Sheilah Vance

Strength Return showing soldiers at Gulph Mills, 12/15/1777; Brigadier General James Varnum’s Brigade

Perhaps the greatest highlight of my research on my new award-winning book, Threshold to Valley Forge: The Six Days of the Gulph Mills Encampment, was the discovery of this document pictured above, which was the first original document that I found that actually showed soldiers at Gulph Mills. This document is the strength return from Brigadier General James Varnum, from Rhode Island, showing the number of his soldiers who actually were in Gulph Mills. I had never before seen a document where a Revolutionary War officer or soldier wrote the words–the Gulf, or Gulph Mills. When I saw this document at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Room, one day in September 2023, I almost screamed–finally, there it is! This makes it all worthwhile. They were there, right in my back yard, and my Mom was right of the significance of our little hill.

All generals in the Continental Army had to submit returns about once a week to show the number of soldiers who were present, fit for duty, sick present, sick absent, on furlough, and deserted, by rank and office, from week to week so the Commanding Officer, George Washington, could assess the strength of his troops. Washington had some 16 – 20 generals who were to do this on December 15, 1777. But, I could only find one return, that of General Varnum! And, believe me, I’ve been looking everywhere. But, we know that General Varnum had 1092 soldiers in his regiments at Gulph Mills (he accounted for an additional 372 under the column of “Sick Absent”).

The top of the document says, “Weekly Return of Brigadier General Varnum’s Brigade.” And next, in the upper left hand corner, are the words I was looking for: “Gulph 15th Dec. 1777.” The next entry for the next week, December 22, at the bottom of the page is “Valley Forge Dec 22 1777.”

Of all the generals, I was thrilled to see that Gen. Varnum was at Gulph Mills. There’s no question that his Rhode Island regiment had African American soldiers in it, free and enslaved, right on our little hill. As an African American woman who lived in Gulph Mills, that makes me proud. Yet, it makes me sad that there were African American enslaved people in Gulph Mills on the various farms and plantations at the time of the Gulph Mills Encampment. Imagine how proud, and also perplexed, they must have felt to see the African American soldiers. Of course, there is that great dichotomy and hypocrisy of those who fought for the freedom of white people, yet still enslaved African Americans. I will address that, too, in my book.

On to Day 4…