Originally owned by President George Washington, the artifact recently found its way to a Virginia history enthusiast, who later donated it to the museum, thanks to Goodwill.
The piece is currently on display at the American Revolutionary War Museum in Philadelphia.
Collector Richard “Dana” Moore stumbled upon the relic, a 6-inch-long piece of linen fabric from a Washington dining marquee, at a Goodwill auction house.
The fabric was put up for auction with the note, “Part of George Washington’s Tent. From the Historic Buildings of the 1907 Jamestown Exposition. Property of John Burns, December 23, 2007.”
Most of Moore’s collection is Civil War artifacts, but over the years he has used his metal detector to collect items from the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the history buff said he initially thought the piece “couldn’t be real.”
The cloth, which has darkened over the years, is now on display at the American Revolutionary War Museum.
“But when I zoomed in, the fabric looked really old,” he explained.
“A short handwritten note about the 1907 Jamestown Exposition is attached with a rusty pin, giving it a sense of age.”
“My intuition kept telling me this could be a reality.”
Sensing the piece was special, Moore purchased the fabric on an auction site for $1,300, and explained that after purchasing the piece, he felt overwhelmed at the responsibility he felt for “such an important historical artifact.”
He waited to tell his wife, Susan Bowen, about the purchase, but she was initially skeptical.
Richard “Dana” Moore and Susan Bowen loaned George Washington artifacts to the National Museum of the American Revolution. Susan Bowen
“After watching the Museum of the American Revolution’s online presentation for over a year, I thought there was no way it could be real,” Bowen explained to Fox News Digital.
“That’s what prompted us to reach out to them.”
Matthew Sukik, a curator at the museum, told Fox News Digital that the fabric was cut out as a souvenir when the tent was on display in 1907.
As the notes attest, the canopy appeared at the Jamestown Exposition that year.
“At the time, Mary Custis Lee, great-great-granddaughter of Martha Washington and daughter of Robert E. Lee, owned Washington’s Revolutionary War tent,” he added. “She loaned the dining tent to the Exposition.”
The artifact was accompanied by notes about the 1907 World’s Fair. Museum of the American Revolution
In 1778, Washington used two tents while traveling with his troops: one for dining and the other as his personal office and sleeping quarters.
The fabric Moore found was part of a canopy from Washington’s dining room, and after inspecting it, Skitch certified its authenticity.
“We worked with textile conservator Virginia Whelan to closely examine the weave of the fabric and the style and shape of the red wool trim,” he added.
“These details are consistent with a dining tent. We were able to determine that the fragment was cut from the corrugated edge of the dining tent roof.”
Experts noted that the fabric had darkened over the years “due to the accumulation of dirt and dust.”
Generals Rochambeau and Washington giving their final orders before the attack at the Siege of Yorktown, October 1781. Buyenlarge via Getty Images
“The red wool trim around the edges has faded a bit, but most of the color remains,” he added. “The edges of the piece are frayed from where it was cut from the sign.”
Skitch added that finding such artifacts is “very rare, especially at a Goodwill online auction.”
“Prior to the discovery of this fragment, nine fragments of Washington’s tent were known to exist, all in the collections of museums and other institutions,” he explained.
George Washington, portrait by Constable Hamilton, 1794. Getty Images
“For example, the American Revolutionary War Museum has three pieces of Washington’s tent, and there may be more!”
The cloth is now on display at the Philadelphia Museum along with other fragments of Washington’s tent.
Historians are still actively studying the piece, and Skitch said the museum is investigating the identity of John Burns, who is said to have written the handwritten note.
Bowen said it was an “honor” to see the artifact at the American Revolutionary War Museum.
“We were very excited to see it as part of the exhibit,” she said. “It was a very emotional day for us.”
