Richard "Dana" Moore found the tent scrap at a Goodwill auction two years ago, and experts recently confirmed that it was part of a tent that George Washington used in 1778.
Museum of the American RevolutionThis scrap was part of George Washington’s dining tent during the Revolutionary War.
For most people, the scrap of fabric posted on a Goodwill auction site didn’t look like much. But for history buff Richard “Dana” Moore, it looked like treasure. The site claimed that the fabric was part of a tent that had once belonged to George Washington and — though he had his doubts — Moore decided to take a chance and purchase it.
Now, experts from the Museum of the American Revolution have confirmed that the tent did indeed belong to George Washington. What’s more, it was used by Washington in the late 1770s during the Revolutionary War.
Taking A Chance On A Scrap Of Tent
The story of the tent scrap began about two years ago when Moore was scrolling through a Goodwill auction site. According to Fox News, Moore has long collected items from the Civil War and the War of 1812, some of which he’s found through metal detecting. He always has an eye out for interesting objects, and that day, something on the Goodwill site caught his eye: a piece of fabric that purportedly came from George Washington’s tent.
The fabric was being auctioned off alongside a note that read: “a piece of George Washingtons tent, from the history building at Jamestown exposition 1907 property of John Burns Dec 23rd 07.”
Museum of the American RevolutionThe fabric came with a note referencing Jamestown’s 300th anniversary exposition in 1907, which persuaded Moore that it was worth bidding on.
At first, Moore thought that the tent scrap “couldn’t be real.” But the note — which referenced Jamestown’s 300th anniversary exposition — seemed like a promising sign. So, he decided to take a chance. After a brief bidding war, Moore won the object for $1,300.
Moore initially hid the purchase from his wife, Susan Bowen. And, indeed, Bowen was skeptical about it. But after the couple watched an online presentation from the Museum of the American Revolution, they were convinced that the George Washington tent scrap could be legitimate — and decided to reach out to the museum to find out for sure.
The Story Of George Washington’s Tent
Museum of the American RevolutionOne of George Washington’s war tents (unrelated to the fabric purchased by Moore) on display at the Museum of the American Revolution.
Once Moore and Bowen reached out to the Museum of the American Revolution, experts confirmed that the scrap of fabric did indeed come from one of George Washington’s tents during the Revolutionary War.
As Washington led his troops in 1778, he traveled with two large tents called marquees. One was used for dining, the other for Washington’s office and sleeping quarters. Museum curator Matthew Skic confirmed that the fabric Moore purchased came from Washington’s dining tent.
Skic told Fox News that the tent was probably loaned to the Jamestown Exposition in 1907 by a Washington relative.
“At that time, Mary Custis Lee, Martha Washington’s great-great-granddaughter and daughter of Robert E. Lee, owned Washington’s tents from the Revolutionary War,” he explained. “She put the dining marquee on loan to the exposition.”
Mount VernonA painting of General Rochambeau and General Washington in front of a tent in 1781.
Skic continued: “We took a close look at the weave of the fabric and the style and shape of the red wool edging with assistance from textile conservator Virginia Whelan. These details match the dining marquee. We were able to determine that this fragment was cut away from the scalloped edge of the roof of the dining marquee.”
So, how did the tent fabric end up at Goodwill? That part is a bit of a mystery. The note references a man named “John Brown,” but museum curators aren’t sure who he is — or how he ended up with a scrap of Washington’s tent. Was it given to him? Or did Brown slice it off and stick it in his pocket?
Maybe we’ll never know. But the story of the tent goes to show the value of trusting an instinct. As Moore noted, he only bought the tent fabric out of sheer intuition.
“My gut kept telling me this could be real,” he said.
After reading about the scrap of George Washington’s tent that a history buff found at a Goodwill auction, discover the agonizing story of George Washington’s mysterious and drawn-out death. Or, learn the disturbing truth behind George Washington’s famous dentures.
