PHILADELPHIA, PA.- Called “the crown jewel in the collection” by The Washington Post and the “rock-star object” by The New York Times, General George Washington’s headquarters tent from the Revolutionary War is the centerpiece of the Museum of the American Revolution, where more than a million visitors have experienced the tent’s power in an immersive theater experience.

Now, in the Museum’s upcoming special exhibition, Witness to Revolution: The Unlikely Travels of Washington’s Tent, more than 100 artifacts from across the country will be brought together to expand the story told in the Museum’s award-winning Washington’s War Tent theater presentation and explore the tent’s inspiring journey from the Revolutionary War to today. Opening during Presidents Day Weekend, Witness to Revolution will be on view exclusively at the Museum from Feb. 17, 2024, through Jan. 5, 2025, and will be included with regular Museum admission.

Using objects, documents, works of art, touchscreen interactives, audio and video elements, and more, the special exhibition will bring to life the stories of individuals from all walks of life who saved Washington’s tent from being lost over the generations and who ultimately fashioned this relic into a symbol of our fragile but enduring American republic. The exhibit explores these personal stories, from well-known names like Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Martha Washington, to lesser-known individuals like Washington’s enslaved valet William Lee, who lived alongside him in the tent, and Selina Gray, the enslaved housekeeper at Arlington House in Virginia who saved the tent during the Civil War.

“Since the Museum’s opening, visitors who have viewed our dramatic Washington’s War Tent presentation are often moved to tears and want to know more about the tent’s role as George Washington’s wartime home and about the diverse people who ensured that it survived to the present day,” said Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, Museum President and CEO. “Witness to Revolution will take visitors on a surprising journey of nearly 250 years, including stories of leadership, conflict, patriotism, and preservation. Washington’s tent helps us tell the American story.”

Visitors will follow Washington’s decision to leave the “tented field” in 1783, packing up his military belongings (including the tent) and returning to private life at Mount Vernon. After General Washington’s death in 1799, the tent remained in the care of Martha Washington and her descendants. It was routinely displayed in the 1800s, most dramatically during Lafayette’s return to the United States in 1824. The exhibition will explore how the tent became a “relic” and a family heirloom, inherited by Martha Washington’s great-granddaughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, who married future Confederate General Robert E. Lee in 1831.

Witness to Revolution continues through the era of the Civil War, when the United States Army occupied the Custis-Lee home (Arlington House) and government officials confiscated the tent and placed it on display in Washington, D.C. The tent’s journey continues through Philadelphia’s Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 and a decades-long campaign by the Custis-Lee descendants to secure the return of their family heirlooms taken during the Civil War. Ultimately, a 1906 newspaper article sparked a friendship between Mary Custis Lee (1835-1918) and Episcopalian priest Rev. W. Herbert Burk (1867-1933), bringing Washington’s headquarters tent into the collection that is now on display at the Museum of the American Revolution.

The exhibit will include a recreation of the end of the headquarters tent to give visitors a sense of the tent’s size and scale. General Washington’s foldable field bedstead from the Revolutionary War, on loan from Mount Vernon, will be displayed nearby. A tactile 3D-printed diorama of Washington’s sleeping and dining tents will be available for use by guests who are blind or low vision, created and donated by Clovernook Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired.

Key Artifacts on Display

•Created by the Museum’s in-house curatorial team, the exhibition will feature works of art, rare documents, and significant historical objects from nearly 25 public and private collections across the United States, including Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Tudor Place, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the Library of Congress, and many others. Key artifacts include:

•George Washington’s foldable field bedstead, which was used inside his headquarters tent during the Revolutionary War. On loan from the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.

•An 1872 letter written by Selina Gray to Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee (wife of Robert E. Lee) describing the occupation of Arlington House by United States troops during the Civil War. At the time, Gray was the enslaved housekeeper at Arlington where Washington’s headquarters tent and other historical relics were stored and then confiscated by the United States Army. This manuscript is one of the few of Gray’s letters that survive. On loan from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

•The 1897 painting In the Presence of Washington by Howard Pyle, which depicts General Washington inside his headquarters tent during the Revolutionary War. On loan from the Biggs Museum of American Art.

•Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s panoramic watercolor of the Continental Army’s 1782 encampment at Verplanck’s Point, New York. This watercolor includes the only known eyewitness image of Washington’s headquarters tent in the field during the Revolutionary War. Collection of the Museum of the American Revolution.

•An 1844-1849 daguerreotype of George Washington Parke Custis (Martha Washington’s grandson) who owned Washington’s headquarters tent during the early 1800s. On loan from the Library of Congress.

•A silver camp cup that General Washington ordered from Philadelphia silversmith Richard Humphreys in 1780 for use in his wartime headquarters and a large fragment cut from the roof of Washington’s headquarters tent. On loan from Yale University Art Gallery.

•Epaulets worn by Tench Tilghman, General Washington’s aide-de-camp, during the Revolutionary War. On loan from the Society of the Cincinnati.

•An iron hook cut from George Washington’s tent when the Marquis de Lafayette saw the tent set up at Fort McHenry in 1824 as part of his tour of the United States. The hook was cut by William B. Barney, a member of the Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland who was in the tent with Lafayette at the event. On loan from the DAR Museum.

•Fragments of the original headquarters tent and dining tent. On loan from various lenders and the Museum’s own collection.

•The original contract for purchase of the tent from 1909 and the visitor register from the Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge where the tent was displayed in the early 1900s. Collection of the Museum of the American Revolution.

•A painted silk banner with a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette at its center that was created in Philadelphia for the parade celebrating Lafayette’s return to the United States in 1824. Collection of the Museum of the American Revolution

The Museum of the American Revolution uncovers and shares compelling stories about the diverse people and complex events that sparked America’s ongoing experiment in liberty, equality, and self-government. Through the Museum’s unmatched collection, immersive galleries, powerful theater experiences, and interactive elements, visitors gain a deeper appreciation for how this nation came to be and feel inspired to consider their role in ensuring that the promise of the American Revolution endures. Located just steps away from Independence Hall, the Museum serves as a portal to the region’s many Revolutionary sites, sparking interest, providing context, and encouraging exploration. The Museum, which opened on April 19, 2017, is a private, non-profit, and non-partisan organization.