1977 George Washington At Valley Forge Block of 4 13c Postage Stamps - MNH, OG - Sc# 1729

On October 21, 1977 in Valley Forge, PA. the USPS issued this Christmas stamp depicting General George Washington kneeling in prayer at Valley Forge, where his barefoot and half-starved army retreated to spend the winter of 1777-78. Valley Forge was an obscure village until George Washington and his exhausted troops spent that winter there. After an unsuccessful effort against the British at Germantown, Washington retreated to Valley Forge. Two days before Christmas, 1777, he wrote: "We have this day no less than 2,873 men in camp unfit for duty because they are barefooted and otherwise naked," Washington endured the hardships of his men, harsh public criticism, and the incessant demands of a Continental Congress too weak to help him. His men bore their sufferings with heroic fortitude in accord with their leader's quiet example of strength and dedication. The stamp designer Stevan Dohanos, based the stamp design upon a painting by J.C. Leyendecker which appeared on a Saturday Evening Post cover.

These are real USPS postage stamps that are accepted by the USA Postal Service as payment for mail posted in the USA however the total rates on the stamps posted must equal or exceed the current appropriate postal mailing rate or extra postage must be paid.

The stamp set shown in the picture is a stock photo and is likely not a picture of the exact stamp set you will receive in that it may differ in plate number and/or orientation. However the item you will receive will be similar including having a plate number (if one is present in the photos) and the same number of stamps. Stamps titled as MNH, OG will have no significant creases or unnatural gum disturbances unless otherwise noted.