Forge

In earlier chapters, Anderson went to considerable lengths to demythologize the moral and heroic notions underlying the Revolutionary War. By acknowledging the hypocrisies of slavery and injustice so prevalent in the American Colonies at the time of the Revolution, Anderson provides readers with a more honest assessment of the complexities of not only American history, but of the American story itself.

As we move into Part 2, we see how Anderson’s desire for greater candor and verisimilitude turns toward the literal construction of the Valley Forge camp. Curzon serves as our lens onto the bustle and activity in its earliest days – mapping out the landscape, the bountiful natural resources of water and lumber, and the crushing lack of food, tools, and clothes.

Curzon describes the creation of Washington’s “huts” in considerable detail, from the manner of their designto the toil and hardship of asking hungry, untrained young men to chop, plane and lift heavy lumber, all with a crushing winter looming on the horizon: “[t]he enormity of our task hit home. We had to chop down trees and build our own shelter with little equipment and less training. In the snow. Whilst hungry” (87).

This level of research and description goes a long way to bring a sense of realism to the novel. These weren’t brave and noble American warriors; they were hungry, untrained, sick, and frozen boys, desperate to survive. Their heroism lies in their mere survival.

Hunger is another pressing concern in these chapters. Anderson devotes considerable space to the brutal ingenuity the colonial soldiers resorted to in order to survive. In Chapter XVI, she uses the character Sylvanus – an older, more veteran soldier – to explain the process of making “firecake” which is basically a paste made from coarse flour and creek water, burned to a charry crisp upon a campfire stone. Later, we learn that Burns and Eben have resorted to stealing food from neighboring farms. In the scene immediately following his confession, Eben and Curzon split a pumpkin and salivate as they watch and smell it cook on an open campfire. This level of hunger is beyond what most of us will ever experience.

Indeed, the gathering threat of danger and death permeates these chapters. The skies are white and heavy. The landscape is slowly stripped of trees. Winter, that cold and pewter stretch of weeks, rolls closer and closer with every day. The ambient risk of death is finally made real when Caleb – an upright, strong, and even domineering force up until this point – is killed by a simple mistake. One moment the boys are gathering firewood; the next, they’re trying to stop an endless rush of blood.

The depiction of these hardships is essential to gaining a sufficient understanding of what Valley Forge actually was, not merely how it’s remembered in the popular imagination. Yes, it was a disastrous winter for the Revolution, but also a crucible moment for the newly-commissioned Colonial Army itself. Yes, they would suffer. But in later years, Washington himself would cite the hardships of Valley Forge as a catalyst for a greater unity, strength, and devotion among those who survived. It is in these particular details and realities that Anderson so clearly describes that we comprehend the scope of that experience.