Muhlenberg’s Brigade stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour

VALLEY FORGE ENCAMPMENT TOUR STOP 2

The Muhlenberg Brigade

Just down the road from the Valley Forge National Historical Park Visitor Center is the second stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour, the Muhlenberg Brigade. It’s close enough to the Visitor Center that you can walk, and there is a trail (Grand Parade Trail) that begins at the back of the building for those who want some exercise (.25 mile, one way). The stop is also on the paved Joseph Plumb Martin Trail. There is a bicycle rack and water fountain at the stop.

Joseph Plumb Martin Trail runs past the Muhlenberg Brigade stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour

The Muhlenberg Brigade tour stop gets its name from General Peter Muhlenberg’s Virginia brigade, the army that occupied this area. This was the outer line of defense for the Valley Forge encampment. Though it was winter time and armies tended not to fight due to mobility issues and a lack of food sources, the men at Valley Forge still had to be ready for a surprise attack by the British. The outer line of defense at Valley Forge was located on a ridge, and at the time every tree for miles had been cut down for building materials and heating and cooking fuel, so Muhlenberg’s men had a clear view for at least a mile. If the British launched an attack from Philadelphia, where they had made their winter camp just 20 miles away, they would be spotted in plenty of time for the Continental soldiers to prepare a defense. However, the British never made such an attempt, and when the weather broke in the spring of 1778, they abandoned Philadelphia and marched north to New York, the main British stronghold in the north.

The Muhlenberg Brigade stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour has quite a lot to see compared to the other stops. Most prominent are the log cabins that appear here and throughout the park. After the Civil War, there was a movement to preserve historical sites from the American Revolution. In 1893, Pennsylvania established its first state park at Valley Forge, and it remained a state park until it was turned over to the National Park Service in 1976. During this time the Pennsylvania parks department built cabins based on historical and archeological evidence that were similar to those actually used at Valley Forge. Keep in mind that there would have been between one and two thousand cabins when the Continental Army occupied the area. In fact, Valley Forge became the fourth largest city in America at the time.

Soldier cabins at the Muhlenberg Brigade stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour

Front side of a typical soldier cabin at the Valley Forge encampment

Back side of a typical soldier cabin at the Valley Forge encampment

One cabin is open, and inside are information panels that tell the story of how the land was so destroyed by the Continental Army that no crops could be raised the following year. Upon the army’s departure, everything from the encampment was dismantled or plowed under by the farmers as they reclaimed their land. After Valley Forge State Park was created, nearly all post-Revolution farms, houses, and industrial buildings were removed. Today only the physical area of the Valley Forge encampment is preserved.

Exhibits inside a soldier cabin at the Muhlenberg Brigade stop on the Valley Forge Encampment Tour

Located at the end of the gravel path the runs in front of the cabins is a reconstruction of a typical oven that soldiers and their families (yes, families often traveled with the men) used for baking bread. There was one oven at each camp, but they were usually located away from the front lines. This oven is located next to the cabins just so visitors can see it.

Oven and fire pit typical of those used by the Continental Army at their Valley Forge encampment

If you walk to the Muhlenberg Brigade stop via the Grand Parade Trail, you will pass Redoubt 2 (an earthen fort). If you drive or bike to the stop, the redoubt is just a one-minute walk away. Look for a gravel path next to the first cabin. It’s hard to see the redoubt from the cabins, so unless you know about it you are likely to get back into your car and continue on to the next tour stop. Why a directional sign is not erected is beyond me.

Path from the Muhlenberg Brigade cabins to Redoubt 2 at Valley Forge National Historical Park

A redoubt is an enclosed fort usually built in an outlying area, sort of an outpost for soldiers sent to defend a strategic point. Faced with an overwhelming attack, this is a place where the soldiers can fall back. The definition of redoubt is “a place of retreat.” Redoubts can be earthen, temporary structures or permanent structures made of brick or stone. In the case of Redoubt 2 at Valley Forge, it is an earthen fort.

This is not the actual fort used by the Continental Army during the American Revolution but a reconstruction built in modern times. In the 1940s, its outline was spotted by an airplane flying overhead. After an archeological excavation pinpointed its location and determined its size, Redoubt 2 was reconstructed based on the knowledge of what typical earthen forts looked like in the 1700s.

Redoubt 2 at Valley Forge National Historical Park

There were five redoubts at Valley Forge (all earthen), and each was fortified with cannon. Defensive trenches that could be manned with troops connected them together. To the rear of the Valley Forge encampment was the Schuylkill River, which provided a natural defense against a rear attack.

Inside Redoubt 2 at Valley Forge National Historical Park

Earthen redoubts were constructed by digging dirt from one area and piling it high at another to form a tall, earthen wall. In most cases, the dirt was piled right next to the area being dug so that the ditch that was created ended up serving as a dry moat. The walls themselves were usually reinforced with wood or baskets filled with rock. Sharpened logs called abatis protruded from the fort walls and were embedded straight up in the moat to further deter attacking troops.

Cannon on display at Redoubt 2, Valley Forge National Historical Park

Abatis protrude from Redoubt 2 at Valley Forge National Historical Park

A second redoubt, Redoubt 5, is located next to the Muhlenberg Brigade parking lot, which is on the other side of the road from the cabins. It has not been reconstructed like Redoubt 2. Both of these redoubts had clear views towards Philadelphia where the British troops were stationed for the winter.

Cannon marks the site of Redoubt 5 at Valley Forge National Historical Park

Today there is very little left of the redoubts and defensive trenches at Valley Forge. What wasn’t plowed under by the farmers has nearly eroded away after 250 years. The only things that remain of the earthworks are small hills and gullies.

Plan to spend 15 to 30 minutes at the Muhlenberg Brigade tour stop, depending on if you walk to Redoubt 2.

Tour Stop 3 | Tour Stop 1 | Encampment Tour Main Page

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