Last updated: July 14, 2026
Article
Valley Forge National Historical Park Day
NPS
A Resolution designating July 4, 2026, as "Valley Forge National Historical Park Day" in Pennsylvania in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Valley Forge National Historical Park.
WHEREAS, Valley Forge National Historical Park is known primarily as the site of the third winter encampment of General George Washington and the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War;
and WHEREAS, General George Washington and the Continental Army were at the encampment from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778; and WHEREAS, In 1878, private citizens formed the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge to preserve the site; and WHEREAS, Within a year, the Association took possession of Washington's Headquarters, the structure used by General George Washington and his family, along with military aides and both paid and enslaved servants, while at the encampment; and
WHEREAS, Washington's Headquarters, also known as the Isaac Potts House, was constructed around 1773 by the Potts family, and today much of the structure is estimated to be original to the encampment era; and WHEREAS, Shortly after the Association took possession of the structure, the General Assembly appropriated $5,000 to maintain the Headquarters; and
WHEREAS, Failing to receive Federal money, on May 30, 1893, Governor Robert Pattison approved legislation, Act 130 of 1893, "for the acquisition of ground at Valley Forge for a public park"; and
WHEREAS, Act 130 also created a 10-person commission, the Valley Forge Park Commission, which worked to acquire more land and build facilities; and WHEREAS, Valley Forge State Park was established as the first State park of Pennsylvania in 1893 "to preserve, improve, and maintain as a public park the site on which the Continental Army encamped at Valley Forge"; and
WHEREAS, A highlight of the park's history is the 1950 Boy Scout National Jamboree, which was attended by President Harry Truman; andWHEREAS, As part of the national bicentennial celebration,President Gerald Ford visited Valley Forge State Park to accept, on behalf of the Federal Government, the park as a gift from the
Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, On July 4, 1976, President Ford signed legislation authorizing the Federal Government to take control of the park, creating Valley Forge National Historical Park; and WHEREAS, The monuments, statues and buildings that comprise Valley Forge National Historical Park evoke more than 240 years of American history; and
WHEREAS, On December 19, 1777, more than 12,000 soldiers and 400 women and children marched into Valley Forge and began to build what essentially became the fourth largest city in the colonies at the time, with approximately 1,500 log huts and two miles of fortifications; and
WHEREAS, Valley Forge was a naturally defensible plateau where the soldiers could train and recoup from the year's battles; and
WHEREAS, Regular freezing and thawing, plus intermittent snowfall and rain, along with shortages of food and clothing, made living conditions at the encampment extremely difficult; and
WHEREAS, While there was never a battle at Valley Forge, diseases like influenza and typhoid fever killed nearly 2,000 people at the encampment; and
WHEREAS, A delegation of Oneida and Tuscarora warriors aided the Continental Army by countering raids in the surrounding area by British soldiers, who were confiscating supplies, seizing stragglers, acquiring intelligence and harassing civilians; and
WHEREAS, These Native American warriors helped to capture enemy soldiers to gain important information and discourage attempts of desertions from soldiers in the Continental Army; and
WHEREAS, These warriors repeatedly proved themselves as exceptional scouts and superb small-unit fighters; and
WHEREAS, In addition to receiving battlefield assistance from Native Americans, General George Washington also attracted former Prussian officer Baron von Steuben to the cause; and
WHEREAS, Baron von Steuben was assigned the task of training the troops of the Continental Army and is largely credited with teaching them new military skills and turning them into a disciplined and professional fighting force; and
WHEREAS, The Continental Army's transformative experiences at Valley Forge reshaped it into a more unified force capable of defeating the British and winning American independence during the remaining five years of the Revolutionary War; and
WHEREAS, The concepts of basic training, the professionalization of the officer corps and the rise of the United States Army's distinctive branches, such as the Corps of Engineers, all got their start at the encampment in Valley Forge; and
WHEREAS, Reforms to the supply system and fighting tactics, along with reforms in military hygiene and organization, became the foundation of the modern United States Army, with many regarding Valley Forge as the birthplace of the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, Located in Valley Forge National Historical Park, the area known as Muhlenberg's Brigade is the site of the encampment of the Virginia troops of the Revolutionary War led by Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg during the winter of 1777-1778; and
WHEREAS, Today, the Muhlenberg's Brigade site consists of nine reconstructed log huts; and
WHEREAS, The Muhlenberg's Brigade site is the primary location of Valley Forge's living history program, in which park rangers and volunteers dress in 18th-century attire and provide glimpses of what life was like during the Valley Forge encampment; and
WHEREAS, Some of the log huts at Muhlenberg's Brigade contain exhibits that provide information about the construction of the huts, entrenchments and fortifications of the encampment, as well as the daily routine and living conditions of officers and soldiers; and
WHEREAS, The National Memorial Arch, also located in Valley Forge National Historical Park, was erected to commemorate the arrival of General George Washington and the Continental Army in Valley Forge; and
WHEREAS, The National Memorial Arch was designed by Paul Philippe Cret as a simplified version of the Arch of Titus inRome, Italy; and
WHEREAS, Also located in Valley Forge National Historical Park, the Patriots of African Descent Monument is a granite block with carved text and a bronze bas-relief depicting three soldiers of African descent, one facing left, one facing right, and one facing straight ahead; and
WHEREAS, The back of the Patriots of African Descent Monument includes the following: "In Honor of the PATRIOTS OF AFRICAN DESCENT who served, suffered, and sacrificed during the Valley Forge Encampment 1777-1778"; and
WHEREAS, In Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge, author Thomas Fleming cites work by independent researcher George Quintal, who used pension records and other sources to document at least 500 African Americans at the encampment in Valley Forge; and
WHEREAS, The First Rhode Island Regiment, in General James Varnum's Brigade at Valley Forge, included many African American and Native American soldiers; and
WHEREAS, During the encampment at Valley Forge, most of the Continental Army's cannons and other artillery were stored in the area of the park now known as Artillery Park; and
WHEREAS, From a central location, cannons could be rushed to dirt mound defenses located throughout the encampment to help stop an attack by the British; and
WHEREAS, Even with this reliable and flexible defense, the Continental Army still had to coax often starving horses to pull the cannons through deep, muddy camp roads, a near impossibletask; and
WHEREAS, Brigadier General Henry Knox commanded and trained approximately 630 officers and soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Continental regiments at this location; and
WHEREAS, Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River run through the park, making it a prime location for water activities such as fishing, canoeing and kayaking; and
WHEREAS, With more than 3,600 acres of rolling hills, designated picnic areas, a six-mile multiuse trail, 35 miles of designated hiking trails, 19 miles of biking trails and 17 miles of horse trails, the park is a magnet for runners, bicyclists, picnickers and other outdoor enthusiasts; and
WHEREAS, The park hosts annual events, such as the Valley Forge Revolutionary 5-Mile Run, the March-In, which commemorates the arrival of the Continental Army in Valley Forge, and the March-Out, which commemorates the Army's departure from Valley Forge; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate July 4, 2026, as "Valley Forge National Historical Park Day" in Pennsylvania in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Valley Forge National Historical Park.