Washington Writes from Valley Forge: A Museum Mystery

On December 19, 1777, the Continental Army set up its winter encampment at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The 9,000-strong army was in a desperate state—many soldiers were ill or wounded, and, by Washington's estimation, at least one-third were braving the cold barefoot and without proper clothing. At the end of December, with supplies dwindling further, Washington sent identical letters to each of the state legislatures describing the terrible conditions of his troops and requesting provisions. If the states failed send provisions, he lamented, "I fear . . . the Troops will never be in a situation to answer the public expectation and perform the duties required of them."

The Gilder Lehrman Collection owns a copy of the circular letter sent on December 29 to the New Hampshire legislature. A close examination of the letter, however, found that it had been altered: at some point in the 200+ years between the letter’s creation and its arrival at our Collection, someone had removed the last page. It was common in the past to separate pages with signatures to sell to collectors. However, at some point, the last page from another state’s copy of the circular was attached. Because each letter was identical, the content remains unchanged.

View full images of the letter here, and read a full transcript here. 

In the photos below, Collection Director and Curator Sandra Trenholm shows evidence that the final page was removed, and another put in its place: