Welcome to the Society!
A Concise History of the Society
Until the Bicentennial of American Independence, there had been no general effort to draw up the roll of more than 3,000 soldiers who were believed to have died in and around Valley Forge Pennsylvania while encamped there with General George Washington during the fateful winter of 1777-78 and the months that followed. The Society of the Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge was founded by Mr. Donald G. Cronan of Manhassett New York for the purpose of compiling a roll and preserving the identity of the individual soldiers, especially those who lie in unmarked graves.
In 1975 Cronan, a member of the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission visited the park at Valley Forge for the first time. Having recently discovered that his ancestor had been at Valley Forge, but had not left when the army marched out. Cronan was disappointed to find no marker or even a roll listing the honored dead of Valley Forge.
On March 25, 1976, Cronan submitted the official application with the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration to make the forming of the Society a registered Bicentennial project. (#022453) The main objective of this new society would be the compilation of the roll of the soldiers that died in or near the Valley Forge Encampment. The scope has changed to record all the honored ancestors as proven by the membership through their documented application.
On October 23, 1976 the organizational committee met at Washington’s Headquarters to formally launch the society. The first formal meeting of the society was held in Washington’s Headquarters at Valley Forge.
The first annual Encampment was held for the membership on Washington ’s Birthday weekend 1978. The ground was covered with snow which brought those in attendance a special reverence with the suffering of their ancestors.
The Society has continued to grow and prosper as the “honored roll” is called for those who served their country in this time of peril.
The Society has enjoyed a successive line of outstanding Commanders in Chief though whose efforts the society has enjoyed much growth, starting with Donald Cronan and including, Phillip Steel, Betty Brown Miller, and Barbara Waltz Stone.