But first: It is time to pay your dues by September 1 for the upcoming year 2020-21. If you have not done so already, please mail your dues to John McConnell.
This is an important step for our organization’s health and success. The small amount of funds we have need to be replenished!
Annual Dues Cover a ‘Program Year’ membership from 1 July through 30 June
Single $25.00 Couple $30.00
Please make check payable to A.R.R.T., and mail to ARRT Treasurer:
Mr. John McConnell
44005 Kings Arms Square
Ashburn, VA 20147
If this is a renewal, please so indicate. Please advise of any changes after your name(s) .
Online September 2 Meeting
Please let me know by responding to christian.mcburney@arentfox.com if you would like to attend the online Zoom meeting presentation by John Buchanan on Wednesday, September 2, at 7 p.m. I will then email you a Zoom link to the meeting on the day of the meeting. (If you have been resisting Zoom meetings, please reconsider! It may be a large part of the future.)
John (Jack) Buchanan will speak on his latest book, The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution (University of Virginia Press, 2018). John is the author of several books, including the highly acclaimed, Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas (John Wiley and Sons, 1997). John is also a long-time member of the American Revolution Round Table of New York. Of his latest book, John writes, “This is the second and final volume of my study of the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas and Georgia and concentrates on the extreme difficulties faced by American commander, Major General Nathanael Greene, including a severe logistics problem, political turmoil, and the nightmare of a savage civil war between Rebels and Tories that often sank to vigilante actions and ‘destroyed more property and shed more American blood than the whole British army.’ Close attention is paid not only to the partisan fighting and major battles, but Greene's successful efforts to re-establish civil government in South Carolina and Georgia.”
Update on Local Museums
The Society of the Cincinnati and National Archives continue to be closed.
Mount Vernon is open, not only for outside visits, but also for tours of the first floor of the main house and visits to the museum. For more information and information on safety measures visit: https://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItLyG1NCB6wIVptSzCh31qAJgEAAYASAAEgLhQPD_BwE
The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia will reopen to Members on August 20, with two weekends of Members-only access before we open to the public on September 3. The Members-only weekends, August 20-23 and August 27-30, 11 am – 3 pm, require advance reservations to limit crowd size. You can schedule your visit online here or by phone at (267) 579-3565.
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is open.
Colonial Williamsburg is open. A recent visitor (Glenn!) wrote to me, “My wife and I visited the Williamsburg-Yorktown area the 23-26 July weekend. We stopped by the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, it IS definitely open! Colonial Williamsburg is mostly open - including the visitor center, art museums, and some of the buildings in the historic area - although limited numbers can be inside the historic buildings at any time. The museum has expanded - you no longer enter through the asylum, and there is more exhibit space and a larger gift shop inside. Those CW interpreters who practice / demonstrate the historic trades are doing so (while "social distancing") in the museums. The "Jug Broke Theater" and the Waterman Family early music ensemble perform at the outdoor Play Booth Theater every day. The "Ghost Tour" and "Haunted Williamsburg" are the only evening performances, but others may follow at the end of August / beginning of September. Only Chowing’s Tavern was open - outdoor seating; all the other historic taverns and Huzzah were not yet reopened. One of the restaurants in each the Inn and Lodge, respectively, were open. As for hotels, only Williamsburg Inn, the Historic Homes and Williamsburg Lodge were open the weekend we were there. There are restaurants outside of the CW campus open, with limited indoor, plus outdoor seating available.”
McBurney Recommendation: The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati on the Counter-Attack
The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, based in Washington, D.C., is becoming a voice challenging the removal of statues of Revolutionary War heroes and disputing the overly broad and often unwarranted claims in The 1619 Project on the causes of the American Revolution. You can read more on these topics from links to its website (see the June 16 and June 26 postings) here: https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org/press/
- Christian McBurney
