Philadelphia Story - Part 4: Valley Forge

Picking up where we left off, the British had invaded Philadelphia in late 1777 and had driven the fledgling American government out of the city. George Washington and his army had lost a series of battles (including the Battles of Brandywine and Germantown) and skirmishes through the fall and early winter, allowing the British to occupy Philadelphia entering the winter of 77-78.

Washington needed to find a location for a winter encampment. Settling on Valley Forge, about 18 miles outside of Philadelphia, he led 12,000 men to this location on December 19, 1777. It took about a month to build the 1,000 cabins that would house them through the bitter winter months. This was a critical period for the revolutionary army, and it was not certain that it would remain intact through the winter.

Two important developments through the winter proved critical: First, Baron Friedrich von Steuben of Prussia volunteered his services to the revolutionary cause. His skill and experience as a soldier proved critical in training the troops through the winter and turning them into a skilled, professional force. Second, on May 6, 1778, the army celebrates France's alliance with, and formal recognition of the United States. Anticipation of the arrival of French troops altered the British military plan, triggering their evacuation of Philadelphia in June. Washington pursued the British, meeting in battle in Monmouth, NJ, where they proved their new battle skills. This event convinced the army, and the colonies, that they could successfully take on the British. From the possibility of total collapse, the army was now a strong fighting force, bolstering the war effort throughout the colonies.

We visited Valley Forge National Park on Sunday, after we were done in Philadelphia. This report is out of sequence from the order of our weekend, but more in the sequence of historical events. Not much of the original encampment itself remains, but the visitors' center has many relics that have been unearthed in years since.

Washington's 12,000 troops had to build over 1,000 cabins, and did so in about a month. Using records from history, a few cabins were built to the specifications used back then. An officers cabin (r) housed one or two men, whereas enlisted men were bunked twelve to a cabin. Better than tents, though!

Washington himself rented a house that already existed there.

Rooms inside Washington's headquarters, where the General and his wife stayed the winter.

General Washington's elite security troops lived in cabins that were built just behind his headquarters.

A memorial arch built in memory of the encampment at Valley Forge.

Washington Memorial Chapel was built on private property within the park, and has an active congregation today.

The small but beautiful chapel area (l) boasts wood carved thingies (don't remember what they are called) with soldier figures. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

Etched granite commemorates the beginning of the encampment on December 9, 1777 (l), celebration of the French alliance on May 9, 1778 (c), and the evacuation of Valley Forge to pursue the British on June 19,1778 (r).

Carvings illustrate scenes from the encampment.

And, of course, General Washington is memorialized with a prominent statue.

And so our journey of discovery and history continues. In the next chapter we will pick up again in Philadelphia where a fledgling new government took up residence.

Philadelphia Story - Part 3: Independence Hall

When we last left off, the First Continental Congress had convened in Philadelphia's Carpenters' Hall in 1774. On the one hand, they had prepared entreaties to the King of England to reduce tensions, while at the same time planned a second meeting the following May should it be needed. In the ensuing period, there was no response from the King, while war was breaking out at the battles of Lexington and Concord in early 1775.

With that backdrop, the Second Continental Congress re-convened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. It first met again in Carpenters' Hall, but soon moved to the Pennsylvania state house. What we now call Independence Hall, and nearby structures, were originally built to serve as Philadelphia city hall and home to the state of Pennsylvania. The Congress, led by John Hancock, lacked true authority to govern but collectively began to take responsibility for the war and other matters.

On May 10, 1776, they agreed to pass a resolution of independence from England, and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence was underway. Several drafts were reviewed and edited by the Congress, and as we all know, was passed by them on July 4. In this place they also started drafting the first constitution, called the Articles of Confederation. The fact that all this took place at this site made our time there something really special.

Barb in front of Independence Hall (top). The wings left (Congress House) and right (city hall) had other historic uses that will be described in later editions.

Plaques commemorating the Pennsylvania state house and Independence Hall.

This is the main assembly room in the hall, where the Continental Congress met. A few of the pieces were original, but much of it had to be recreated with period pieces.

Original chair at the head table.

Original inkwell used for signing the declaration.

Other views, including the statue of George Washington in front.

Independence Hall at night time.

George Washington, known as the father of our country, was not involved with the Second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, or the governing of the confederation. He had been named Commander-in-Chief and was out leading the militias in the Revolutionary War. The Congress continued to meet in Philadelphia until September, 1777, when advancing British forces drove them out and occupied the city. This is an important segue to the next post: Valley Forge.

Philadelphia Story - Part 2: Carpenters' Hall

How well do you all remember our American history? It has been a long time - back to high school days - that we have really studied it and have forgotten so much. Too much. Being in Philadelphia was like taking a class in early American history all over again, except that we were walking in the footsteps of our founders. It was exciting, awesome, solemn, surreal all wrapped up in one.

We started out our tour at a place called Carpenters' Hall.

OK Jeopardy fans, here is the final answer: This important event in the founding of our country took place at Carpenters' Hall. (Cue Jeopardy music now ......)

If you asked "What is the first Continental Congress?" then you are correct!

The first Continental Congress convened in 1774 as relations with England were becoming more and more strained. The colonists were getting more upset at increasing English meddling in colonial affairs and ever increasing taxes. Delagates from 12 of the 13 colonies gathered right here, in this building, to choose a course of action. The signs explain more. Click on the picture to read it.

Here is some of the actual furniture from that event.

Here are a few pictures so you can get a feel for the inside of the hall.

Floor tile designs.

I won't say anything so trite as "this is where it all began", but I think it is.

Next up: Independence Hall

Philadelphia Story - Part 1

One of the locations on our "must see" list while we are on the East Coast has been Philadelphia. This city is really the birthplace of our independence, of our nation. We finally struck out for Philly over the weekend of May 7-9. There was so much to see, and so many pictures to take, we won't try to fit them in one blog post. We will spread it out over several posts. Hope you enjoy.

We stayed in a B&B that was really an old Philadelphia row house. It was originally built in 1854 and expanded in 1878, when bathrooms were added. (No - we weren't using the original toilets!) In the pictures below you can see the outside, the inside entryway (taken from the stairs), and our bedroom.

Friday night we wandered around the nearby neighborhoods and ended up in an eclectic area on South Street. The picture on the left shows a little bit of the flavor of the area. Apparently, this was the birth place of Larry Fine of the Three Stooges, who is honored with a building-side mural (r).

We found a corner restaurant with a second floor patio so we could observe the personalities that walked by. We HAD to try an authentic Philly Cheese sandwich!

Saturday morning we started off at the Liberty Bell Visitors Center. Independence Hall was originally built to be the state capitol of Pennsylvania. The bell was ordered to hang in the steeple of the state house. It wasn't called the Liberty Bell until years later.

A crack started forming sometime after the American Revolution and the bell was considered unrepairable sometime in the 1840's. A passage from Leviticus is inscribed into the bell: Proclaim liberty throughout the all the land unto all the inhabitants thereoff."

It was incredible to stand right next to it and see the real thing, as Barb does here with Independence Hall in the background.

That's all for this post. In future posts we will have stories and pictures on Independence Hall, the adjoining buildings that served as meeting places for our Congress, Christ Church, Valley Forge, and more!

Embassy Row and Melrose Place

Massachusetts Ave NW and the surrounding area is home to dozens of foreign embassies. During the month of May, they hold open houses. Some are grand old mansions, some are built specifically for the purpose of being an embassy, some are much more, shall we say, understated.

On May 1, we decided to to go to the open houses to learn a little more about the embassies. We visited the embassies of Columbia, Indonesia, Bahamas, and Korea.

The Colombian Embassy was a large, beautiful structure. The dining room had built-in cabinetry with hand-carved images of Bible heroes.

Original Colombian music entertain us as we toured the building.

The most beautiful was the Indonesian Embassy!

The outside entry (l), and an Indonesian greeter (r).

The grand stairway and the stained-glass skylight.

The dining room, the fireplace and crest, and (surprisingly) a pipe organ.

That weekend, long time friends Don and Marlys Melrose were in DC for a long weekend visit. They were staying with other friends (John & Karen Nicholas), who much like us, up and moved from Western Washington a couple years ago to live and work in the DC area for a few years. We met up with them on Saturday evening for lobster dinner at Clyde's of Georgetown.

John & Karen Nicholas (l), Don & Marlys Melrose (r)

All together at Union Station for an after-dinner walk.

The open house was fun, but meeting the Nicholas' and seeing Don & Marlys again was the highlight of the weekend!