This striking equestrian sculpture of George Washington (1732–1799), Commander in Chief and first President of the United States (1789–97) serves as the centerpiece of Brooklyn’s Continental Army Plaza.

Located at the approach to the Williamsburg Bridge, the statue was dedicated in 1906, and was presented to the City by Congressman James R. Howe and the Committee of Supervision and Construction. It was sculpted by Henry Mervin Shrady (1871–1922), a life-long New Yorker, who was commissioned to make the statue after winning a design competition in 1901. Washington at Valley Forge was his first major public work. He subsequently created other major public monuments including the Grant Memorial at the foot of the Capital Grounds in Washington, D.C., and the Robert E. Lee equestrian statue in Charlottesville, Virginia. George Washington at Valley Forge was cast at Roman Bronze Works in Brooklyn. It is anchored to a granite base designed by Lord and Hewlett.