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
This annual event commemorates the arrival of General George Washington’s ill-supplied Continental Army at Valley Forge, in order to establish a winter encampment. Come meet His Excellency in person on December 19!
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 holiday drinks and treats, see historic chocolate making, and more!
This event is weather dependent.
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*
6:00-8:00PM: Official Programming
Temporary Visitor Center Open until 9:00PM
The Encampment Store will be open for holiday shopping and will offer light refreshments
SELECTED ONGOING PROGRAMMING FROM 6:00-8:00PM
Temporary Visitor Center
• Continental Army Weaponry (just outside Temporary Visitor Center)
• Watch a historic chocolate-making demonstration and sample an eighteenth-century hot chocolate recipe featuring American Heritage Chocolate (The Encampment Store)
Joseph Plumb Martin Trail
• Sentries: know the correct countersigns (a.k.a. passwords), or risk getting “detained!” Parole: Warwick
Countersigns: Woodbridge, Winchester
• 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: flying hospitals, hut construction, regimental tailors, children’s toys & games, and washwomen “on the strength”
• Warm up around the campfire while Brigade Sutlers "sell" goods to soldiers, officers, and camp followers
Visit Redoubt #2
• Take a walk down the candlelit gravel path to enter Redoubt #2, a reconstructed earthen fortification built to help protect the encampment against a possible British attack
SPECIAL EVENTS
6:00-6:10: Meet George Washington (Heated Tent)
• Official welcome from George Washington and Continental Army officers
6:10-7:30PM: Candlelit Ranger-led Walks (Heated Tent)
• Depart from the rear of the heated tent approximately every 10 minutes; last walk of the evening leaves at 7:30PM
6:10-7:00PM: Songs of Early America (Heated Tent)
Antoine Watts and Joe Becton perform a selection of music that would have been familiar to Continental troops at Valley Forge (note: Watts and Becton will perform in the Temporary Visitor Center from 7:00-8:00PM)
7:00-8:00PM: “An excellent Player on the Violin in that soft kind of Musick” (Heated Tent)
• Musick of Early America with Robert Mouland, a multi-instrumentalist who performs a wide variety of unique presentations using a baroque violin, baroque flute, and a woodwind instrument known as a flageolet (note: Mouland will perform in the Temporary Visitor Center from 6:00-6:50PM)
6:30-8:00PM: 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
* Programming Subject to Change
Note: theater occupancy limited to 40 people at any time
Reservation or Registration: No
Image Gallery
William Trego, March to Valley Forge (1883)