Event
March-In of the Continental Army
Fee:
Free.Location: LAT/LONG: 40.101390, -75.424630
Valley Forge NHP 1400 North Outer Line Drive King of Prussia, PA 19406
Dates & Times
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Type of Event
Description
The General ardently wishes, it were now in his power, to conduct the troops into the best winter quarters—But where are these to be found? ~ General Orders, 17 December 1777
Join us and experience an evening of festivities at Valley Forge. Take a candlelit walk to the Muhlenberg Brigade huts, encounter reenactors at a living Continental camp, meet George Washington, and enjoy eighteenth-century music. Warm up in the Visitor Center with gingerbread, holiday drinks, storytelling, and more!
Check the park's website or facebook page, or call (610) 783-1099 for cancellation notices. You can also stay informed of closures and emergency information by signing up for the park's text alert system. To sign up, text VFPARK to 888777, or create an account on Nixle.com.
MARCH-IN SCHEDULE*
The Encampment Store will be open for holiday shopping and will offer light refreshments
SELECTED ONGOING PROGRAMMING FROM 6-9 PM:
Temporary Visitor Center
Continental Army Weaponry (just outside Temporary Visitors Center)
Joseph Plumb Martin Trail
• Sentries: know the correct countersigns (a.k.a. passwords), or risk getting “detained!”
• Brush Huts & Hurdled Wedge Tents: see soldiers build temporary shelters upon their arrival at Valley Forge
Tour the Muhlenberg Brigade Huts
• Each hut focuses on a different encampment theme, including: hut construction, flying hospitals, regimental tailoring, children's toys and games, and washwomen “on the strength”
• Warm up around the campfire and sing 18th-century songs, featuring musicians Joe Becton and Antoine Watts
• Visit the Redoubt: Take a walk down the candlelit gravel path to enter the reconstructed Redoubt #2, an earthen fortification that the army built to help protect the encampment against a possible British attack.
SPECIAL EVENTS
• 6-6:10: Meet George Washington (Heated Tent)
Official welcome from George Washington and Continental Army officers
• 6-7:30: Gabion Construction (Redoubt #2 Campfire)
Learn how soldiers built their defenses
• 6:10-8PM: Candlelit Ranger-led Walks (Heated tent)
Depart from the heated tent approximately every 10 minutes; last walk of the evening leaves at 7:30
• 6:10-8PM: “An excellent Player on the Violin in that soft kind of Musick” (Heated tent)
US National Scottish Fiddle Champion Tim Macdonald
• 6:30-7PM: Storytelling featuring Gingerbread for Liberty! (Theater • Temporary Visitors Center)
A children’s book on “Baker General” Christopher Ludwick
Note: theater occupancy limited to 40 people at any time
• 6:30-8PM: Mingle with George Washington (Path to Redoubt #2)
Meet His Excellency, as portrayed by Dean Malissa, and learn about the trials and tribulations of the nation’s war for independence as of December 1777. Explore the General’s Marquee Tent and experience his office and living conditions before he moves his headquarters to the Isaac Potts village home.
• 7-8PM: Christopher Ludwick, Gingerbread Maker and Baker for the Continental Army (Theater • Temporary Visitors Center)
Co-owner of Shane’s Confectionery, Ryan Berley will give a talk on Christopher Ludwick and historic gingerbread moulds from his collection. Gingerbread made from reproduction 18th-century moulds belonging to Christopher Ludwick will be available for purchase from The Encampment Store.
Note: theater occupancy limited to 40 people at any time
• 7:30-8PM: “Each morning we had to play and beat the Reveille”: Fifers and Drummers in the Continental Army
(Redoubt #2 Campfire)
In camp, on the battlefield, and on the march, fifes and drums served as communication tools for the Continental Army. This program will bring to life the music that regulated the Army’s routines at the Valley Forge encampment. Matthew Skic, the Associate Curator at the Museum of the American Revolution, will share personal stories of fifers and drummers who served in Washington’s army and play tunes on the fife and beatings on the drum drawn from Revolutionary-era music manuscripts. Visitors will hear familiar tunes such as “Yankee Doodle,” but they will also learn that drummers and fifers offered more to the Army than just entertainment for the troops.
* Programming Subject to Change
Reservation or Registration: No
Image Gallery
William Trego, March to Valley Forge (1883)