Black Revolutionary War Patriots Honored in Valley Forge Park

VALLEY FORGE, PA — The date June 19 - the Juneteenth celebration of the end of slavery in 1865 - also has special significance in Valley Forge National Park.

June 19, 1778 is also remembered as the date when George Washington’s Continental Army marched out of Valley Forge after a harsh winter of training.

More than 700 Black soldiers who trained at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778 were not forgotten.

To honor and remember the Black soldiers, two new panels explaining the history of the Black soldiers during the Revolutionary War were unveiled Saturday during a ceremony at the Patriots of African Descent Monument along Route 23 in Valley Forge National Park.

“Of the 700 soldiers, some were enslaved and some were given freedom,” Adam Gresek, park spokesman, said Tuesday. “They were serving in the Army, hoping they would be free.”

Gresek said descendents of Washington’s Army attended the ceremony, which featured a bell ringing, a procession, speakers, and wreath laying.

Participants placed 13 wreaths at the monument to represent the 13 original states, and a brief story of a specific African-descended patriot from that state was read while each wreath was placed.

The monument sits on the edge of the park’s Grand Parade and near the encampment site of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment.

Large turnout

More than 200 people attended the ceremony hosted by the National Park Service and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, an African American sorority founded at Howard University.

A new panel recognizes that “By fighting for freedom against all odds, these countless other unsung heroes laid the groundwork for future generations in America.”

It recognized Hanna Till, an enslaved cook for General Washington, who purchased her freedom in 1778, and Richard Allen, an enslaved teen who brought supplies to the Army and purchased his freedom in 1783, becoming a minister.

In addition to the new panels, a stone patio and bench were installed to provide a space for visitors to rest and contemplate.

The panels featured custom artwork by Everette Brown, an African American digital artist.
Proceeds from the Valley Forge Revolutionary 5-Mile Run supported the project.

More information on the monument is available here.