From the British perspective, Donald Barr Chidsey relays in his book, "Valley Forge," (p. 26) that a reasonably precise figure — which itself is suspect — is a Tory statement that between September 27, 1777 and March 26, 1778, that 1,134 men deserted the American Army and came into Philadelphia. Interestingly enough — only three of those months are part of the encampment. The bulk of these men were men who were formerly from British regiments or had lived in America a relatively short time. [More]
Friday, March 26, 2010