HR 488 — 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.

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
 1   Designating July 4, 2026, as "Valley Forge National Historical
 2      Park Day" in Pennsylvania in celebration of the 50th
 3      anniversary of Valley Forge National Historical Park.
 4         WHEREAS, Valley Forge National Historical Park is known
 5   primarily as the site of the third winter encampment of General
 6   George Washington and the Continental Army during the American
 7   Revolutionary War; and
 8         WHEREAS, General George Washington and the Continental Army
 9   were at the encampment from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778;
10   and
11         WHEREAS, In 1878, private citizens formed the Centennial and
12   Memorial Association of Valley Forge to preserve the site; and
13         WHEREAS, Within a year, the Association took possession of
14   Washington's Headquarters, the structure used by General George
15   Washington and his family, along with military aides and both
16   paid and enslaved servants, while at the encampment; and
 1      WHEREAS, Washington's Headquarters, also known as the Isaac
 2   Potts House, was constructed around 1773 by the Potts family,
 3   and today much of the structure is estimated to be original to
 4   the encampment era; and
 5      WHEREAS, Shortly after the Association took possession of the
 6   structure, the General Assembly appropriated $5,000 to maintain
 7   the Headquarters; and
 8      WHEREAS, Failing to receive Federal money, on May 30, 1893,
 9   Governor Robert Pattison approved legislation, Act 130 of 1893,
10   "for the acquisition of ground at Valley Forge for a public
11   park"; and
12      WHEREAS, Act 130 also created a 10-person commission, the
13   Valley Forge Park Commission, which worked to acquire more land
14   and build facilities; and
15      WHEREAS, Valley Forge State Park was established as the first
16   State park of Pennsylvania in 1893 "to preserve, improve, and
17   maintain as a public park the site on which the Continental Army
18   encamped at Valley Forge"; and
19      WHEREAS, A highlight of the park's history is the 1950 Boy
20   Scout National Jamboree, which was attended by President Harry
21   Truman; and
22      WHEREAS, As part of the national bicentennial celebration,
23   President Gerald Ford visited Valley Forge State Park to accept,
24   on behalf of the Federal Government, the park as a gift from the
25   Commonwealth; and
26      WHEREAS, On July 4, 1976, President Ford signed legislation
27   authorizing the Federal Government to take control of the park,
28   creating Valley Forge National Historical Park; and
29      WHEREAS, The monuments, statues and buildings that comprise
30   Valley Forge National Historical Park evoke more than 240 years

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 1   of American history; and
 2         WHEREAS, On December 19, 1777, more than 12,000 soldiers and
 3   400 women and children marched into Valley Forge and began to
 4   build what essentially became the fourth largest city in the
 5   colonies at the time, with approximately 1,500 log huts and two
 6   miles of fortifications; and
 7         WHEREAS, Valley Forge was a naturally defensible plateau
 8   where the soldiers could train and recoup from the year's
 9   battles; and
10         WHEREAS, Regular freezing and thawing, plus intermittent
11   snowfall and rain, along with shortages of food and clothing,
12   made living conditions at the encampment extremely difficult;
13   and
14         WHEREAS, While there was never a battle at Valley Forge,
15   diseases like influenza and typhoid fever killed nearly 2,000
16   people at the encampment; and
17         WHEREAS, A delegation of Oneida and Tuscarora warriors aided
18   the Continental Army by countering raids in the surrounding area
19   by British soldiers, who were confiscating supplies, seizing
20   stragglers, acquiring intelligence and harassing civilians; and
21         WHEREAS, These Native American warriors helped to capture
22   enemy soldiers to gain important information and discourage
23   attempts of desertions from soldiers in the Continental Army;
24   and
25         WHEREAS, These warriors repeatedly proved themselves as
26   exceptional scouts and superb small-unit fighters; and
27         WHEREAS, In addition to receiving battlefield assistance from
28   Native Americans, General George Washington also attracted
29   former Prussian officer Baron von Steuben to the cause; and
30         WHEREAS, Baron von Steuben was assigned the task of training

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 1   the troops of the Continental Army and is largely credited with
 2   teaching them new military skills and turning them into a
 3   disciplined and professional fighting force; and
 4      WHEREAS, The Continental Army's transformative experiences at
 5   Valley Forge reshaped it into a more unified force capable of
 6   defeating the British and winning American independence during
 7   the remaining five years of the Revolutionary War; and
 8      WHEREAS, The concepts of basic training, the
 9   professionalization of the officer corps and the rise of the
10   United States Army's distinctive branches, such as the Corps of
11   Engineers, all got their start at the encampment in Valley
12   Forge; and
13      WHEREAS, Reforms to the supply system and fighting tactics,
14   along with reforms in military hygiene and organization, became
15   the foundation of the modern United States Army, with many
16   regarding Valley Forge as the birthplace of the United States
17   Army; and
18      WHEREAS, Located in Valley Forge National Historical Park,
19   the area known as Muhlenberg's Brigade is the site of the
20   encampment of the Virginia troops of the Revolutionary War led
21   by Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg during the winter of 1777-
22   1778; and
23      WHEREAS, Today, the Muhlenberg's Brigade site consists of
24   nine reconstructed log huts; and
25      WHEREAS, The Muhlenberg's Brigade site is the primary
26   location of Valley Forge's living history program, in which park
27   rangers and volunteers dress in 18th-century attire and provide
28   glimpses of what life was like during the Valley Forge
29   encampment; and
30      WHEREAS, Some of the log huts at Muhlenberg's Brigade contain

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 1   exhibits that provide information about the construction of the
 2   huts, entrenchments and fortifications of the encampment, as
 3   well as the daily routine and living conditions of officers and
 4   soldiers; and
 5      WHEREAS, The National Memorial Arch, also located in Valley
 6   Forge National Historical Park, was erected to commemorate the
 7   arrival of General George Washington and the Continental Army in
 8   Valley Forge; and
 9      WHEREAS, The National Memorial Arch was designed by Paul
10   Philippe Cret as a simplified version of the Arch of Titus in
11   Rome, Italy; and
12      WHEREAS, Also located in Valley Forge National Historical
13   Park, the Patriots of African Descent Monument is a granite
14   block with carved text and a bronze bas-relief depicting three
15   soldiers of African descent, one facing left, one facing right,
16   and one facing straight ahead; and
17      WHEREAS, The back of the Patriots of African Descent Monument
18   includes the following: "In Honor of the PATRIOTS OF AFRICAN
19   DESCENT who served, suffered, and sacrificed during the Valley
20   Forge Encampment 1777-1778"; and
21      WHEREAS, In Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of
22   Valley Forge, author Thomas Fleming cites work by independent
23   researcher George Quintal, who used pension records and other
24   sources to document at least 500 African Americans at the
25   encampment in Valley Forge; and
26      WHEREAS, The First Rhode Island Regiment, in General James
27   Varnum's Brigade at Valley Forge, included many African American
28   and Native American soldiers; and
29      WHEREAS, During the encampment at Valley Forge, most of the
30   Continental Army's cannons and other artillery were stored in

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 1   the area of the park now known as Artillery Park; and
 2      WHEREAS, From a central location, cannons could be rushed to
 3   dirt mound defenses located throughout the encampment to help
 4   stop an attack by the British; and
 5      WHEREAS, Even with this reliable and flexible defense, the
 6   Continental Army still had to coax often starving horses to pull
 7   the cannons through deep, muddy camp roads, a near impossible
 8   task; and
 9      WHEREAS, Brigadier General Henry Knox commanded and trained
10   approximately 630 officers and soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd
11   and 4th Continental regiments at this location; and
12      WHEREAS, Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River run through
13   the park, making it a prime location for water activities such
14   as fishing, canoeing and kayaking; and
15      WHEREAS, With more than 3,600 acres of rolling hills,
16   designated picnic areas, a six-mile multiuse trail, 35 miles of
17   designated hiking trails, 19 miles of biking trails and 17 miles
18   of horse trails, the park is a magnet for runners, bicyclists,
19   picnickers and other outdoor enthusiasts; and
20      WHEREAS, The park hosts annual events, such as the Valley
21   Forge Revolutionary 5-Mile Run, the March-In, which commemorates
22   the arrival of the Continental Army in Valley Forge, and the
23   March-Out, which commemorates the Army's departure from Valley
24   Forge; therefore be it
25      RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate July 4,
26   2026, as "Valley Forge National Historical Park Day" in
27   Pennsylvania in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Valley
28   Forge National Historical Park.




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