Rector of the Washington Memorial Chapel, Valley Forge. Member of the Historical Societies of Pennsylvania and Honorary Member of the Gloucester County Historical Society, N.J. PREFACE. In the following pages I have endeavored to supply that information which will be of most value to the visitor to Valley Forge. Without some such guidance much of the interest which belongs to the place is lost, as I know from personal experience. My endeavor has been to connect the living personality of the men of the Revolution with the objects which remain. Unfortunately no one has attempted this, and consequently much time and labor have been spent in gathering the information which would enable me to do it. Incomplete as the work is, I offer it to the American people in the hope that its pages may bring to them something of the enthusiasm which its preparation has brought me. I am indebted to Mr. Edson J. Weeks for permission to use the picture of Washington's Headquarters and to Prof. Jesse E. Philips for the use of his copy of Peale's portrait of Washington. All Saints' Rectory, W. HERBERT BURK. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. The development at Valley Forge, both in the Park and at the Washington Memorial Chapel, has been so rapid that a new edition of the VALLEY FORGE GUIDE is demanded. In its preparation I have availed myself of the important researches made by Dr. John W. Jordan for the Valley Forge Commission for the brigade markers, and desire to express my gratitude for Dr. Jordan's work and my indebtedness to him. I also gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of Mrs. William Benton Greene, Jr., in allowing me to reproduce the portrait of General Greene owned by her. To Harper & Brothers, for the permission to copy Lossing's drawing of Washington's tents; to the Reading Railway Company, and to the Phoenixville, Valley Forge and Strafford Railway Company, for the use of maps, I am grateful for these important additions to the value and interest of the GUIDE. All Saints' Rectory, May 10, 1910. W. HERBERT BURK. |