Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778

by Ricardo A. Herrera

In this major new history of the Continental Army's Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. Here, the army launched its largest and riskiest operation—not a bloody battle against British forces but a campaign to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal during the long encampment. Herrera brings to light the army's herculean efforts to feed itself, support local and Continental governments, and challenge the British Army.

Highlighting the missteps and triumphs of both General George Washington and his officers as well as ordinary soldiers, sailors, and militiamen,  Feeding Washington's Army  moves far beyond oft-told, heroic, and mythical tales of Valley Forge and digs deeply into its daily reality, revealing how close the Continental Army came to succumbing to starvation and how strong and resourceful its soldiers and leaders actually were.

Genres: American Revolution, American History, Nonfiction, History, American Revolutionary War

252 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Ryann]

I have no issues with a dry history book, but a dry text read by a dull audio reader… DNF

I’m withholding a rating because I would like to revisit this book in the future with the physical form instead of the audiobook.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Description: A persuasive history detailing how the Continental Army was fed at Valley Forge in the deadly winter of 1778. Packed with names, places, and details. A tour de force! Herrera states “this book contends that the Continental Army at Valley Forge was a field army engaged in active operations.”

Review:
A history book — NOT a novel and packed with tons of information. I can see this as a textbook in an advanced class at any of the military academies. Definitely, a reference book to be used in the study of Valley Force. Insight into the Leadership of George Washington. Herrera provides very detailed information about the forages.

Very interesting reading about the leaders on both sides of the conflict. No “punches were pulled”. If the person was weak and/or ineffectual, Herrera plainly states why. The same is for those who led well.

The author is a professor of military history at the School of Advanced Military Studies at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His knowledge shows throughout the book.

For this reviewer who is a history buff, because I am the genealogy researcher in my family (working on DAR certification), I found the last chapter, the "Conclusion", to be the most interesting. (One doesn’t read this book like they would a novel. I read this book over two weeks.)The final chapter is more about people and includes what happened to them after the war ended.

The following is provided because it demonstrates the documentation and research that went into this book. My e-ARC copy was early in the manuscript process. The book ends on page 185. Acknowledgments are followed with (End) Notes on page 189. The "Bibliography" begins on page 219 and is broken into the following:
– Manuscript and Archival Sources,
– Published Primary Sources – Books,
—– Articles and Chapters,
—– Periodicals,
—– Constitutions,
—– Maps and Charts,
– Published Secondary Sources,
—– Books,
—– Articles and Chapters,
– Unpublished Secondary Sources,
– Reference Works and
– Digital Sources
The book will have an index that was not available in the e-ARC.

I received a complimentary e-ARC copy of Feeding Washington’s Army via NetGalley from the publisher, University of North Carolina Press. A positive review was not required; the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. I loved this acknowledgment to his mother — “With this book, I think my mother … finally understands (mostly) what it is that I do for a living.”

#FeedingWashingtonsArmy #NetGalley #RicardoAHerrera

Title: Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778
Series: N/A
Author: Ricardo A. Herrera
Genre: History
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Release Date: May 10, 2022
Format: Kindle (read), Hardcover
Pages: 265
Source: NetGalley (Wish Granted)
Cover: Compelling. Valley Forge in a snowy and cold winter.

[Gunjan (NerdyBirdie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for my U.S. Military History class. Funny enough I try to start every year with a nonfiction book which this turned out to be. The book is titled Feeding Washington’s Army but it goes into a lot more detail outside of supplies and Valley Forge. I think this is a sobering book for those who have a more cinematic view of what war looks like. I just found this book to get a bit too detailed in some aspects, so sometimes my own disinterest made it hard for me to continue. But Herrera’s style is easy to read.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Feeding Washington's Army" is a book Valley Forge reenactors will definitely appreciate! I don't tend to love books with such a narrow focus, but the amount of research and detail that went into this book were fantastic!

Structure/formatting 4/5
Because of the very narrow focus of this book, the book starts and ends rather abruptly. I definitely prefer more all-encompassing history books so I can see a fuller picture of the story being told.

Thoroughness of research 4.5/5
This was fantastic! I loved seeing the sources the author was using and he was able to provide several details about the foraging that happened. Some avenues of exploration felt untouched, but I think it was due to the author's narrow focus.

Storytelling 3/5
I felt like the writing could have been a bit more dramatic given the setting and circumstances. I wasn't as gripped by the writing as I have been in some other books covering the same time frame.

Enjoyment 3/5
This is definitely a book you'll want to pick up with a specific purpose. As a more casual history reader (not a first-person reenactor or a historian), this was good, but I think this could really be enhanced when paired with a tour of Valley Forge. I would love to reread this book if I ever get a chance to take a tour there.

Prior knowledge needed 3.5/5
Because this is such a narrowly focused book, I would suggest being somewhat familiar with the Revolutionary War and the winter at Valley Forge before going into this book. As I mentioned before, this could be a fantastic book for reenactors to read to get a greater concept of what it was like at Valley Forge. This would not be a book I would recommend to a person just learning about the war.

[Arthur Morrill III · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778,” by Ricardo A. Herrera” (ISBN: 9781469667317), publication date 14 Jun 2022, easily earns five stars—it’s that good.

General George Washington is certainly widely known, but more as a mythical figure than as a general who faced the most significant, real-world, challenges and complexities. This duality diminishes our understanding and appreciation of the extent of his many achievements despite the complexities, competing interests, and internecine rivalries that he and his officers faced hourly.

This book is a long overdue breath of scholarly fresh air that brings deep clarity to the general’s perseverance and accomplishments that contributed to the survival of his army at Valley Forge. This clarity results from the author’s exceptional scholarship, relentless research, and gifted writing. The author transports the reader from now to then, and makes the reader privy to conversations, documents, tables of organization, conclusions, and connections not normally known. He does this by examining in detail what it took to sustain the general’s army at its Valley Force winter encampment, e.g., victuals, clothing, wagons, horses, uniforms, weapons, pay, and all the provisions needed by an army. The Grand Forage of 1778 and related efforts are the mechanisms.

This is neither a dry narrative nor a plodding history. Quite the contrary, it is a seminal work, full of life. The vibrant narrative leaves one feeling as though they are literally at the side of the general and others, a most privileged insider. Letters, diaries, minutes, reports, and military and Congressional assessments are all at our disposal and reveal to us the thinking of the time—from the most private thoughts to the greatest public proclamations. In the end, we know more than did any single participant of the time—even the general—and we have the added benefit of historical perspective. These things combine to make this a great and worthy read that leaves us better informed and happier for the experience.

Thanks to the publisher, University of North Carolina Press, for their gifted editing, and for granting this reviewer the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy (ARC), and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well researched and notated study delves into the reasons and realities behind the tales of hardship during that record breaking cold and snowy winter at Valley Forge. It demonstrates the mistrusts and greed of both congress and the purveyors and the lengths to which the generals were forced to go to in order to provision their men. Well done.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from University of North Carolina Press via NetGalley.

[Deborah Cleaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author brings to life the difficulties and challenges of feeding an army on the move when it has no backing or power of government behind it. Dependent upon volunteers and unwilling conscripts whose contributions were not well rewarded, it is a wonder the nation survived. And Herrera makes the reader appreciate those foragers and farmers whose supplies barely kept the army alive, committed, and functional. The commitments that brought them through in the face of barely surmountable odds is nothing short of astounding. This is a well-researched readable history that will round out, without apocryphal tales and mythology, our understanding of just how tenuous our hard won independence from England was.

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook.

[Evan Ladouceur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine history book, which illuminates the Valley Forge encampment, the various foraging excursions of that brutal winter. Herrera effectively uses primary source material to provide granular detail but also to highlight the concerns of the men involved from the senior-most ranks on down. He also sets the strategic context well, explaining how tactical decisions were informed by the political realities of Tory versus Rebel sympathies in the middle-Atlantic colonies; chapter four, for example , discusses Washington’s military decisions in the context of securing the heavily divided Delaware area. Very well done by a skilled military historian.

[Eugene A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expert military leaders assert that the most successful general officers study logistics while novices study strategy. Ricardo A. Herrera provides a Revolutionary War example of this famous maxim in his short but insightful new book on Valley Forge. Contrary to popular perception, Herrera argues that Washington took more considerable risks in gathering supplies than any individual campaign decision.

Most Americans have an image of starving and sick but stoic Continental Army soldiers enduring an exceedingly harsh winter in a freezing Valley Forge camp. Historians note the soldierly sacrifices and Baron Frederick von Steuben’s training for sustaining the troops through the snow, ice, and mud without sufficient food, fuel, and clothing.

However, Ricardo A. Herrera offers a novel interpretation of the Continental Army in Valley Forge and the British Army in Philadelphia during the winter of 1777-8. First, the American Rebels did not merely sit in camp and wait for food and supplies to arrive. George Washington sensed that none were on the way and that he had two choices. First, he could disperse the army to multiple locations making it easier to feed the soldiers by not overwhelming a central location. However, in distributing the army, Washington would cede Southeastern Pennsylvania to the British and expose valuable arms and supply depots to British attack. Secondly, Washington could send out foraging parties to gather food and supplies from nearby residents. As the Continental Army’s war chests were empty, the farmers would receive worthless promissory notes for their food, forage, and supplies. Recognizing that this option would enrage some people, Washington ordered a grand forage by his best light infantry troops despite the risks.

Herrera aptly tells the story of foraging missions by Nathanael Greene, Anthony Wayne, and Henry Lee throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. As Washington’s best soldiers left camp, Valley Forge became vulnerable to British attack. Additionally, these small missions were open to individual attacks and piecemeal reduction with less than one thousand soldiers. While the prime task was to obtain food and forage, wagons were the essential items to confiscate. More times than not, there was available food for the army but not sufficient transport.

In one of the book’s most compelling aspects, the British did not attack the less heavily defended Valley Forge camp or make concerted efforts to stop the individual foraging missions. Herrera reports that, contrary to popular lore, the British in Philadelphia were not warm and well fed. Instead, he argues that the British were most worried about their foraging activities and were too busy gathering food and supplies to attack the American Rebels.

General readers and military historians will enjoy Herrera’s well-written monograph. While Herrera’s prose is easy to follow, several maps would enhance the reader’s experience, especially those unfamiliar with the geography of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey. Additionally, maps would help tie together the three foraging campaigns and denote areas covered by British foraging parties.

Despite this editorial quibble, I highly recommend “Feeding Washington’s Army” to those interested in assessing difficult command decisions and the real story of how the under-resourced Continental Army survived the winter. Too often, readers believe that military history is simply battle accounts. Herrera’s volume will disabuse them of that prejudice.

[Steven Dundas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick Herrera has written a magnificent account of the story of George Washington and The Valley Forge Winter of 1778 that you will not find anywhere else. Despite the title, this is not just a story of logistics, but one of a rare leader who understood the importance of logistics, and the importance of selecting subordinates for the key mission of actively foraging to get supplies, and to interdict and upset the operations of General Howe’s army’s own foraging attempts. The book shows how Washington entrusted Nathaniel Greene, “Mad Anthony” Wayne, and the young Harry “Light Horse” Lee with carrying out those missions. Herrera takes the time to show how Washington and these leaders learned and became exceptional practitioners of the art of war, especially Greene who when later sent to the Carolinas lost far more battles than he won against Lord Cornwallis, but scored a strategic victory that forced Cornwallis to abandon the Carolinas and ultimately lead Cornwallis to Yorktown.

Herrera shows the maturation of Washington, and his always steady and calm leadership in crisis,,while avoiding the many myths surrounding him. Instead, Herrera shows the complex person that Washington was, a human being who understood his shortcomings, worked to improve himself, and those around him. He also details how Washington had to deal with a Continental Congress that had little control in the new United States, recalcitrant governors and state legislatures, and large numbers of loyalists to the Crown, and even worse, the many colonial bystanders who unwilling to take a side could not be counted on to support the army. In his account Herrera details how Washington and those who led the Great Forage of 1778 had to delicately balance obtaining the Army’s provisions from these people without creating more resistance to his Army or the cause of independence. Likewise, he deals with Washington’s strategic maturation and his ability to work closely with the French, without whose help on and and especially at sea, Washington’s Army would have been unable to win the war.

Herrera also ventures into uncomfortable territory for those whose learning is that of myth, to include the use of Black slaves as wagon drivers, rented from their owners without any compensation for their work, despite the presence of free Blacks serving in the ranks of some New England Continental regiments.

This book is a must read for any serious student of the Revolutionary War, Valley Forge, Washington, leadership, and logistics.

[Shrike58 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Confronted with the issue of making the American experience at Valley Forge relevant to contemporary military men, Herrera had a genius insight; Draw links with the long ago fight with the contemporary problem of creating a "forward operating base." The FOB being a temporary outpost from which to project military force. That was certainly the point of Washington's winter deployment, which sought to keep the British off-balance while hunkered down in Philadelphia. This is understood amongst folks up to date with the studies of the last generation or so.

Where Herrera goes further is to tie this into a sometimes mentioned, but seldom examined operation of the Continental Army; the Great Forage of the winter of 1778. This is where a significant chunk of Washington's force, under some of his most competent subordinates, was sent out to gather food and supplies to stave off logistical collapse.

Here's the thing, and it illustrates the difference between Washington and his opponent Lord Howe. Washington appreciated that he had to take calculated risks to survive, whereas Howe had reached the end of his tether in regards to taking any risks, and declined to really take the opportunity to smash some of the best troops (and their commanders) left to the "Patriot" effort. Of such decisions are the foundations of victory and defeat laid.

As one might gather, I found this to be a very enlightening study, though there is no denying that it presumes the reader has already done a fair amount of background reading.

[Andrew Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a welcome addition to the work surrounding the American Revolution. Many people have read about the suffering endured at Valley Forge but they may not realize the efforts that Washington, Greene, Wayne, and Lee utilized to get necessary provisions for the troops. Herrara, in great detail, outlines the measures utilized to resupply an army on the verge of abandonment and starvation. Washington made many mistakes as a general but his leadership was crucial at this time in preserving the army and its ability to keep fighting the British forces. One learns much about the exploits of Greene, Lee, and Wayne as they tried to forage supplies but also dealing with prickly personalities such as Count Pulaski and others. General Howe comes across as a figure content on his success with occupying Philadelphia and not taking the war to the American forces. If you are a military buff of the Revolution or just interested in the figure of Washington as a general, then this is the book to read.

[Rahobeth Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb read that challenges the status quo image of the Continental army at its encampment in Valley Forge 1777-1778. The army was not merely an enduring force on the verge of starvation.
The encampment was an active defensive position. The largest event was the Grand Forage. A number of key members of Washington's staff helped the army to survive and transition into the 1778 campaign season; all while keeping the influence of the British in Philadelphia checked.
A great book that notes the not so glamorous parts of army operations. But without these operations, the army could not survive.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the content of this book is interesting for everyone, but I think only the real history enthusiasts will finish the book. I just found the writing to be a little dry and boring at times. To be fair we are talking about the logistics of providing food for an army. Still I recommend this to any Revolutionary War history buffs.

I got this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Work Flawed by Sloppy Proofing

Herrera delves into a topic that is little known, but important to a more complete understanding of George Washington’s evolution as a military leader as he wrestled with the dilemma of how to feed an army in an area with limited resources. The historical content of the book and Herrera’s writing style interesting, but the publisher should invest in a better copy editor.

[CASPER HILEMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Herrera does a great job of detailing the dire situation of the Continental Army as well as the British Army in the harsh winter of 1778. Professor Herrera is a professional military historian and it truly shows in methodology and content. It was a pleasure to read this work and I look forward to reading his back catalog and any future endeavors.

[Janilyn Kocher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The horrid winter at Valley Forge is indelibly etched in Revolutionary War lore. Herrera examines how Washington managed to feed all the soldiers, or in some cases, couldn’t, during those long frozen months.
It’s an interesting perspective on a well known tale. I found it informative, but at time it did read like a manual.
Thanks to University of NC press and NetGalley for the early read.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably I am a little bias because I think we (military types) do not spend enough reading time on the American revolution, but this book is really good. What makes it good is that it is about logistics and sustainment in the war. Topics often glossed over in favor of battles and campaigns. The book is well researched and tells the story of challenges and the people that over came them.

[Lancelot Link · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rigorous scholarship but holy hell! Did somebody even proofread this book? And no I’m not talking about anything within quote marks. I mean the missing words and nonsensical errors throughout the book.

[Mags · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing look at how General Washington struggled during the Revolutionary War. A rare look at historical facts during g a time that was crucial to our American experience.

[Darnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had hoped the book would focus more on conditions and fundamentals than officers and troop movements, but that's not the book's fault. Solid treatment of a niche subject.

[Thomas Mackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selected for the Poor Richard's Book Club reading project in the summer of 2025. The author joined us for the opening discussion.

[Stan Sienkiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the detail but the one sided view of General Pulaski was a disappointment.