HMM Richards, Litt. D

‘ R HAR M . C D L H M . S D . I , ITT . ADDR ESS DELIVER ED AT VALLEY FOR GE AT THE N N ' L M IN G OF THE SO I Y A A EET C ET , N V MB R 2 O 1 1 6 . E E , 9 LA A ER N C ST , PA. I 9 I 7 VALLEY FORGE AN D THE PENNSYLVAN IA GERMANS. O~ DAY our feet' rest o n ground w hich has been m a d e h o l y t h r o u g h t h e suff ering of men who endu red mu ch so that m i ht en we , coming after them , g joy the bles sings of freedom in a free country . The battle of Bra ndywine had been fou ght and lost ; a delu ge of rain pre vented a su cceeding engagement at u the Warren Tavern , and an nforeseen fog robbed the - American Army of a hoped for Victory at Germantown . F u u s l shed with s cces , and in all their showy panoply of war , the Briti s h and Hessian troops had marched into Phila ' o f - F us d h a hoped for Victory at Germantown . l he wit u the s ccess , and in all their showy panoply of war, British and Hessian troops had marched into Phila 3 The P enns lva nia - Germ a n o cie t y S y . d elphia , the capital city of the nation , behind their ex u u ulting m sic , to find for themselves lux rious quarters , i er with abundance of supplies , for the com ng w mt . Even Go d o ut , himself , whose very plans were being carried by those who had been defeated , seemed to have tu rned His face away from them . u 1 1 8 8 r - On J ne 9 , 7 , a little more than thi ty eight years o ag , was here celebrated the centennial of the evacuation V F e C of the alley org encampment by the ontinental Army . r A grand oration was delivered by Henry A m itt Brown . After portraying the glittering and triumphant entry of P the enemy into hiladelphia , in eloquent words he drew L t another picture . e us try to imagine what he saw b e a fore him , as vision , when he said The d is d and the o l win col piercing on d Gulf road, and the h u h snow flakes ave beg n to fall . W o is this that toils up yonder s s s d h d ? i hill , his foot tep taine wit bloo H s bare feet peep throu gh -o t sh s i his worn u oe , h s legs nearly naked from the tattered rem ains s s his h of an only pair of tocking , breec es not enou gh to cover his d ss his sh h s s his h sh hi nake ne , irt anging in tring , air di evelled, s face hu h h wan and thin , his look ngry , is w ole appearance that of a ' n n O n his h u d e t m a forsaken a d neglected. s o l er h carries a rus y n n h h h the i u h is gu , a d t e and t at grasps s tock s bl e wit cold. H m o he ho s h co rade is no better ff , nor w follow , for bot are barefoot , and the ruts of the rou gh cou ntry road are deep and frozen hard. m n h d z s h . A fou rth co es into View, a d still anot er. A o en are in ig t See Twenty have reached the ridge and there are m ore to com e . them as they m ou nt the bill that Slopes eastward into the great h u h but he u d valley. A thou s and are in s ig t , b t t ey are t vang ar of the m otley com pany that winds down the road u ntil it is lost in h Y d the clo ud of s now flakes that have hidden the G ulf ills . on er m an h d h m um r are horsem en in tattered u nifor s , d be in t e cannon l be ha a d h ush d b m en. ing slowly over the frozen road, lf dr gge , alf p e y They w ho appear to be in au thority have coats of every m ake and Va lle F o r e a nd the P enns lva nia - er m a n y g y G s . color. H ere is one in a faded blu e , faced with bu ckskin that has h i h u h once been bu ff ; t ere s anot er on a tall , ga nt orse , wrapped in a s ort of dressing-gown m ade of an o ld blanket or woollen bed m n - cover . A few of the e wear long linen hu nting shirts reaching he but the s d ss d — h h to t knee, of re t no two are re e alike not alf ave N o r h m h s h d m are s . s s irt , a t ir are barefoot, any in rag are t eir ar he s m - h s and x s h t a e . Cow orn tin bo e t ey carry for want of M u s u h . f h s. po c es A ew ave swords , fewer still bayonet sket , - carbines , fowling pieces and rifles are to be s een together s ide by s ide . Are these soldiers that hu ddle together and bow their heads as ? they face the biting wind Is this an arm y that com es straggling ? throu gh the val ley in the blinding snow N o m art ial m usic leads them in trium ph into a captu red capital ; no city full of good cheer and warm and com fortable hom es awaits their com ing ; no sou nd keeps tim e to their weary steps save the icy wind rattling the l eafless branches and the du ll tread of their weary feet on the z u d . In s m us h h h and fro en gro n yonder fore t t t ey find t eir s elter, on the northern slope of thes e inhospitable hills their place of n refu ge . Perils shall soon assau lt them m ore threatening than a y ’ they encou ntered u nder the W indows of Chew s hou se or by the s B d s h h he bank of ran ywine . Trial t at rarely ave failed to break t u d m en h m h fortit e of await t e ere . Fals e friends shall endeavor to u nderm ine their virt u e and secret enem ies to shake their faith ; the o ss h m h s shal h ss h m C ngre w o t ey erve l prove elple to protect t e , and their cou ntry hers elf seem u nm indfu l of their s u ff erings ; cold shall share their habitations and hu nger enter in and be their con stant gu es t ; disease shall infes t their hu ts by day and fam ine stand guard with them throu gh the night ; frost shall lock their cam p with icy fetters and the snow cover it as with a garm ent ; the m s h ss — u h stor of winter s all be pitile , b t all in vain . Danger s all m h not frighten nor te ptation ave power to s edu ce them . Doubt shall not shake their love of cou ntry nor s u ff ering overcom e their u fortit de . T he powers of evil shall not prevail against them , for h the m and h s the h s V t ey are Continental Ar y, t e e are ill of alley Forge . ‘ The Penns lva nia- erm a n o ie y G S c ty . C ould the mind o f man conceive a darker picture , one l s fi led with more trials , miseries and wretchednes , and yet , ? T withal, one more true hey were , indeed, the gloomy bu t u o u r days of our struggle for freedom , , beca se fathers t - never faltered in their du y, we are here , to day, rejoicing in the happines s which their sufferings have brought us . ‘ bu t We are here , however, as an integral part of the de , scendants of those w ho were identified with the events s P s which have j u t been recorded . Did our enn ylvania “ German ancestors have any share in them , and to what ? extent Were they, perchance , to any considerable de n u gree , i str mental in averting the disaster which then o u r u ? threatened co ntry Did they, in short, do their full du ty in and for the motley remnants o f the patriotic army encamped amids t the sno w of bl eak Valley Forge during the terrible winter of 1 7 77—7 8 ? The su f at V F i s f erings alley orge, because of t exposed u e position , were navoidabl , and the position was likewise u unavoidable , as it was absol tely necessary that the enemy shou ld be confined to their winter qu arters in Philadelphia and prevented from ravaging the rich farm ing districts in .

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