The Winter encampment in Redding, was General Israel Putnam’s last command. During the winter of 1778-79 he led about three thousand troops of the Continental Army into three separate valleys of northern Redding where they built temporary huts for protection against the winter cold. Here they lived for five to six months before marching out to engage the British for the next fighting season. This is the story of that winter sojourn in the wilds of western Connecticut, and the dramatic effect that this fourfold increase in population had on Redding.

For the past 12 years we have been engaged in archaeological excavations in the easternmost of these three encampments. During the course of our work we have been actively searching out any and all documentation about the men of the park and the style of life they led during those months. What we have found is startling and new having application to not only our winter camp but also that at Valley Forge, which was the year before, and at Morristown, the year after. This camp was a true transition as the Revolutionary Army continued to turn itself into a professional army proficient enough to finally defeat the British Army at Yorktown.

During that winter there were skirmishes with lawless elements along the border, a near mutiny of a company of restive troops, two executions, and stories of heroism such as Putnam’s perilous ride down the 100 steps that separate the two section of the Village of Greenwich. This was also the winter and location in which the Masons reestablished themselves in Redding as a social force in the Continental Army. Central to all of this, however, is the daily life of the underfed, underclothed and underpaid soldier who endured the monotonous daily activities of the off-season. Between the things that they left behind and the documents they generated the most complete picture of a Revolutionary War soldier’s daily life that has yet been created is presented here.