Trois enfants se cachent derrière le drapeau Français. (Weekend Street/Reflections # 129)

 

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania   (16 July 2016, two days after the terrorist attack in Nice.)

Some information on an interesting French fellow who came to the U. S. to fight with George Washington in The Revolutionary War:

"The Marquis de Lafayette, who joined the Continental Army at age nineteen in the summer of 1777 as a volunteer Major General, spent most of December 1777 and January 1778 with George Washington and his Continental Army troops at their winter quarters at Valley Forge. During that long, harsh winter, the ill-equipped Americans suffered in many ways. Some went barefoot. Many did not have blankets to sleep under. Food was sometimes scarce and sufficient supplies rarely made it to the camp. Hundreds died after suffering from diseases such as influenza, typhus, typhoid fever, and dysentery.

Lafayette experienced his first action at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, where he showed extreme courage under fire in leading an orderly retreat. The Frenchman was shot through the calf during the battle. After he recovered, Lafayette was given command of a division of troops.

At Valley Forge, Lafayette basked in his elevation to the post of commander of a division of troops. Lafayette freely spent his own money to buy uniforms and muskets for his men—and lived among them during the coldest part of the winter. And despite pleas from his young wife and her family to return to France, Lafayette remained committed to the American cause as well as to the man he would come to consider his all-but-adopted father, George Washington. Lafayette demonstrated his unwavering loyalty to Washington during the Valley Forge encampment by helping Washington face down the so-called Conway Cabal, a never-hatched military-political plot aimed at forcing Washington to give up command of the Continental Army." - The George Washington Presidential Library

                                               Have a great weekend!

Now you can link reflections and/or street photography. 

Please no posed pictures, portraits, animals, etc. unless there is a reflection. 

Click here for street photography examples and inspiration.

"Street photography is a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place. The very publicness of the setting enables the photographer to take candid pictures of strangers, often without their knowledge."

Old Horse Stables

This is another building that is no longer being used. I like this stone wall. I wonder if it was built during the revolutionary war. I'm in a barns and stables phase with a nod to Sunny's wonderful Barnyards and Barnacles blog.

High Fly By Skywatch

This is one of the eagles as the jet is about to fly over

The same eagle after the fly by

I think this one is my favorite. This is the other eagle after the jet passed and left it's trail into the clouds. Like a cloud firework explosion and tracer

Here we have the whole Pennsyvania Columns beneath a beautiful sky, if you look further down the road you will see the "Nude Tree" and cabin. (enlarge if needed) This is the Pennsylvania Columns in Valley Forge National Historical Park. I was fortunate took capture a jet flying over this eagle. I think I must have picked the perfect day because we've had plenty of rain lately.

Please see my last My World Tuesday post if you haven't already to get a bit of historical background about Valley Forge. I would just like to add that the Continental soldiers got much needed training in early 1778 from a Prussian army officer Baron Von Steuben. They were also helped greatly in the Spring of 1778 by France's alliance with and formal recognition of the United States as a sovereign power. The expected arrival of the French greatly altered the British war plans and triggered their evacuation of Philadelphia.

As I write this my back still aches, but my spirits are lifted by all of the kind words and support from the nice viewers of this blog. I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Thanks also for the help with the Munich and Prague trip. As it stands now:

Prague Nov 26 to Dec 1st,

Salzburg Dec 1st to Dec 4th,

Munich Dec 4th to Dec 11th. Plus maybe a few day trips.

This will be our 5th trip together to Europe, but this will be our first time to Germany, Czech Republic and Austria. We really look forward to the Christmas markets(Thanks Thérèse!), but not the cold. Thankfully we look forward to our California trip not long after we return.

Skywatch Friday

Hardship and Perseverance

This monument looks alot bigger in person (click the picture if needed for a better view or to read the inscription)

This is the North Outer Line, the British would have had to come up the hill into canon and musket fire.
The Continental Army was in this area during winter of 1777-78.
This is a very historic place, it's called Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. It's about a 40 minute drive from my house. It's beautiful and very peaceful now, but during the winter of 1777-78 it was bitter cold and covered with snow. It's the place where the tired, poorly supplied and poorly clothed Continental Army camped for the winter and held their ground against The British Army. By this time the Americans had already lost two key battles, as well as Philadelphia (which is 20 miles northwest) to the British. The Americans under General George Washington used their time wisely at Valley Forge, drilling, building cabins,forts, bridges, etc and maturing as a fighting unit.

The monument in the top photo was dedicated in 1917 and commmemorates the "Patience and fidelity" of the soldiers who wintered here in 1777-78

Valley Forge is a large and fascinating National Historical Park. I've been there twice, but I figure it will take several more trips to soak it all in. Yesterday's photo was also taken at Valley Forge Historical Park.

The hardships that were indured by the Continetal Army have become ledgend.

"To see the men without clothes to cover their nakedness, without blankets to lie upon, without shoes...without a house or hut to cover them until those could be built, and submitting without a murmur, is a proof of patience and obedience which, in my opinion, can scarcely be paralleled."
-George Washington at Valley Forge, April 21, 1778

My World Tuesday

Nude in Living Color

If you would like to see this picture in black and white please click here.