Fiction and Nonfiction Featuring Valley Forge
No battle was fought at Valley Forge, yet, the 6-months General George Washington and his army spent there mark the turning point of the Revolutionary War. In December 1777, while the British occupied Philadelphia, Washington’s troops inhabited the fields and woods 18 miles west of the city. Disease and death ran rampant. Supplies were scarce. Despite the odds, the Continental Army survived. In June 1778, Washington fulfilled his destiny when he led his men (and women, too) out of Valley Forge and on to win the war.
Few places evoke the spirit of patriotism and independence, represent individual and collective sacrifice, or demonstrate the resolve, tenacity and determination of the people of the United States to be free as does Valley Forge.
Today, Valley Forge is a 3,500 acre national historic park visited by 1.2 million each year. There is no shortage of books capturing the story of Washington’s encampment. Before you visit, get a more in depth understanding of what it was like for the Continental Army by reading one of these books about Valley Forge. Don’t forget the little readers! Kid will get much more out of their visit by first reading one of the children’s books about Valley Forge.
Novels based at Valley Forge
There are only a handful of nonfiction books that are set in Valley Forge. The authors were each quite creative in taking this piece of history and bringing it to fictional life. Unfortunately, they were not as creative with their title choices!
Valley Forge: A Novel of the American Revolution
by David Garland
Though he’s bound by the accords signed upon the surrender to remain with his men and await shipment back to London, a restless Skoyles escapes and makes his way as a double-agent toward Valley Forge, where the rebel commander General George Washington puts his trust in him. As Skoyles skillfully plays both sides against each other, he is soon faced with a tremendous choice: Will he fulfill his mission and bring down the rebel leader, perhaps turning momentum toward his British countrymen? Or will Skoyles allow his rebel sympathies to control his actions, and squander Britain’s best chance to bring the rebellion to its knees?
Valley Forge: A Novel
by Newt Gingrich & William Forstchen
It’s the winter of 1777, a year after Washington’s triumphant surprise attack on Trenton, and the battered, demoralized Continental Army retreats from Philadelphia. At Valley Forge, they discover that their requests for supplies have been ignored by Congress. With no other options, for weeks the army freezes under tents in the bitter cold. The men are on the point of collapse, while in Philadelphia the British live in luxury. In spite of the suffering, Washington endures, joined by a volunteer from Germany, Baron Friederich von Steuben. With precious little time, von Steuben begins recasting the army as a professional corps capable of facing the British head-on…read more.
Valley Forge: A Novel
by MacKinlay Kantor
George and Martha Washington, Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, sixteen-year-old Mum, Billy the turncoat, Malachi Lennan, and others, patriots and loyalists, share the action of a fictional account of the harsh winter of 1777-1778
Nonfiction books about Valley Forge (that read like novels)
The next selections are nonfiction books. It is not uncommon to hear that a nonfiction book “reads like a novel,” only to discover that the claim is only half-deserved. These next two, however, are more than worthy of the praise.
The Heart of Everything that is Valley Forge
by Bob Drury & Tom Clavin
Valley Forge is the riveting true story of a nascent United States toppling an empire. Using new and rarely seen contemporaneous documents—and drawing on a cast of iconic characters and remarkable moments that capture the innovation and energy that led to the birth of our nation—Drury and Clavin provide the definitive account of this seminal and previously undervalued moment in the battle for American independence….Read more
Washington’s Secret War
by Thomas Fleming
While the British army lives in luxury in conquered Philadelphia, Washington’s troops huddle in the barracks of Valley Forge, fending off starvation and disease even as threats of mutiny swirl through the regiments. Though his army stands on the edge of collapse, George Washington must wage a secondary war, this one against the slander of his reputation as a general and patriot. Washington strategizes not only against the British army but against General Horatio Gates, the victor in the Battle of Saratoga, who has attracted a coterie of ambitious generals devising ways to humiliate and embarrass Washington into resignation.
Using diaries and letters, Fleming creates an unforgettable portrait of an embattled Washington…Read more
Kids Books about Valley Forge
Biking through Valley Forge will really bring history to life for your younger readers.
Forge
by Laurie Halle Anderson
Blistering winds. Bitter cold. And the hope of a new future. In this compelling sequel to Chains, a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson shifts perspective from Isabel to Curzon and brings to the page the tale of what it takes for runaway slaves to forge their own paths in a world of obstacles—and in the midst of the American Revolution… Read more…
What do you think?