Lancaster Council of Safety

In Council of Safety. Lancaster, November 8, 1777. [By order of Thomas Wharton, President]. ORDERED That Matthew Shipley, Daniel Hiester, Colo. John Moore [and others] be authorized and required to collect ... from such of the inhabitants of the county of [left blank] as have not taken the oath of allegiance and abjuration, or who have aided or assisted the enemy, and from such well-affected persons as may be able to spare them, arms and accoutrements, blankets, woolen cloth, linceywollsey, linnen, shoes and stockings for the army, that they appraise the same, when taken, according to their quality, allowing at the following rates ... Lancaster: Francis Bailey, 1777



Printed broadside (13 x 7 7/8 in.; 330 x 107 mm). Lightly browned, stained at center.

Orders to forage for supplies desperately needed by Washington's bedraggled and threadbare army wintering at Valley Forge.  As Howe settled comfortably into winter quarters in Philadelphia, Washington struggled with the decision of where to house his ragtag troops and officers. He was doubly saddled with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of two refugee legislatures: the Continental Congress in York and the Pennsylvania legislature in Lancaster.  

Winter cantonment was raised near the banks of the Schuykill River at Valley Forge between 19 December 1777 and 19 June 1778. The name Valley Forge has become synonymous with suffering and deprivation—and with the indomitability of the American spirit and the tenacious courage of their exemplary commander-in-chief, George Washington. An early and harsh winter, coupled with careless management by the commissary and transport departments, nearly decimated the Continental Army. One doctor at the camp observed the dire conditions endured by the troops: "There comes a bowl of beef soup—full of burnt leaves and dirt, sickish enough to make a Hector spew ... There comes a soldier, his bare feet are seen through his worn-out shoes, his legs nearly naked from the tattered remains of an only pair of stockings; his breeches not sufficient to cover his nakedness; his shirt hanging in strings; his hair disheveled; his face meager; his whole appearance pictures a person forsaken and discouraged" (Dr. Albigence Waldo, quoted by Chernow, Washington, p. 325). And yet the American Army did survive, due largely to Washington's stoic example and unceasing encouragement.