Amos Fox - Wintering in Valley Forge & Crossing the Delaware

     When I was young, my mother showed me the picture of Washington Crossing the Delaware¹ and told me, "the soldier at the bow of the boat is one of our ancestors."  Years later, I learned more about the painting and learned that it is extremely doubtful that the artist knew any of my ancestors.  (The artist,  Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze, was born in 1816 in Germany. As a child he came to America, living in Virginia and Philadelphia.)  As with many family stories there is some part of the story that may be true, so in my genealogical research I am attempting to uncover that truth.  Were any of my ancestors with Washington's army when he crossed the Delaware?   Since the army had left and later returned to Valley Forge, were any ancestors at Valley Forge. 
     Several of my ancestors were soldiers in the Revolution and at least one of them fought in the battles at the end of 1776. A recent New England Historical Genealogical Society's newsletter contained a link to the non-profit Friends of Valley Forge Park.  The Friends of Valley Forge maintain a database of soldiers who served in Valley Forge².  Valley Forge Muster Rolls   Amos Fox is listed in their database.

     My 4th great-grandfather, Amos Fox, was from Connecticut and had served in the Revolution.  His wife was Mary Stratton, and Dency was his oldest daughter.  Chester (my 3rd great-grandfather) was his youngest child and second son with that name.  The birth and death dates match the records that I have uncovered.  Pension files obtained from the National Archives for the time period verify that Amos Fox served under Col. Jedediah Huntington at this particular time in history.  Oddly, the pension files mention several battles that Amos would have fought under Col. Huntington (later General Huntington), but the files do not mention Valley Forge or the Battle of Trenton.  But it would appear that soldiers serving under General Huntington were at Valley Forge. Amos Fox was discharged from the service in January 1777 in Crumpond, New York, which is about midway between New Jersey and his hometown of Glastonbury. 
         So was Amos the ancestor that my mother mentioned?  I had assumed that it was one of the Pennsylvanian ancestors but it appears to be my Connecticut ancestor.

1.  Emanual Leutze, “Washington Crossing the Delaware” (1851); Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (www.netmuseum.org).

2.  "Valley Forge Muster Roll." 2010. 2 Mar. 2014 <http://valleyforgemusterroll.org/muster.asp>