Over 2,000 soldiers died during the winter encampment at Valley Forge

The encampment in Valley Forge had more inhabitants than most American cities, including all kinds of from black to white, from soldiers, and camp followers to freed men and women. With more than 2,000 hastily erected huts and cabins, the camp at Valley Forge became the seventh-largest metropolis in the nascent United States. However, great numbers of people also died here in the camp for many reasons.

Due to shortages of food, and a lack of proper hygiene, sanitation, and medical knowledge at the time, over 2,000 soldiers perished during the winter. Considering the situation in America at the moment the encampment occurred, it is easy to point out that the shortages of food will be a big problem, especially when it had more inhabitants than most American cities at the time. Other than that, people at the camp have to deal with many of the diseases that were considered almost uncurable at the time, including diseases from scurvy to smallpox, dysentery, and other maladies. The fighting itself sure took a lot of soldiers' life away, but those diseases also contributed to the loss of men in the camp. As the result, one out of every six soldiers that marched into Valley Forge in December did not march back out in June.