Foraging for Valley Forge in Salem and Gloucester Counties (Stewart 1929) PDF

by Frank H. Stewart | NJHS 1929 | 15pp | PDF 184K |

Describes the early months of 1778, when Washington's troops lacked ammunition, shoes, clothing, blankets, medicine, food, forage and just about everything else. Southern New Jersey had a plentiful supply of forage and food, but it could not be taken to Valley Forge because of the scarcity of horses and wagons for the long haul necessary to avoid the enemy in Philadelphia, and who controlled the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers near Philadelphia. The only way to obtain meat was to drive it to Valley Forge on the hoof - and this was impossible from the northward because of weather conditions. This article details the operations which prevented food from the southern part of New Jersey from falling into the hands of the enemy, and how the redoubtable Col. Joseph Ellis helped support the Army at Valley Forge. An interesting chapter on the Queen's Rangers, led by Major Simcoe, shows how the local Loyalists supported the British Army and further frustrated the supply problems at Valley Forge. A narrative of Thomas Stokes describes foraging parties at about the time of the Battle of Red Bank.