Events

On February 27 the Military History Club of the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis turns its attention to the Darkest Winter of the Revolutionary War as it welcomes a Zoom presentation by William Hazelgrove, author of Morristown: The Darkest Winter of the Revolutionary War and the Plot to Kidnap George Washington.

In the fall of 1779 George Washington took his 10,000 men into winter camp at Morristown, New Jersey after four long years of fighting. It would be a brutal winter of suffering, depression, starvation, betrayal, mutiny, treason and an attempt to kidnap George Washington by the British. By the spring only 8,000 men would be left in Morristown with less than two thirds fit for service. Books have cemented Valley Forge as one with Omaha Beach, the Death March of Bataan, and Washington crossing the Delaware. But the winter of Valley Forge was mild in comparison to other winters. Temperatures did not plummet to unheard levels and snowfall was normal. And the men were not starving