Jockey Hollow02.jpg

On October 17, 1779, the Continental Army, led by General George Washington, camped for the winter at Jockey Hollow. They remained there until June, 1780, during which they endured some of the harshest conditions of the war, worse than winter at Valley Forge. This location was strategically sound it was several hundred feet above the British to the east. The mountainous range allowed revolutionary soldiers to spot British movement. . To house the army, soldiers had to build their own huts, made of logs. They were 14 by 16 feet and 6.5 feet high and were shared by twelve men. Inside the huts, soldiers had a fireplace for warmth and cooking. The floor was created by packing down the soil. Soldiers also built the bunks and tables inside. Their bunks got covered with straw and each soldier was given one blanket. The huts were about 2 to 3 feet apart, with three rows of eight huts for each regiment. By 1780, soldiers had built about 1,200 huts in Jockey Hollow. The pictured huts here had to be recreated.
Read less