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Washington did not have any such vision at Valley Forge.This is a hoax, and has been known to be hoax for over a century.

The soldier, Anthony Sherman, who wrote the original story claimed to be a first hand witness of the event. He could not have been: He was under Benedict Arnold's command in Saratoga at the time and did not join Washington's command until long after Valley Forge.

There is no 18^th century corroboration of such a story, and there is no record that Washington ever wrote, spoke, or intimated to anyone publicly or privately about this so called "vision."

It is a complete fabrication.

I read something interesting in Washington's account at Valley Forge. After that very hard winter which had him in near despair, he wrote a letter to Thomas Nelson and mentioned that when his "commission was up it would be time enough for me to turn preacher."

Something momentous happened to him during that winter that he felt caused him to want to change the course of his life in a spiritual way.

Washington did not have any such vision at Valley Forge.This is a hoax, and has been known to be hoax for over a century.
The soldier, Anthony Sherman, who wrote the original story claimed to be a first hand witness of the event. He could not have been: He was under Benedict Arnold's command in Saratoga at the time and did not join Washington's command until long after Valley Forge.

There is no 18th century corroboration of such a story, and there is no record that Washington ever wrote, spoke, or intimated to anyone publicly or privately about this so called "vision."

It is a complete fabrication.

Indeed. You appear to be correct. See here for a full and revealing discussion:

http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2006/12/truth-of-washingtons-vision.html

Furthermore, the writer of this thread's original post has gone beyond even what the hoax presented, in suggesting the woman of the vision was Mary. In the story as it appeared in the original pamphlet, she is simply a beautiful woman. That's not a bad thing, of course, but it hardly proves identity. Many of the ancient deities are female, and all of them are false gods.

In fact, even if a purportedly supernatural apparition claims to be Mary, how would one verify that claim? Ask the apparition? That wouldn't work. In the last days we have been warned there will be signs and lying wonders:

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Satan's endgame is to deceive as many souls as he can, to hurt or destroy as many believers as he can. It is a great foolishness to enter such a time as this without being fully armed, both for offense, and for defense. Offense, in that we wield the sword of God's word in proclamation of the Gospel. Defense, in that we test the spirits, and maintain wariness against the enemy of our souls. No angelic being can ever trump the good old fashioned truths of Scripture:

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
(Galatians 1:8-9)

So getting the Gospel right is way more important than paying any heed to luminous persons in the sky. I have no doubt that the single worst thing we could do to seek God's blessing on this nation is to tempt God, as a nation, by raising yet another idol in our midst. Calling it a shrine does not lessen the offense. There is only one God for us to worship, and the only shrine he requires is that we worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Peace,

SR