Would I Have Quit free essay sample

When you go camping on a weekend trip, you never realize how many luxuries you brought with you such as food, water, clothing, and shelter. Once you run out of everything, no more food, clothes are all torn and dirty, you head out and leave, right? Well that’s not the story in the year 1776, when General George Washington was leading the rebel army into the Revolutionary War. He and his inexperienced militia set up a winter camp at a place called Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, but just a few miles away was General Howe who was in charge of the British army in Philadelphia. While the British army is healthy and warm, the rebel army is freezing to death with no clothing and very little food. Most of the men have only enlisted for six to nine months. The only thing is, a question remains; should I reenlist? For the sake of my well being and health, I shall not reenlist due to three main reasons; illness, lack of basic needs, and the difficulties I’ll face if I reenlist. We will write a custom essay sample on Would I Have Quit? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By February 1, 1778, about half of the 8000 soldiers who enlisted were ill because of the flu or smallpox. 1800 to 2500 are the death estimates due to illness during encampment. (Doc. A) Soon enough, half of the soldiers will be wiped out by the end of this harsh winter. My chances for surviving are not very high because of the lack of clothing during the harsh winter, the tiny,dirty huts, and the nasty food; all these factors give me a better chance of becoming very ill and dying. All the fatigues that have hit Valley Forge have made many people grow sickly and as for me, I wouldn’t want to be around wheezing, coughing men. (Doc. C) The basic needs that everyone should have a chance to endure are found nowhere near Valley Forge. There is nasty food of only grose water mixed with flour. Vomit and smoke is at every corner of the camp making it hard to even take a small breath without letting in the rotting smell of vomit and harsh smoke. (Doc. C) There is barely any clothing for us to wear and the shelters are just a bunch of small spread out huts housing eight to ten cold,hungry men. Because of these conditions, I will most likely get sick and die or I will grow too sick to train for the war or even fight so there’s no point in even reenlisting. The melancholy sound of people chanting â€Å"No meat! , no meat! †, would make me shudder and wonder, what would we eat?