W. Herbert Burk (1867-1933) was an Episcopal priest and founding vicar of the Washington Memorial Chapel in the Valley Forge National Historical Park. He is known for assembling, over the course of many years, the collection of Revolutionary War artifacts that form the core of the collection of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, and for his work to preserve Valley Forge, the site of an important Revolutionary War army encampment.
Burk was the son of Rev. Jesse Y. Burk rector of Old St Peter's Church, Clarksboro, New Jersey. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Divinity School (Episcopal). He was ordained in 1894, and became pastor of the Church of the Ascension in Gloucester City, NJ. Then of St. John's Church, Norristown, and of All Saints' Church, Norristown, Pennsylvania. Finally, he became rector of the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge. [1]
Burk was married to Abbie Jessup Reeves, and widowed when she died in 1909. He later married Eleanor Hallowell Stroud. [1]
On George Washington's Birthday in 1903, Rev. Burke, then rector of All Saints' Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania, gave a sermon in which he argued that Washington's piety the center of his character and suggested building a "wayside chapel," to serve as a "fit memorial of the Church's most honored son." The sermon inspired the building of the Washington Memorial Chapel, in which Burk would serve as rector for the rest of his life. [1]
In 1909 Burke purchased the exterior of George Washington's tent for display in the Valley Forge Museum of American History, predecessor to the Valley Forge Historical Society. Now part of the collection and on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, it was formerly exhibited in a museum on the grounds of the 1777-1778 Valley Forge encampment. [2]
For several decades, Burke accepted gifts of Revolutionary War artifacts, sent mostly by descendants of the original owners. This became the founding collection of the Museum of the American Revolution. [3] In 1918 he founded the Valley Forge Historical Society. [1]
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community took its unusual name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after King Frederick the Great of Prussia. King of Prussia is considered to be an edge city of Philadelphia, consisting of large amounts of retail and office space situated at the convergence of four highways.
Upper Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 33,613 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Located 16 miles (26 km) from Philadelphia, it consists of the villages of Gulph Mills, King of Prussia, Swedeland, Swedesburg, and portions of Radnor, and Wayne.
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg was an American clergyman and military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. A member of Pennsylvania's prominent Muhlenberg family political dynasty, he became a respected figure in the newly independent United States as a Lutheran minister and member of the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate.
Valley Forge National Historical Park is the site of the third winter encampment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War from December 19, 1777 to June 19, 1778. The National Park Service preserves the site and interprets the history of the Valley Forge encampment. The park contains historical buildings, recreated encampment structures, memorials, museums, and recreation facilities.
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for the Founding Fathers who discussed, debated, developed, and ultimately implemented many of the acts, including signing the Declaration of Independence, that inspired and launched the revolution and the quest for independence from the British Empire.
John Andrews was an American Episcopal priest; 4th provost of the University of Pennsylvania (1810–1813), 3rd vice provost (1789–1810), and professor of moral philosophy (1789–1813) of the same college; principal of the Episcopal Academy of Philadelphia (1785–1789); rector of St. Thomas Church in Garrison Forest, Baltimore County, Maryland (1782–1784); founder of the bases of York College of Pennsylvania (1776); minister of St. Peter's Episcopal Church (1767–1770); lecturer; and author of published textbooks and sermons.
The Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment is the oldest annual scouting event in the world. It was first held on February 22, 1913, and has been held every year since. The event is hosted by the Cradle of Liberty Council and commemorates the soldiers of the Continental Army who braved the winter of 1777-78 at Valley Forge. Each year more than 2,000 brave the winter chill of the Delaware Valley to participate.
Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge, also known as the Isaac Potts House, is a historic house that served as General George Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge during the American Revolutionary War. The building, which still stands, is one of the centerpieces of Valley Forge National Historical Park in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge National Historical Park is a national memorial dedicated to General George Washington and an active Episcopal parish in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The church was inspired by a sermon preached by Anglican minister Reverend Dr. W. Herbert Burk, founder and first rector of the parish. The building was designed by architect Milton B. Medary. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 2017, and is undergoing an active restoration campaign.
Gulph Mills is an unincorporated community that is located in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is served by the Upper Merion Area School District.
Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the third and harshest of the eight winter encampments that Washington and the Continental Army endured during the war.
The Liberty Bell Museum, also the Liberty Bell Shrine Museum was a non-profit organization and museum located in Zion's United Church of Christ, formerly Zion's Reformed Church, in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The museum was located in the basement of the church, where the Liberty Bell, an iconic and globally-recognized symbol of America's independence and freedom, was hidden from the British Army by Allentown-area American patriots during the American Revolutionary War from September 1777 to June 1778.
The Museum of the American Revolution, formerly The American Revolution Center, is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania dedicated to telling the story of the American Revolution. The museum was opened to the public on April 19, 2017, the 242nd anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, some of the battles of the American Revolutionary War, on April 19, 1775.
George Washington is a statue by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon from the late 18th century. Based on a life mask and other measurements of George Washington taken by Houdon, it is considered one of the most accurate depictions of the subject. The original sculpture is located in the rotunda of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, and it has been copied extensively, with one copy standing in the United States Capitol Rotunda.
Richardson Brognard Okie Jr. (1875–1945) was an American architect. He is noted for his Colonial-Revival houses and his sensitive restorations of historic buildings.
Nicola D'Ascenzo was an Italian-born American stained glass designer, painter and instructor. He is best known for creating stained glass windows for the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; the Nipper Building in Camden, New Jersey; the Loyola Alumni Chapel of Our Lady at Loyola University Maryland; the Folger Shakespeare Library and Washington National Cathedral, both in Washington, D.C.
General George Washington used a pair of campaign tents throughout much of the American Revolutionary War. In warm weather, he used one for dining with his officers and aides, and the other as his military office and sleeping quarters. Canvas panels and poles from both tents survive, and are currently owned by four separate historical organizations.
Edward Roche was an American merchant who served in both houses of the Delaware General Assembly, as a delegate to the Delaware state constitutional convention, and in the American Revolutionary War.
Anna Morris Holstein was an American organizational leader, civil war nurse, and author. From 1862 until the close of the war, Holstein was engaged in the hospital service, and after the Battle of Gettysburg, she was matron-in-chief of a hospital in which 3,000 seriously wounded men were looked after. She was the founder and first regent of the Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge, and a regent of the Valley Forge Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.).
The Centennial and Memorial Association of Valley Forge was incorporated in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in 1878, with the objective of saving, acquiring, restoring, and preserving General Washington's Valley Forge Headquarters and surrounding acreage as parcels of it became available.