Vaulted in History No More

09-08-2007

 

 

Valley Forge, Pa.  – Beginning next week visitors to Valley Forge National Historical Park will get the story of the American Revolution from a unique standpoint ─ the weapons and other artifacts with which the war was fought.

“It was the effective use of these weapons that allowed the common soldier of America's War for Independence to eventually achieve victory,” said VFNHP Museum Specialist Scott Houting.

Accumulated over a 20-year period by Massachusetts historian George C. Neumann, the collection was jointly purchased by the National Park Service and the Sun Oil Company of Philadelphia in 1978.

Items from the weapons collection comprise four separate, yet related, parts: Firearms; edged weapons (the largest group); auxiliary edged weapons like pole arms, bayonets, belt axes and knives; and  accoutrements and accessories like canteens, cooking and eating utensils, bullet molds, bottles, leather cartridge boxes and belts.

“The items are arranged as a study collection, documenting the weapons carried into battle as well as additional military equipment and personal items common to the era’s soldiers,” explained Houting. “Neumann gathered the items from throughout the eastern part of the country, and it’s assumed some of them were used here at Valley Forge at one time.”

“This is a unique opportunity for visitors to see objects from the renowned Neumann collection not already on display in the Welcome Center gallery at Valley Forge. The effort is in concert with our goal of making the collection more accessible to the public,” said VFNHP Superintendent Mike Caldwell.

One article of particular interest is a letter dated December 23, 1777, from Gen. Washington to the Continental Congress requesting urgently needed supplies for the encampment to prevent the possible demise of his army.

In a nine-page letter to then Continental Congress President Henry Laurens of South Carolina, Washington wrote, “I am now convinced beyond a doubt that unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place, this army must inevitably be reduced to one or other of these three things, starve, dissolve or disperse in order to obtain subsistence in the best manner they can.”

Located in the Park’s Welcome Center, tours will be conducted every first and third Saturday at 11 a.m. starting September 15, and will be limited to eight people per group. Cost is $10 for adults and $8 for students, seniors and military personnel. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 610-783-1020.

About Valley Forge National Historical Park
Valley Forge National Historical Park is located at Rt. 23 and North Gulph Road in King of Prussia, Pa. It educates present and future generations of Americans about one of the most defining events in our nation's history by preserving the natural and cultural resources that commemorate the encampment of the Continental Army at Valley Forge in 1777-78. www.nps.gov/vafo.

About the Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau
The Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Ltd. is a nonprofit, membership-based sales and marketing organization that aggressively promotes the Valley Forge area and Montgomery County as a convention site and leisure visitor destination. It does so by encouraging patronage of its 500-plus member hotels, restaurants, attractions and services. The Bureau’s web site at www.valleyforge.org serves visitors, residents, meeting planners and tour operators.

# # #

[Back to Press Releases Main]