Biography | George Washington — He Ran the Winter Army from This Stone House at Valley Forge

People remember Valley Forge as a field of starving men in the snow.

The work of keeping that army together happened inside this three-story stone house, built about 1773 for the Potts family, near where Valley Creek meets the Schuylkill.

Washington moved in on Christmas Eve 1777 and stayed until 18 June 1778.

The house was then rented by Deborah Hewes, a relative of Isaac Potts. She rented the whole building, with some furnishings, to the commander-in-chief.

He kept an office on the ground floor. Aides including Alexander Hamilton and John Laurens worked in the same rooms.

Martha Washington arrived later in the winter. Enslaved and hired servants, among them Hannah Till and Elizabeth Thompson, cooked and kept the house running while the army camped on the surrounding hills.

The encampment is famous for want. It was also the winter Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben drilled the Continental line into a more regular force.

The building still stands inside Valley Forge National Historical Park and is open seasonally. Much of the fabric is judged original to the encampment years.

The park address for the headquarters stop is 1400 North Outer Line Drive, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

The useful distinction is simple. The huts on the slopes tell the army's winter. This house is where the orders were written.

Photo: Sdwelch1031, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons