A traveling replica of George Washington’s headquarters and sleeping tent will be featured at Fort Ligonier fort Friday through Sunday. The large linen tent is filled with reproductions of period artifacts and equipment.
Presented by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, the exhibit includes costumed interpreters who will assemble a replica of another tent that housed Washington’s baggage. Common tents used by soldiers also will be displayed.
Earlier in his military career, Washington was present at Fort Ligonier, commanding British troops during the French and Indian War.
“This is the last place George Washington was under fire before the Revolution,” said Mary Manges, Fort Ligonier executive director. “Fort Ligonier and MoAR share the compelling story of how Washington went from fighting with the British against the French, to now leading an army against the British.”
The tent program is included in admission to the fort, which is open 10 a.m. to 5 pm. daily, including on July 4. The tents will be set up from noon to 2 p.m. Friday and will be dismantled from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Washington’s original tent was preserved through the years and is on display at the Philadelphia museum. The tent was inherited by Martha Washington’s great-granddaughter, Mary Custis, who married Robert E. Lee in 1831. It was confiscated during the Civil War after the Union Army occupied the Custis-Lee home of Arlington. It became a museum centerpiece for the Valley Forge Historical Society, a predecessor of the Philadelphia museum.
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