The iconic painting, Washington’s Prayer at Valley Forge is moving. The father of our country in prayer for his country.
Arnold Friberg (December 21, 1913 – July 1, 2010) was an American illustrator and painter noted for his religious and patriotic works. He is perhaps best known for his 1975 painting The Prayer at Valley Forge, a depiction of George Washington praying at Valley Forge.[1][2][3] He is also well known for his 15 “pre-visualization” paintings for the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments which were used to promote the film worldwide and for which he received an Academy Award nomination.[1][4][5]
The American Revolution Museum in Philadelphia featured an exhibition on the accounts.
The primary story comes from Isaac Potts to Mason Weems. Why Isaac Potts? Because it was his house that Washington used as his headquarters.
The prayer has been featured as a stamp, on display in the National Postal Museum
But did it actually happen? Some see it as a legend created by Mason Weems:
Journal of the American Revolution:
One of the book’s most famous excerpts remains Washington’s prayer during the 1777-1778 Valley Forge winter encampment, which Weems wrote as an allegorical defense of revolutionary-era values. Weems repeatedly referred to his source for the story, Isaac Potts, as “Friend Potts” to highlight his religious affiliation with the Society of Friends, or Quakers. According to Weems, Potts passed through the woods and spied “the commander in chief of the American armies on his knees at prayer.” He observed Washington until the general concluded his devotions, at which point Potts returned home to report the encounter to his wife. He reminded her of his Quaker vow to pacifism, declaring, “I always thought that the sword and the gospel were utterly inconsistent. But George Washington has this day convinced me of my mistake.” The General’s reverence converted Potts to the American cause, now certain that “Washington will yet prevail” and “work out a great salvation for America.” Weems designed the prayer legend to remind his audience that national obligations superseded religious differences.[2]
Other sources argue that there is reason to accept the event as history:
One should read what Potts’ biographer, Mrs. Thomas Potts James says about “the Prayer of Valley Forge,” and note her authority. Mrs. James writes “it was not in human nature, or Quaker nature either, for Isaac to be very much pleased to run his mill according to military requisition, to see his peaceful valley invaded by men at arms. That he changed his mind when he overheard Washington’s devotions is evident. I copied from a paper in the possession of one of his grand-daughters. It is in the handwriting of, and signed by, his daughter, Ruth-Anna, who died in 1811.
While this incident is debated, less debated is the place where George Washington’s mother would pray for her son.
Valley Forge was featured in The Great American Time Machine from Patch the Pirate:
Painted by Arnold Friberg (wikipedia):
