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Darlington middle schooler wins local essay contest
Dec 13, 2002 8:00 AM
By Stefan Eady - Faculty
Seventh grader Tyler Fletcher won first place in the Xavier Chapter of Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) Essay Contest. DAR selects one winner from each grade between fifth and eighth grade.
The essay, a required assignment for all Darlington Middle School students, which needed to be between 600 and 1,000 words, was written as a letter home from Valley Forge telling of the activities and conditions during the winter of 1777-1778 (see essay reprinted below). Entries were submitted from Rome City and Floyd County schools. The contest was planned as a joint effort between English and social studies teachers.
Valley Forge Letter: Winter, 1777-1778
By Tyler Scott Fletcher
Dear Mom and Dad,
Here it is January 15, 1778 and I have just received your letter from October 15, 1777. I was surprised how long it took, but I sure was glad to receive it. I was so sorry to hear about Uncle Daniel being killed at the Battle of Brandywine. It is frightening to know we were in the same battle fighting, and I did not even know he was there. I feel very badly for arguing with Uncle Daniel the last time I saw him. Even though we are on opposing sides of the war, he is still my uncle, and I know that he was only standing up for his beliefs, as am I. He died defending his beliefs, as I and many others are willing to do. I wish that he hadn’t been promoted to captain, because if he hadn’t, then he may not have been shot at the Battle of Brandywine.
We are living twenty-five miles outside the city of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. We feel very safe from attack here because our encampment is on top of a plateau with a river on one side and two shallow creeks that would also give us protection. We are up fairly high so if anyone tried to attack us they would have to charge uphill.
The conditions we live in are horrible. The British came through this area before we arrived and burned down the houses that were here. They also raided the village and stole all the supplies. When we arrived in Valley Forge, everyone was so tired that no one wanted to build any shelter although it was badly needed. To motivate us, George Washington said he would give twelve dollars to the first men to finish their hut. For many of the men the twelve dollars did not matter, but the people I would be living with decided to try for the money. Believe it or not, we won! Our huts are 16 X 14 feet with twelve men living in each hut. The walls are about six and a half feet high. The roof is made of maple wood. Our fireplace was one of the few that actually worked and did not fill the hut with smoke. You know I hated helping Dad rebuild our fireplace, but now I’m sure glad I did! We found some straw and put it down to sleep on. It’s not the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on, but it is much better than the ground.
I still have a decent shirt and pants, but my shoes completely fell apart. One of the men I live with is a doctor, and when one of the men died recently, he brought me his shoes. They are a little too big, but in pretty good shape. I am thankful to have them. Many people only have tattered shirts and breeches, and their shoes, if they have any at all, are full of holes and falling apart.
There is such a shortage of food that half of the people in our hut boiled and ate their shoes. I just could not make myself eat shoes. Yesterday, I joined in on the protest and chanted, “No meat, no coat, no flour, no soldier” but after a time I realized it only made the hunger pains and misery seem worse, so I did not join in when they started chanting today. A rumor is circulating that Tomas Mifflin, the Quartermaster General, is soon to be replace for not doing his job. Maybe that means we will finally start receiving supplies.
Last week I went foraging for food. Even though I left money for the seventy-year-old lady and her thirteen-year-old granddaughter, the continental dollar is so weak it felt like stealing. I would not have taken one of their cows, half of their apples, and all of their bread, had I eaten in the past four days. It is very frustrating to know that while people believe in and support our cause, they would rather sell to the British because they can get more money for themselves.
It is so cold and snowing all the time. Many people are so poorly dressed they are getting frostbite. My friend Joseph will probably have to have his foot amputated. The doctors are still trying to save his foot, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work. General Washington is making everyone get inoculations against smallpox. Most people are getting sick from the inoculations but not serious enough to give them anything much worse than boils and a weak strand of smallpox that they recovered from in a week’s time. I had dysentery, but it was not severe enough to kill me. I have lost so much weight you would not recognize me.
I truly like General Washington. He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest generals ever. He is working very hard to get us food and make the conditions more tolerable, but it isn’t doing much good.
I have heard that a man named Baron Von Steuben is coming in the spring to drill and train us. I do believe we truly need this if we want to have any hope of winning this war. From what I have heard, with him training us, we will finally have a chance to beat the Redcoats in open field combat.
It is so dreadful being here. Everyday we have more and more men die. Our numbers are gradually shrinking everyday. Some of the men have defied orders and gone home. I hope they will return to fight in the spring, as we will have to fight the Lobsterbacks again soon.
I miss everyone at home so much. Thinking about home keeps me alive. I pray each day this war will soon be over. Your letters keep me going. Please write again soon.
Your loving son,
Tyler
Bibliography
Avery, Ron. “The Story of Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/vstory.html
10/14/02
Murphy, Jim. A Young Patriot, New York: Clarion Books 1996 pp. 49-53
“Time Line Leading to Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/timeline.html
10/10/02
“Weather Report at Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/weather.html
10/11/02
The essay, a required assignment for all Darlington Middle School students, which needed to be between 600 and 1,000 words, was written as a letter home from Valley Forge telling of the activities and conditions during the winter of 1777-1778 (see essay reprinted below). Entries were submitted from Rome City and Floyd County schools. The contest was planned as a joint effort between English and social studies teachers.
Valley Forge Letter: Winter, 1777-1778
By Tyler Scott Fletcher
Dear Mom and Dad,
Here it is January 15, 1778 and I have just received your letter from October 15, 1777. I was surprised how long it took, but I sure was glad to receive it. I was so sorry to hear about Uncle Daniel being killed at the Battle of Brandywine. It is frightening to know we were in the same battle fighting, and I did not even know he was there. I feel very badly for arguing with Uncle Daniel the last time I saw him. Even though we are on opposing sides of the war, he is still my uncle, and I know that he was only standing up for his beliefs, as am I. He died defending his beliefs, as I and many others are willing to do. I wish that he hadn’t been promoted to captain, because if he hadn’t, then he may not have been shot at the Battle of Brandywine.
We are living twenty-five miles outside the city of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. We feel very safe from attack here because our encampment is on top of a plateau with a river on one side and two shallow creeks that would also give us protection. We are up fairly high so if anyone tried to attack us they would have to charge uphill.
The conditions we live in are horrible. The British came through this area before we arrived and burned down the houses that were here. They also raided the village and stole all the supplies. When we arrived in Valley Forge, everyone was so tired that no one wanted to build any shelter although it was badly needed. To motivate us, George Washington said he would give twelve dollars to the first men to finish their hut. For many of the men the twelve dollars did not matter, but the people I would be living with decided to try for the money. Believe it or not, we won! Our huts are 16 X 14 feet with twelve men living in each hut. The walls are about six and a half feet high. The roof is made of maple wood. Our fireplace was one of the few that actually worked and did not fill the hut with smoke. You know I hated helping Dad rebuild our fireplace, but now I’m sure glad I did! We found some straw and put it down to sleep on. It’s not the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept on, but it is much better than the ground.
I still have a decent shirt and pants, but my shoes completely fell apart. One of the men I live with is a doctor, and when one of the men died recently, he brought me his shoes. They are a little too big, but in pretty good shape. I am thankful to have them. Many people only have tattered shirts and breeches, and their shoes, if they have any at all, are full of holes and falling apart.
There is such a shortage of food that half of the people in our hut boiled and ate their shoes. I just could not make myself eat shoes. Yesterday, I joined in on the protest and chanted, “No meat, no coat, no flour, no soldier” but after a time I realized it only made the hunger pains and misery seem worse, so I did not join in when they started chanting today. A rumor is circulating that Tomas Mifflin, the Quartermaster General, is soon to be replace for not doing his job. Maybe that means we will finally start receiving supplies.
Last week I went foraging for food. Even though I left money for the seventy-year-old lady and her thirteen-year-old granddaughter, the continental dollar is so weak it felt like stealing. I would not have taken one of their cows, half of their apples, and all of their bread, had I eaten in the past four days. It is very frustrating to know that while people believe in and support our cause, they would rather sell to the British because they can get more money for themselves.
It is so cold and snowing all the time. Many people are so poorly dressed they are getting frostbite. My friend Joseph will probably have to have his foot amputated. The doctors are still trying to save his foot, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to work. General Washington is making everyone get inoculations against smallpox. Most people are getting sick from the inoculations but not serious enough to give them anything much worse than boils and a weak strand of smallpox that they recovered from in a week’s time. I had dysentery, but it was not severe enough to kill me. I have lost so much weight you would not recognize me.
I truly like General Washington. He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest generals ever. He is working very hard to get us food and make the conditions more tolerable, but it isn’t doing much good.
I have heard that a man named Baron Von Steuben is coming in the spring to drill and train us. I do believe we truly need this if we want to have any hope of winning this war. From what I have heard, with him training us, we will finally have a chance to beat the Redcoats in open field combat.
It is so dreadful being here. Everyday we have more and more men die. Our numbers are gradually shrinking everyday. Some of the men have defied orders and gone home. I hope they will return to fight in the spring, as we will have to fight the Lobsterbacks again soon.
I miss everyone at home so much. Thinking about home keeps me alive. I pray each day this war will soon be over. Your letters keep me going. Please write again soon.
Your loving son,
Tyler
Bibliography
Avery, Ron. “The Story of Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/vstory.html
10/14/02
Murphy, Jim. A Young Patriot, New York: Clarion Books 1996 pp. 49-53
“Time Line Leading to Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/timeline.html
10/10/02
“Weather Report at Valley Forge”. [Online] Available
https://www.ushistory.org/valleyforge/history/weather.html
10/11/02
