Valley Forge! The very words have come to be a symbol of the heroism of the makers of America. For Valley Forge that winter of 1777-78 with a testing ground for Washington's troops and for the thousands of friends and relatives left at home.

The Winter at Valley Forge is a memorable account of that ordeal and the heroic men whose loyalty to their country held them united. Twice in the Fall of 1777 these men had been defeated by the British. Then Washington had led them back to Valley Forge to wait out the winter. It was a long battle against cruel cold and snow, against the pangs of starvation, against crippling frostbite and killing disease, against the bitter discouragement and hopelessness that gnawed at every man.

But every day there were scouts who would risk their lives to bring back a little food to their comrades. More and more volunteers came in to join the troops. When Washington went among his men, they dropped their complaining and cheered their leader with real affection. By Spring it was clear that they had met the test of Valley Forge and were stronger and better unified than before.

In recounting the events of that fateful winter, F. Van Wyck Mason stirs in every reader a new pride in this landmark of America.

From the dust jacket