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“…a wonderful and insightful contribution to the historical scholarship of the American Revolution.”
Thanks to author and Revolutionary War expert Shirley Green, who ancestors were at the Gulph Mills Encampment, for her comments on my upcoming book! “Threshold To Valley Forge delivers a wonderful and insightful contribution to the historical scholarship of the American Revolution. With painstaking care and research, Sheilah Vance provides a comprehensive study of the… Continue reading
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Book launch author talk for Threshold to Valley Forge: The Six Days of the Gulph Mills Encampment
Join me in person or on line at my the book launch author talk for my new book, Threshold to Valley Forge: The Six Days of the Gulph Mills Encampment, on Tuesday, March 4, 630-730, at the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC! You… Continue reading
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Day 7, Dec. 19, 1777 — Washington’s Army marches out of Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills and on to Valley Forge
On December 19, 1777, at 10 a.m., George Washington and his Continental Army marched out of Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills, past the Hanging Rock, and on to Valley Forge. As one historian wrote, “These grounds were the threshold to Valley Forge, and the story of that winter–a story of endurance, forbearance, and patriotism which… Continue reading
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Day 6, Dec. 18, 1777 — George Washington’s Army celebrates the new nation’s first Thanksgiving at Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills and prepares to set up camp at Valley Forge; the French King officially recognizes the new United States
Historical marker in Gulph Mills recognizing it as the site of the nation’s First Thanksgiving. On December 18, 1777, General George Washington’s army celebrated the first national Thanksgiving in Gulph Mills and on Rebel Hill. The celebration caused a one day delay in the army’s march to Valley Forge, which General Washington had decided a… Continue reading
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Day 5, Dec. 17, 1777 — Gen. Washington issues inspirational orders announcing the move to Valley Forge and prepares for nation’s first Thanksgiving celebration on Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills
Generals George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, and Nathaniel Green (Gilder Lehrman collection) December 17, 1777 was a momentous day on Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills. After weeks of debate, General Washington decided on Valley Forge as the site of the Continental Army’s winter quarters. As hard as it is for us to believe today, armies at… Continue reading
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Day 4, Gulph Mills Encampment: 12/16/1777–Tents arrive, British Soldiers captured, and Washington’s aides-de-camp indicate winter quarters decided.
Letter from George Washington’s aide-de-camp, John Fitzgerald, to Major John Clark, Jr., 12/16/1777, on the location of winter quarters for the Continental Army. [Library of Congress, George Washington Papers] On this Day 4 of the Gulph Mills Encampment, tents finally arrived to shield the soldiers from the weather. Up to this point, they made lean-to’s… Continue reading
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Day 3, Dec. 15, 1777 — The Continental Army settles down at Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills
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 book, The Threshold to Valley Forge: 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… Continue reading
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Day 2, Dec. 14 — Hardship plagues the Continental Army at “the Gulph”
c Orderly Book, Brigadier Gen. John Glover; 12/14/1777 from “the Gulph”; Library of Congress, Manuscript Room On December 14, 1777, the condition of the 11,000 members of the Continental Army at Gulph Mills and Rebel Hill was one of extreme hardship. The soldier’s tents were not to arrive for two more days. There was little,… Continue reading
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Day 1, Dec. 13, 1777 — Washington’s Army at Rebel Hill
Rebel Hill and Gulph Mills This blog post is in honor of the Gulph Mills Encampment–the six days in December that General George Washington and the Continental Army spent in my home, Rebel Hill in Gulph Mills, Pa., starting on this day in 1777. I am commemorating that by posting a blog for each of… Continue reading
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Dec. 12 — A tired Continental Army begins its delayed march in to Gulph Mills
After being interrruped on the 11th by some 3000 foraging British soldiers, General Washington and a tired, cold, and hungry Continental Army readied for another try to march into Gulph Mills. They started their day at the Swede’s Ford, at present day Norristown on the east side of the Schuylkill River and Bridgeport on the… Continue reading
Sheilah Vance
Musings from and events for Sheilah Vance, author of the award-winning books: Threshold to Valley Forge: The Six Days of the Gulph Mills Encampment, Becoming Valley Forge, Land Mines, Chasing the 400, and Creativity for Christians
