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PRINTER'S NO. 3244
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 488
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY BRIGGS, SHUSTERMAN, WEBSTER, DALEY, BURGOS, HAMM,
CARROLL, HOWARD, VENKAT, GUENST, GREINER, KHAN, NEILSON,
BRENNAN, HILL-EVANS, SANCHEZ, WAXMAN, OTTEN, ANDERSON,
HOHENSTEIN, DOUGHERTY, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, KENYATTA AND
GALLAGHER, APRIL 20, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, APRIL 21, 2026
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
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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; and
WHEREAS, 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
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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
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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
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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 in
Rome, 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
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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 impossible
task; 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.
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