Historical Philadelphia

There are many disadvantages with urban living. Philadelphia is the 5th largest city in America, and with its size comes substantial traffic, crime, litter and poverty. However, there are some amenities that occur as well: cultural events, mass transit, professional sports and historical monuments. This past year we had a visit from my sister Cecilia and her husband Robert. We found ourselves proudly taking them out for cheesesteaks, pointing out the beautiful skyline and bridges over the Delaware River, and traveling by the El to Center City. We visited the Old City, and marveled at the Liberty Bell's story. We had an excellent walking tour of the locations for the first and second Continental Congress. We saw Betsy Ross's house and the childhood home of Dolly Todd Madison. We also spent a day at Valley Forge Historical Park, thirty minutes outside of the city. We saw replicas of the huts where the Continental Army spent four months in the winter of 1778. We learned that 1 of 10 soldiers who wintered there died of disease, but that smallpox innoculations were given to the troops and so that dread disease did not cause many deaths. The Prussian Baron von Steuben drilled the troops through the winter so that by the spring, Washington's troops were able to fight in a more orderly and efficient manner. Once the British left Philadelphia, the Continental army followed them and ultimately defeated them with the help of the French. We felt a kinship with those men and women who lived over 200 years ago and had the desire to become independent of a distant government. If these people lived today we would call them rebels or perhaps anarchists. Through the lense of history, we call them patriots.