engineering

National Memorial Arch

National Memorial Arch is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand National Memorial Arch rather than just read about it. In short: The National Memorial Arch is a monument located in Valley Forge National Historical Park of Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The memorial arch honors the arrival of General George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge, which was the site of their military camp during the winter of 1777–78.

Key takeaways

National Memorial Arch belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect National Memorial Arch to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of National Memorial Arch from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The National Memorial Arch is a monument located in Valley Forge National Historical Park of Upper Merion Township, Pennsylvania. The memorial arch honors the arrival of General George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge, which was the site of their military camp during the winter of 1777–78. Construction on the structure began in 1914 and it was dedicated in 1917.

Overview The Memorial Arch was planned during the height of the post-Civil War memorial boom. During this period of around 50 years, many monuments were planned and built in the United States, many of which are on the National Mall. As a result, the architectural style of the Arch mirrors many of the monuments. The Memorial Arch is dedicated "to the officers and private soldiers of the Continental Army December 19, 1777 June 19, 1778." The Arch is situated at the top of a hill at the intersection of Gulph Road and Outer Line Drive in Valley Forge National Historical Park. The United States National Memorial Arch was designed by Paul Philippe Cret with hopes its styles would mirror a simplified version of the Triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome (marked the capture of Jerusalem by Emperor Titus in A.D. 70). Paul Philippe Cret was a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and was originally from France, studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. In classical architecture, the triumphal arch was erected to honor generals and emperors. The United States National Memorial Arch does so by offering a national tribute to George Washington and his army. The Arch stands 60 feet tall. In 1907, the Valley Forge Park Commission planned the construction of two arches, the Washington Arch at the Valley Creek entrance, and a von Steuben Arch at the park entrance on the opposite end. Both arches were designed to serve as entrance gates to welcome park visitors as well as monuments honoring the two generals and their troops. In 1908, Congressman Irving P. Wanger introduced a bill to Congress to get funding for the two arches. The two arches were given a bill of $50,000 each, which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 1910, but failed in the U.S. Senate later that year. Instead, a bill for one arch was approved in October 1910 for $100,000. Funds were distributed in 1911, and construction began in 1914. The arch was formally dedicated to George Washington and his troops on June 19, 1917. When the National Memorial Arch was dedicated on June 19, 1917, patriotism in the U.S. was strong due to ongoing battles in World War I which engendered significant interest in the memorial. A train of Pullman cars brought members of Congress to Valley Forge on the day of the ceremony, where they sat upon platforms decorated with red-white-and-blue bunting in a celebration of patriotism. Pennsylvania Gov. Martin Brumbaugh spoke of the spirit of Valley Forge and its importance during hard times. To ensure the arch was still in good shape, a restoration project began in 1996 headed by the Freemasons of Pennsylvania. The project had a budget of $1.5 million and provided nine tons of stabilizing steel to ensure the monument was structurally sound. The restoration project ended in 1997. The Valley Forge Historical Park attracts one million yearly visitors, and the National Memorial Arch draws about 300,000 of these. The arch is currently maintained by the Valley Forge National Historical Park, one of 433 units of the National Park Service.

Inscriptions

The National Memorial Arch is inscribed in many locations. On the front of the memorial is a quote from George Washington's letter to Governor George Clinton while at Valley Forge. Naked and starving as they are We cannot enough admire The incomparable Patience and Fidelity of the Soldiery Located within the arch of the monument is a quotation from a speech given by Henry Armitt Brown, an American writer and orator. Brown gave his speech at the 100 year anniversary of Valley Forge. And here in this place of sacrifice, in this vale of humiliation, in this valley of the shadow, of that death out of which the life of America rose, regenerate and free, let us believe, with an abiding faith, that to them, union will seem as dear, and liberty as sweet, and progress as glorious, they were to our fathers, and are to you and me, and that the institutions which have made us happy, preserved by the virtue of our children, shall bless the remotest generation to the time to come Also located on the back of the monument are the last names of the American generals during the Revolutionary War: Commander in Chief George Washington Major Generals De Kalb Mifflin Greene Steuben Lafayette Stirling Lee Sullivan Brigadier Generals Armstrong Patterson Duportail Poor Glover Scott Huntington Smallwood Knox Varnum Learned Wayne McIntosh Weedon Maxwell Woodford Muhlenberg Pulaski

References

External links

National Park Service page on the Arch Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. PA-6185, "National Memorial Arch, King of Prussia, Montgomery County, PA", 120 photos, 4 color transparencies, 9 measured drawings, 7 photo caption pages

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with National Memorial Arch

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what National Memorial Arch claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to National Memorial Arch before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about National Memorial Arch ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of National Memorial Arch

In research: National Memorial Arch appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses National Memorial Arch in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: National Memorial Arch is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1910 establishments in Pennsylvania, 1910 sculptures, Buildings and structures completed in 1910, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for National Memorial Arch outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study National Memorial Arch in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what National Memorial Arch means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain National Memorial Arch out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is National Memorial Arch in simple terms?

Why does National Memorial Arch matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study National Memorial Arch?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on National Memorial Arch.