The Camp’s Road System
Adapting to the terrain, the arriving army used peaceful farm roads as lines of communication within the sprawling encampment. Livestock, commissary wagons, and troops dragging firewood quickly turned roads into rivers of mud. After Sullivan’s Bridge was completed, this road led north across the Schuylkill River to the army’s supply staging area.
Dragoons
Dragoons (cavalry) were the camp’s messengers and lookouts. Through dragoons sometimes galloped these roads, carrying letters from General Washington, they more often patrolled between Valley Forge and Philadelphia, scouting for British troop movements. Since dragoons demanded frequent remounts, local farmers learned to hide their best horses.
Marker is on Historic Trace Road south of Gulph Road, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
