As an artifact collector, Richard “Dana” Moore has a habit of browsing but one day in 2022, the history buff came across an item that piqued his interest.
A post in the historical documents section featured an image of a framed object that contained a fragment of George Washington’s tent. It came with a written note that said the tent had been displayed in an exhibit commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the colony of Virginia.
I thought: “This can’t be. I was a little surprised,” Moore told CNN International.
Moore was skeptical about the announcement and therefore delayed the bidding for two weeks.
“There are a lot of fakes out there,” he added. “There is always something that is not real, but appears to be real.”
Moore said he took a closer look at the torn note and determined that it appeared to have aged over the years along with the fragment, which is 4 inches wide and more than 5 inches long.
“I jumped in with both feet. I said, ‘Fuck it.’ I’m going to bid for it,” he said.
Moore told CNN he bid on the artifact for just over 1500 euros and won. Initially, he didn’t tell his wife, Susan Bowen, and hid it at home. Now, he said, she agrees that he won: The artifact was confirmed to be a piece from Washington’s dining tent and Moore estimates it to be worth tens of thousands of euros.
The artifact is displayed in a museum
Moore contacted the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia in February of last year. He knew the museum had the .
Exhibitions curator Matthew Skic told CNN International that the museum was excited, but first needed to confirm that the fragment was indeed a piece of one of Washington’s war tents.
“What’s really fascinating about this particular fragment is the fact that it retains some of the red wool on the edge, which tells us that it was probably cut from the edge of the roof of the dining tent,” Skic said.
Although the museum is still trying to determine what part the fragment could fill, its binding and hand-sewn linen point to it being real. Furthermore, the note that accompanied it is appropriate for the period.
Once the museum confirmed the fabric’s authenticity, it was thrilled to be able to present it along with the rest of the exhibit planned around Washington’s sleeping and working war tent.
“This one is really fun because it came from some unlikely place,” Skic said. “You wouldn’t expect to find these types of historic treasures in a place like this, although this isn’t the first historic treasure to come through Goodwill.”
The fragment, on loan from Moore, was put on public display in February of this year as part of the museum’s exhibition “Witness to Revolution: The Improbable Voyages of Washington’s Tent.” The fragment will remain at the museum until January 5, 2025, at which time will be returned to Moore.
The dining tent to which Moore’s fragment belongs is currently stored at the Smithsonian. It is not exposed to the public.
Symbols of Washington’s leadership
George Washington’s tents, as the museum explains, have almost 250 years of history. The tents, used during the Revolutionary War, served as Washington’s dormitory and office, where he conducted meetings, planned strategy, and wrote letters.
Over the years, the tents have become a symbol of Washington’s leadership and the country’s founding after the Revolution.
The fragment was reportedly cut from the dining tent by a man named John Burns, who saw the tent on display in Norfolk, Virginia, at the exposition commemorating the founding of Jamestown. The tent itself was loaned by Mary Custis Lee, great-granddaughter of Washington’s wife Martha.
Lee’s father, George Washington Parke Custis, later owned the Revolutionary War tents and frequently set them up to host events. Two hundred years ago, Custis began cutting out pieces of George Washington’s tents as souvenirs.
The artifact is on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
Courtesy of the Museum of the American Revolution
“George Washington Parke Custis was seeing the tent as a way to connect people to the past. And there may have been a similar mentality in 1907 when this fragment of the dining tent was cut down,” Skic said.
There are fragments known to have been cut by Parke Custis.
But Skic said there is still more to be learned from this fragment, especially about who Burns, the note’s author, could be.
Moore is currently the only known private owner of a piece of Washington’s tent. All the others are in the Smithsonian and other museums.
Moore admitted that knowing he bought the fragment gives him goosebumps at night. For him, it’s not about money or recognition. It is about “breaking with British rule and the beginnings of our country”.
“It’s the story behind it. Can you imagine the information and things that were said inside that tent?” asked Moore rhetorically.
Moore and his wife visited the museum earlier this month and said they were thrilled to see the artifact.
“I’ve never felt goosebumps like that in my entire life,” he said. “We were both on the moon. We still can’t believe it.”
