This paper compares and contrasts the experience of the winter encampment at Valley Forge by General George Washington's Revolutionary troops through two letters written at about the same time, February of 1778. Both describe hideous living conditions, but while Washington's plea for help from the governor of New York details those conditions in agonizing detail, the other letter, from Lieutenant William Barton, is focused more on a concern for news of his family. Washington's statement that his men remain brave and focused on the fight is contradicted by Barton's stated willingness to come home if needed. Yet the information in Barton's letter is tempered by a subsequent letter from a fellow officer revealing Barton's desperate ill health. The letters present considerable insight into a dire and treacherous moment in war, when individual needs battle with the needs of the army as a whole, and a leader struggles with making his case compelling enough to inspire assistance yet hopeful enough to suggest that help could be provided in time to be effective. These documents show the contrast between the concerns of a leader and those of a follower, between the public and the private, especially when faced with hard circumstances.
Washington begins his appeal to Governor Clinton with what seems to be an apology, almost begging his pardon for bothering him about something "which does not fall within your province" (Washington 1). He assures Clinton that the lack of provisions and prospects for any is worse than can be imagined, and so he goes into some detail to acquaint the governor with what he describes as near-famine conditions and an imminent catastrophe. He implies that he is appealing to New York because, though his troops are wintering in Pennsylvania, Clinton's is the closest state where relief might be available. He writes, "I am, on my own part, putting every engine to work, that I can possibly think of, to prevent th...