The main trail in Valley Forge National Historical Park is the Joseph Plumb Martin Trail, which encircles 8.7 miles of the park. Joseph Plumb Martin was a 15-year-old Connecticut boy when he enlisted in 1776. He went on to fight the entire Revolutionary war, not ending his tour of duty until 1783. He was one of the few common soldiers to write about his experiences, leaving behind invaluable-and very colorful-information about life and experiences during the war.
At the age of 70, the venerated veteran then living in Maine published A NARRATIVE OF SOME OF THE ADVENTURES, DANGER AND SUFFERING OF A REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER, INTERSPERSED WITH ANECDOTES OF INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED WITHIN HIS OWN OBSERVATION. The book which did not sell particularly well fell into obscurity until rediscovered in the 1960s when it was republished with the title Private Yankee Doodle. Martin recorded his observations of the First National Thanksgiving at Gulph Mills.
Next week we will share some of what Martin had to said about that First National Thanksgiving Day.