The encampment in Valley Forge had more inhabitants than most American cities

This perhaps was the most interesting fact about the encampment in Valley Forge. With 12,000 soldiers, hundreds of camp followers, and more than 2,000 hastily erected huts and cabins, the camp at Valley Forge would overnight become the seventh-largest metropolis in the nascent United States. Besides the 12,000 soldiers serving in the ranks and other military capacities, the winter cantonment at Valley Forge had a sizable population of women. The long winter will contain an uncountable amount of work that needs the hand of a woman. Therefore, there were more than 400 women served in the camp. The females undertook a myriad of roles, from laundry and cooking to sewing and nursing, and many other unnamed works. Officer wives, including Martha Washington, were also present during the six-month encampment.

It was also for a time the de facto capital of the country. With a rump faction of Congress virtually unable to function while in exile in York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and his staff would temporarily assume the awesome responsibility of keeping the wheels of governance turning until the elected civilians could resume their leadership roles. The general and his staff corresponded with state governors and legislators, senior military officers stationed throughout the former colonies, congressional delegates, and even Ben Franklin and other American diplomats abroad.