Museum of the American Revolution, Part 1

During my trip to Philadelphia, PA in late May and early June, I visited the Museum of the American Revolution. Completely unrelated to the American Independence Museum in Exeter, NH that I visited back in 2022, this organization attempts to provide a comprehensive look at the first successful democratic revolution by incorporating multiple perspectives in thoughtful exhibits housed in a state-of-the-art facility. Do not let the non-profit status fool you; the museum has massive financial backing from an initial capital campaign of almost $175 million, and the budget has been well spent creating the immersive exhibits now expected of modern museums. This post is the first of two parts about the museum, since I spent part of two days there. In this post, I will describe the museum’s history, exterior, temporary exhibit, and the tent that started the movement. The second post will focus on the permanent exhibit and practical advice for visiting the museum.

The museum building opened in 2017 and had been a long time in the making. A smaller museum run by the Valley Forge Historical Society had been established in 1918 and lasted until 2000 when the new museum was founded. The organization traded land with the National Park Service, with the museum giving up some of its Valley Forge property while NPS gave up the land underneath its old visitor center.

Even before entering the museum, visitors have the chance to learn history. In front of the main entrance are a set of replica cannons created in the range of sizes used during the war, the perfect photo opportunity. A large stone plaque on the wall to the right of the entrance includes a quote from the Declaration of Independence. Banners attached to the wall display photographs of reenactors representing the diverse range of people affected by the revolution. On the left side of the building are a pair of bronze relief sculptures depicting famous paintings. Asian-American artist Dr. QiongZhao (Ellen) Schicktanz designed the sculptures from her Guangxi Qihe Bronze Studio based on Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze and Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull. This was an ingenious way to include an Asian-American perspective on the Revolutionary War.

Upon entering the lobby, visitors are greeted by a pair of realistic mannequins, much nicer than the uncanny kind found in lower budget museums. A nearby sign explained that these two men really existed: they fought for the British at the Battle of Germantown in 1777. Lieutenant Richard Mansergh St. George was a low level officer, while the unnamed man beside him was an African American servant who reportedly escaped slavery to work for the British army. After being wounded in the battle, St. George would return home to Ireland, while no known record exists on the fate of the other man. Right away, the museum establishes its mission to give a comprehensive view of the war, highlighting stories that have long been hidden.

The temporary exhibit in the Patriots Gallery during my visit was a collection of military flags, also known as colors or colours. Somewhat lengthy text at the start of the exhibit explained the origin of the practice in Greek and Roman times with flag systems proliferating during the Middle Ages. The flags on exhibit were rare survivors from the battles. The Commander in Chief’s Standard traditionally belonging to George Washington had thirteen six-pointed white stars on a faded blue background, an early concept for what would later be incorporated into the top left corner of the American flag. Another flag included a popular illustration of thirteen linked chains each labeled with an abbreviation for the thirteen states encircling a sun labeled WE ARE ONE. Perhaps the most interesting was an early Flag of the United States, which had red and white stripes and thirteen white, five-pointed stars on a royal blue background, but the stars were arranged like a larger star instead of in the classic circle.

A highlight of the museum, and the core reason for its existence, is the Washington’s War Tent located on the second floor. A fifteen-minute multimedia presentation tells the story of the tent during the American Revolution and afterwards. Special effects include a pair of screens gradually rising to reveal the tent, along with video and lights projecting around the tent so it appears in the four seasons. No personal photography of the tent is permitted, although high resolution photos taken by museum staff are available for download. As someone who knows a good deal about audio-visual production and lighting, the amount of design required to create this presentation was astonishing. If you have limited time in the museum, this should be your first stop.

Before entering the Core Exhibition, look around the Oneida Nation Atrium. The space includes three oil paintings showing events during the war. The original Siege of Yorktown by Louis Charles-Auguste Couder hangs in Versailles but this replica is the same size and likely created by Henry LeGrand, an artist with little biographic information currently available. The other pair of paintings in the atrium were created by Harrington G. Fitzgerald: Valley Forge Winter, The Return of the Foraging Party and Washington Crossing the Delaware, which is much less silly than the Leutze version where the general stands up in the boat. Meanwhile, replicas of flags used during the revolution are hung from the stair railing. With these observations complete, visitors are ready to see the rest of the museum.