Sarah Long, a woman who once dreamt of being the owner of a sewing shop, now is dressed as an American soldier in the Continental Army. She fakes her appearance so she appears normal to the men camping at Valley Forge. The conditions there are brutal, diseases spread easily, many are starving. The freezing winter is deadly, and they lack the proper clothing needed to survive winter. Along with others, Sarah Long was one of the few survivors of Valley Forge and even helped to fight against gender inequality.  Her story is strong and powerful with many trials and tribulations. Here is the story told from Sarah Longs eyes.

“You want shelter, build it yourself! We will not cater to you!”, shouted George Washington. Sarah muttered to herself “I don’t know how much longer I will survive here.” Around her were men begging to be feed and others shaking from the cold with fresh wounds. It was there first day at Valley Forge. Sarah was also feeling the same way they were, but wanted to help them more than herself. She knew that she could not, she could not appear as they called weak. They claimed that only a female could be weak.  A man came up to Sarah and said in a stern manner, “This fort won’t build itself, if you wanna live in it, you must help us build it!” Sarah knew that building her fort would be important. Sarah along with three other men built a fort that would keep them warm and comfortable.

Following that, Sarah began combat training and the rules of war. That day, and the two weeks that followed, Sarah along with three other men went of building their fort in the middle of the freezing winter cold. She built a fort that irritated her back, gave her rashes and allowed the snow to get through it, but that was her only choice. Combat training was not any better. Many died because of the horrible conditions and cold weather.

After that everyone gathered preparing for a long winter of training. The head general said “The first rule of honorable war is to never assume you are welcome.” He went on to explain the rest of the rules of war which is something they were forced to remember. In Sarah’s opinion, that was the easiest training at Valley Forge. Shortly after that, he had each of the men and Sarah participate in dangerous activities that would prepare them for battle. They were trained to handle war mentally and physically. Whenever Sarah wanted to give up, she remembered that she was there for a purpose, she wanted to prove a point! Before Sarah had went to Valley Forge, she was undisciplined, but after working from dusk to dawn, her and her peers had become a strong fighting force that she believed no one could break.

After Valley Forge training, Sarah was dealing with a big dilemma. Would she reveal herself to everyone as a female or would she keep it a secret and never tell a soul and just act like it never happened . . . Sarah decided to announce that she was a strong female who single handedly survived the harsh conditions at Valley Forge. After she revealed herself, the general sat in disbelief. Sarah did not know whether he was mad or happy. They sat in a silence for five minutes until he finally said, “Young lady, I want you to know that I will void any type of punishment, but anything could have happened to you! Now please be excused from my office.” Sarah felt defeated, but then thought for a moment and realized that although in the general’s eyes it was pointless, she knew that she had done something great! She would not let anyone tell her otherwise. She gained knowledge and a sense of leadership while at Valley Forge. She would encourage women to do the unthinkable, to do things that no one has done before.