Episode Details

Most of us learned the same story: During the winter at Valley Forge, George Washington's army suffered and endured. Ragged soldiers huddled together in frozen huts and gnawed on shoe leather for food.

But what if that story is mostly myth?

Military historian Ricardo Herrera, author of Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778, reveals what was really happening during the winter of 1777–1778.

Valley Forge wasn't a place of frozen inactivity, it was a hub of military operations. The army's survival depended not on virtue and willpower alone, but on the armed foraging columns Washington sent into the Pennsylvania countryside to seize food, horses, and supplies from the civilians he was fighting to protect.

Rick’s Website | Book |
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/348
 
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
Episode 158: The Revolutionaries' Army
Episode 189: The Little Ice Age
Episode 301: Innoculation to Vaccination, Part 1
Episode 302: Innoculation to Vaccination, Part 2
Episode 332: Occupied Philadelphia
Episode 333: Occupied Yorktown
SUPPORT OUR WORK
 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World
REQUEST A TOPIC
 Topic Request Form
 liz@benfranklinsworld.com
WHEN YOU'RE READY
️ BFW Gazette Newsletter 
‍ Join the BFW Listener Community
 Join the History Explorers Club
TAKE THE QUIZ
Discover How You Explore History (under 2 minutes)
 https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/quiz
LISTEN
 Apple Podcasts 
 Spotify 
 Amazon Music
Pandora
CONNECT
 Liz on Bluesky
‍ Liz on LinkedIn
 Liz’s Website
SAY THANKS
 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts
 Leave a rating on Spotify
*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices