In this special July 4th edition of IANDS Q&A, we’re going to take a look at a legend from American folklore. According to “the Vision at Valley Forge”, George Washington had what some people consider to be a near-death experience. But did George Washington really have an “NDE”?
The phrase “near-death experience” was coined in 1975 by Raymond Moody. If George Washington did have an NDE, no one back then would’ve known what to call it. But there have been many instances throughout human history of people having near-death experiences. So let’s take a look at the Vision at Valley Forge. Did George Washington have a near-death experience? And did this story really happen?
The Vision at Valley Forge
The story goes like this. During the brutal, unforgiving winter of 1777-1778, General George Washington and his Continental Army were encamped at Valley Forge, a desolate stretch of Pennsylvania wilderness just 20 miles from British-occupied Philadelphia.
They’d lost several battles. Congress had fled westward to York, Pennsylvania after the British took Philadelphia. Morale was waning in the camp, where they’d be tested by catastrophic, unforgiving conditions. Freezing temperatures, disease, starvation … 2,000 soldiers would die at Valley Forge without the British firing a single shot.
According to legend, Washington was alone in his tent that winter, deep in prayer and reflection, when suddenly he became aware of a strange presence. A mysterious figure appeared before him: a beautiful, glowing woman, introducing herself as a messenger from God, who presented Washington with three visions.
- The first vision was that of the Revolutionary War. George Washington saw a vivid panorama of America’s war for independence, and the eventual triumph of the American colonies.
- The second vision was said to predict the American Civil War; the country torn apart, brothers fighting against brothers, and the eventual restoration of the Union.
- Finally, the third vision then showed a global cataclysm where nations from around the world rose up against the United States. The land was invaded and overwhelmed, chaos reigned across cities and the countryside, and our Republic looked defeated. But then, celestial beings came to the aid of the Americans, and we managed to prevail with their help.
Washington allegedly heard a mysterious voice proclaiming that “while the stars remain, so long shall the Union last.”
Did George Washington have a near-death experience?
While the legend of the Vision at Valley Forge does share some similarities with near-death experiences, the story doesn’t really qualify as an NDE. George Washington did, according to the story anyway, encounter a being of light and witnessed prophetic visions. But there are no reports of George Washington having an out-of-body experience, a life review, or any sensations of deep peace or love.
So what’s the verdict? No, George Washington did not have a near-death experience … and that’s if the story itself is even true to begin with.
What About the Vision at Valley Forge itself? Did any of this really happen to George Washington?
The legend of the Vision at Valley Forge is incredibly compelling, and it’s a story people love to share. But did any of it actually happen?
The story first appeared in The National Tribune in 1880, a century after the Revolutionary War and 15 years after the end of the Civil War. The story allegedly came from an old Continental Army soldier named Anthony Sherman, who told it to publisher and journalist Wesley Bradshaw.
But there’s no record of an Anthony Sherman serving with Washington. And George Washington was an obsessive documenter, who kept a trove of journals and letters. There is no mention of this vision in any of his writings.
Mainstream historians and scholars agree that the Vision at Valley Forge never happened. There is more evidence against the story than in support of it. But many people still believe this George Washington legend. It’s deeply ingrained in American folklore, and it’s often shared around patriotic holidays, especially on and around Independence Day.
Whether the story is true or not, we have to say that no, the Vision at Valley Forge story does not confirm that George Washington had an NDE. Though there are a great many historical accounts of near-death experiences predating the field of near-death studies, the story itself lacks too many NDE characteristics to definitively label this as an NDE.
The team at IANDS hopes you have a happy and safe Independence Day. And if you have any questions you’d like us to answer in our IANDS Q&A stories, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line!
