The men at Valley Forge would never forget this winter of 1777-1778. They had little to no food and water. 2,500 men had no shoes or so they left trails of blood from their feet in the snow. One man describes the winter as "poor food - hard lodging - cold weather - nasty clothes - nasty cooking - vomit half my time - why are we sent here to starve and freeze?" 1/4 of the poorly dressed men their died from malnutrition and freezing weather. The American victory at Saratoga helped rally the men and it caused the French to come to the American aid. Baron Von Steuben eventually came to Washington's rescue at Valley Forge. He trained the troops that were left and had a better army then before. Steuben led a combination of respect and fear.