Last week, I visited the Valley Forge National Historic Site – the legendary winter encampment of George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777–1778 – and came away with more than just a dose of history. I came away with perspective and a deepened frustration with how some today mangle the legacy of this country they so loudly claim to revere.
A Quick History Lesson for Context
Why were they at Valley Forge in the first place?
In the winter of 1777-78, Washington’s army needed a defensible position near the British-occupied city of Philadelphia. Valley Forge, just 18 miles away, offered high ground, access to resources, and a chance to regroup after a string of defeats. It was grueling – freezing temperatures, low rations, poor shelter – but it became a crucible of transformation. With the help of leaders like Baron von Steuben (an immigrant, by the way), the Army underwent rigorous training that turned ragtag troops into a professional fighting force.
In other words, Valley Forge wasn’t just a symbol of survival. It was a laboratory of becoming. It was the place where this country began to take shape, not in homogeneity or ease, but in hardship, cooperation, and adaptation.
And here’s the thing: Valley Forge doesn’t just tell a story of grit and cold and revolution. It tells a story that debunks some of the worst lies floating through our national discourse today – about public health, immigration, diversity, and language. So, let me tell you three things I learned.
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George Washington Mandated a Vaccine – And It Helped Win the War
You read that right. George Washington, the very model of American patriotism, issued a vaccine mandate. Smallpox was ravaging the colonies. More soldiers were dying of disease than in battle. So Washington, in one of the boldest public health decisions of the era, required inoculation for the troops. Not optional. Not “do your own research.” Mandated.
This move wasn’t just brave – it was essential. The inoculations stabilized the ranks, saved lives, and gave the Continental Army a fighting chance. Without that mandate, there may never have been an American victory. That’s not an opinion. That’s history.
The next time someone shouts about “freedom” while resisting vaccines or public health measures, they might want to remember that the Father of Our Country didn’t hesitate to prioritize collective well-being over individual preference.
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The Army Was a Tapestry of Cultures and Nations
Forget the myth of the Revolution as a white, Anglo-centric endeavor. The soldiers at Valley Forge were a deeply diverse mix of people. Native Americans (including Oneida, Tuscarora, and Stockbridge-Munsees of the Mohicans), African Americans, and immigrants from all over Europe: England, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Prussia, Scotland.
One plaque I read put it perfectly: “The diversity of the encampment foreshadowed the variety of ethnicities and cultures found in the United States today.”
In other words, America has been diverse from the beginning. Our freedom was fought for by a multicultural, multiracial, polyglot coalition of the willing. That alone dismantles the nativist fantasies of those who pine for some mythical “real America” that never existed. If your vision of this country doesn’t include that kind of diversity, then it’s not patriotic – it’s ahistorical.
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A Third of the Army Didn’t Speak English – and That Wasn’t a Problem
Here’s something else you probably didn’t learn in school: nearly 35% of Washington’s troops didn’t speak English as their first language. They spoke German, Polish, French, and other European and Native languages. To make training possible, the army employed a whole team of translators to get the job done.
Language wasn’t a barrier to patriotism. It wasn’t a threat. It was simply a reality – managed, respected, and accommodated. The leadership understood that if you wanted to win, you needed everyone. You didn’t exclude people because they spoke differently – you translated. You adapted.
Which makes today’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and English-only crusades look not just petty but utterly un-American. If the Continental Army could handle linguistic diversity during a brutal war with the British, we can certainly manage it in a 21st-century democracy.
So What Does That Mean for Us?
It means that if you’re waving the flag while rejecting vaccines, demonizing immigrants, and mocking multilingualism, you’re not defending American values – you’re distorting them. The lessons of Valley Forge remind us that what makes America strong isn’t stubborn individualism or narrow purity. It’s sacrifice for the common good. It’s embracing diversity. It’s communicating across difference.
If we really want to honor the revolutionaries, we’d do better to emulate their courage and open-mindedness than wrap ourselves in a flag and shout at the wind.
