian Arnold, Freiherr von Jungkenn
April 19, 1778
"In pursuance of your Excellencys Orders, a Considerable Number of Horses & Cattle were collected in the State of New Jersey—in Feby and March—for which the Inhabitants Recd Certificates for the price or Weight signed by Col. Ricd Butler Duplicates of which are now in his possession and will serve as a Check against forgery or Impossition.”
—Brigadier General Anthony Wayne to General Washington
April 20, 1778
Last evening about sunset we had a most violent Gust of wind which continued to blow very hard all night a fire broke out on the heights just to the right of the Camp and burnd the most furious I ever beheld during the whole night but Luckely no damage was done either to the camp or fortifycations
April 21, 1778
This forenoon a company of soldiers that had been sick here marched out of town for the camp.
April 22, 1778
"DESERTED from my company, in the 13th Continental regiment of the State of Virginia, sometime in February last, from the Valley Forge, a certain THOMAS STEED, an Irishman, about five feet six or seven inches high, fair complexion, well built, full face with much brass in it, and a notorious rascal; had at the time of his desertion, a blue coat with yellow facings. Whoever will secure the said deserter in any goal on this Continent, or deliver him to any Continental officer of the State of Virginia, shall receive FIVE POUNDS, Pennsylvania currency, over and above the reward allowed by the Honorable the Continental Congress. And I do hereby forwarn all persons from harbouring or concealing the said deserter at their peril. DAVID STEEL, Capt. 13th Virginia Reg."
—article published in The Pennsylvania Packet, a local newspaper
April 23, 1778
"A most scandalous Performance has made it’s appearance in the Philadelphia Evening Post of this Month bearing all the marks of a of a genuine Act of Congress setting forth that those brave men who have inlisted or have been drafted to serve in the Continental Army for any limited time are nevertheless to be detained during the War between these United States and Great Britain.
The Commander in Chief assures the Army that this Publication is as false as it is wicked and is intended to induce those who have already inlisted or have been draughted to desert and to intimidate others from engaging into the service of their Country.
Our Enemies finding themselves unable to reduce us by the force of their Arms are now practicing every insidious Art to gain time & disunite us, but the General hopes that men who have strugled with every difficulty and encountered every danger are not to be conquered by Artifices which are so easily exposed”
—George Washington's general orders
April 24, 1778
Capt. Tew and myself arrived safe to port the 22d inst., found the encampment in perfect tranquility, and the enemy peaceable in their quarters. Am sorry to inform you that yesterday died, of a short illness, that worthy gentleman, Jno. Waterman, Esq., commissary to our brigade.
April 25, 1778
The only hope that the Enemy can ever have of subjugating this Country is by possessing themselves of our Capital Cities, distressing our trade—destroying our Stores, and debauching one part of the Comunity to lend their Aid to subjugate the other.
April 26, 1778
"My dear, these lines come with my affectionate regards to you hoping they will find you in good health as they leave me & the rest of my family at this time through the goodness of God, but I am very full of trouble on account of your not coming home ... You wrote me word you should come home as soon as you could, but did not set any time ... Nat Treadwell wrote a few lines home which they received about ten days ago & he was so kind as to send word that you had had the small pox & was got well, which I was rejoiced to hear and it gave me new courage to look for you, but I have looked for you till I know not how to look any longer, but I don’t know how to get over it. Your not writing to me gives me some uneasiness, for I am sure it is not for want of opportunities to send ... I am very low in spirits, almost despair of your coming home ... So committing you to the care of kind Providence, I once more subscribe myself your most affectionate companion till death, Sarah Hodgkins.”
—letter from Sarah Perkins Hodgkins to her husband, Captain Joseph Hodgkins
April 27, 1778
"Dull sunshine morning, yet warm.
The cooing doves in pleasing strain,
to soothe their mates in plaintive strain.
The blackbird and the mockingbird sing,
to welcome in the pleasing spring.
They chirrup, hop, from tree to tree.
This raises thankfulness in me,
to pay my God in hymns of praise,
with cheerful heart through humble lays.
Amen.”
—diary of Christopher Marshall
April 28, 1778
"I write to you, my dearest love, by a very strange opportunity, since it is an English officer who has taken charge of my letter. But your wonder will cease, when you hear that that officer is my friend Fitz-Patrick. He is returning to England, and I could not resist my wish of embracing him before his departure. It was the first time we had met unarmed in America, and that manner of meeting suits us both much better than the hostile appearance which we had, until now, thought proper to affect ... Write frequently, my love, I need the consolation of hearing often from you during this painful separation. There is no important news; neither would it be proper for Mr. Fitz-Patrick to carry political news from a hand at present engaged in fighting with his army. I am in perfect health; my wound is completely healed, but my heart is far from being tranquil, for I am far from all those I love; and my anxiety about them, as well as my impatience to behold them, increase every hour. Say a thousand things for me to all my friends; ... Embrace, above all, our children, my dearest love, and be convinced yourself that every moment that separates me from you and them appears to me an age. Adieu; I must quit you, for the hour is far advanced, and to-morrow will not be an idle day. Adieu, Adieu!”
—letter from Major General Lafayette to his wife Adrienne de Lafayette
April 29, 1778
"Complaint having been made by Mr Dewees Proprietor of the Valley Forge that the soldiers pull down the houses and break the fire bays at what is called the new Forge at the Valley Creek—The Commander in Chief strictly forbids all Persons from further damaging the said buildings and Works which he hopes will be punctually attended to especially when they consider the great loss which Mr Dewees has already suffered by the Enemy and by the great waste which our Army has been under the Necessity of commiting upon his Woods & other Improvements.”
—George Washington's general orders
April 30, 1778
"I should do injustice if I were to be longer silent with regard to the merits of the baron de Steuben, his knowledge of his profession added to the zeal which he has discovered since he began upon the functions of his office, lead me to consider him as an acquisition to the service and to recommend him to the attention of Congress—his expectations with regard to rank extend to that of Major General—his finances he ingenuously confesses will not admit of his serving without the incident emoluments—and Congress I presume from his Character and their own knowledge of him, will without difficulty gratify him in these particulars.”
—letter from General Washington to president of Congress Henry Laurens