Time to give thanks to the women of Valley Forge

By Lancette on March 31st, 2010

(Courtesy Fine Books & Collections magazine)

Sometimes a book comes along, smacks readers in the head, alleviates our ignorance, and leaves us with a new perspective on something we thought we already knew.

That’s what happened when I read Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment (Potomac Books, 2009) by former historic interpreter Nancy Loane. The title is too modest in conveying the scope and power of the book. It doesn’t fully capture the idea that the work adds colorful, riveting details to the basic portrait of the American Revolution that hangs in our minds … elements that help give us a more complete, accurate picture. The title doesn’t deliver the punch of the easy-to-digest 164 pages: We owe an enormous debt of gratitude not just to the men who fought in the Revolutionary War but to the women whose sweat and sacrifice also forged our freedoms.

Much of the book is focused on the wide range of roles women played in what happened at Valley Forge.

Women of high social class like Martha Washington provided great comfort to her commander-in-chief husband George Washington while women of the “common sort” performed countless thankless chores that helped the army survive. They ran household headquarters for officers so that they could remain focused on developing strategies to win the war. They cooked for exhausted soldiers, made clothing to help protect them from the elements, cleaned the camp to help slay the biggest enemy at Valley Forge — the range of ailments caused by unsanitary conditions. More bravely, they risked their own lives by nursing diseased soldiers.

Following the Drum would be worth reading even if it stopped right there. The book, however, is full of surprises — some sweet, others sorrowful.

Discover more about them in a longer review.

Categories: Book Review
Tags: Martha Washington, Valley Forge, women in the American Revolution

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