W. Herbert Burk (1867-1933) was an Episcopal priest and founding vicar of the Washington Memorial Chapel in the Valley Forge National Historical Park.
He is known for assembling, over the course of many years, the collection of Revolutionary War artifacts that form the core of the collection of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, and for his work to preserve Valley Forge, the site of an important Revolutionary War army encampment.
Burke, then rector of All Saints' Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania, gave a sermon in which he argued that Washington's piety the center of his character and suggested building a "wayside chapel," to serve as a "fit memorial of the Church's most honored son."
The sermon inspired the building of the Washington Memorial Chapel, in which Burk would serve as rector for the rest of his life.
[2] For several decades, Burke accepted gifts of Revolutionary War artifacts, sent mostly by descendants of the original owners.