George Washington’s war tent, created in Reading during the Valley Forge encampment in 1778, is an iconic part of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, writes Richard Grant for the Smithsonian Magazine.

The tent was part of a replacement set for the general’s initial campaign tents, all of which had worn out.

By choosing to camp with his men throughout the war, Washington was doing something highly uncommon for military leaders of the time who normally chose buildings as their headquarters.

“He was very consciously trying to model what leadership of the army in a republic would look like,” said R. Scott Stephenson, the museum’s president.

After the war ended, the tent was stored at his Mount Vernon estate. In 1799, following his death, it became a family heirloom that was treated as a national treasure and often put on display.

The tent changed many owners over the following decades, including Confederate General Robert E. Lee. After the Civil War ended, the tent started its career as a star object in museums, with its first stop in Valley Forge.

Read more about the war tent in the Smithsonian Magazine.

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