Philadelphia's Fighting Side

Since Eastern State is so close to the Pennsylvania Museum of Art we decided to walk over to see the statue of Rocky and the famous steps. I've never seen the Rocky movies but I learned that the 72 stone steps have become known as the "Rocky Steps" as a result of their appearance in the triple-Oscar-winning film Rocky and four of its sequels. Poor Rocky was stuck wearing this pink sweater on such a warm spring day. The steps had an amazing view of the Ben Franklin Parkway and Philadelphia City Hall. It was one of the first nice days of the year and it was a great place to rest our feet and soak up the sunshine. A nice gentleman took our picture (actually it was more of a photo shoot, he was really funny) and then proceeded to tell us “you know ladies, I do this for tips” and wouldn’t leave until I gave him a dollar. I didn’t care though because I loved my “model” pose.

Because I planned this trip, we still had one more stop to see before we could call it a day. We drove out of the city to Valley Forge. I was a little wary because it still seemed to be the city to me but once we drove into the place, you couldn’t even tell you were in a city. There were wide open fields and rolling hills and scenic vistas aplenty.

Valley Forge in Pennsylvania was the site of the military camp of the American Continental Army (led by George Washington) over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War.

Undernourished and poorly clothed, living in crowded, damp quarters, the army was ravaged by sickness and disease. Typhoid, jaundice, dysentery, and pneumonia were among the many diseases that killed 2,500 men that winter.

The National Memorial Arch has the following inscription by George Washington:

"Naked and starving as they are

We cannot enough admire

The incomparable Patience and Fidelity

of the Soldiery"

We did the auto tour stopping at a church, a monument, a house and a cannon artillery field.

At Valley Forge women averaged 1 to every 44 men, adding up to around 500 women. These women (and children) also provided the emotional support to a soldier, allowing them to remain at camp and continue on training and soldiering during the winter months. These women gained half the rations of soldiers, half the wages of a soldier as well as a half pension after the war—if they had done enough work.

So severe were conditions at times that Washington despaired "that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place ... this Army must inevitably ... Starve, dissolve, or disperse, in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can." It was a long 6 months.

There was even a really pretty church there. One thing I found really interesting was the Justice Bell that was at the Washington Memorial Chapel.

An active suffragist devised a plan to call attention to the battle for women's suffrage. She commissioned the casting of a duplicate of the Liberty Bell, except this one has "Establish Justice" in the inscription. The bell’s clapper was chained to its side and the message was clear: the Bell would not ring until women won the vote.

I really enjoyed Valley Forge and it was a great way to end our time in Philly.