Greetings. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, September
4, as usual, at the Mount Vernon Inn starting at 6 p.m. Our speaker will be Andrew
Outten, who will speak on the Battle of Brandywine, which was fought on
September 11, 1777.
- Please complete the attendance form (See Selected Pages on right side of webpage) and mail it
to Richard Rankin per the directions on the form.
Andrew Outten is the Director of Education & Museum
Services for the Brandywine Battlefield Park Associates as well as the Chairman
of the Brandywine Battlefield Task Force. For nearly eight years, Andrew has
managed the interpretive process, programming, and general operations at
Brandywine Battlefield Park in Chadds Ford, Pa. As Chairman of the Brandywine
Battlefield Task, Andrew has worked with representatives from various
government agencies, preservation groups, and historical commissions to enhance
preservation and interpretation surrounding the Battle of Brandywine. Andrew
has also worked closely with military historians and archeologists through
American Battlefield Protection Program research grants to unveil new
information pertaining to the battle. Andrew has given tours of the Brandywine Battlefield
for the American Battlefield Trust and its membership, has been cited in
several works written by various historians, spoken at numerous venues
including the Museum of the American Revolution at Yorktown, and was once
interviewed by actor and television presenter, Michael Palin, for the
documentary “In Wyeth’s World” for the BBC in Scotland.
Yearly Membership: If you have
not yet done so, it is time to sign up for membership: $25 for a single
membership and $30 for a couple’s membership. We have increased the
number of our annual programs from four to six, which increases our
expenses. But we have not increased our membership fees. Thus, it
is crucial for our organization that each of you sign up for annual membership.
A full size form is available on the webpage under 'Selected Pages' on the right side of the page.
A full size form is available on the webpage under 'Selected Pages' on the right side of the page.
“McBurney
Recommends” columns: Doug Bonforte has added to our AART website my back “McBurney
Recommends” columns. If you have a spare hour, you can read them by
clicking on the link here. https://arrt-dc.blogspot.com/
Here are some upcoming local events of interest:
August 13, 7 p.m.: The Fred W. Smith National
Library at Mount Vernon: Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a
Revolutionary Hero
Mount Vernon welcomes author Ryan Cole to the Robert H. and
Clarice Smith Auditorium to discuss his book Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise
and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero. This event is free. For more
information, go to: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/library-events-programs/ford-evening-book-talks/ford-evening-book-talk-ryan-cole/
August 16, 12:30 p.m.: Society of the Cincinnati,
Anderson House: Playing with Fire: A Collection of Images Illustrating
the Art of War in the 18th Century
Library Fellow Bénédicte Miyamoto will present highlights
from the Society’s manuscript map, fortification drawing, and artillery diagram
collections. Military engineers, draftsmen, and topographers in the
eighteenth-century received artistic training that was used to produce these
documents. Artistic skills were not only needed for in-situ sketching, but were
also required to produce a wealth of copies for the military corps. Many of the
documents did not circulate in print given their military nature and the need
for secrecy. The presentation will last approximately 30 minutes with
time afterwards for up-close viewing of the maps and diagrams.
August 16, 12 noon: William G. McGowan Theater at
the National Archives: George Mason
William G. Hyland, Jr. discusses his biography of George
Mason, a participant in the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the
Bill of Rights. A book signing will follow. The book is: George
Mason: The Founding Father Who Gave Us the Bill of Rights. For more
information, go to: https://www.archives.gov/calendar/event/george-mason-the-founding-father-who-gave-us-the-bill-of-rights
September 20-22, 2019: Sixteenth Annual Seminar on
the American Revolution at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York.
On September 20-22, Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York will host its sixteenth Annual Seminar on the American Revolution.
The speakers are: John Buchanan, “Nathanael Greene and the Road to Charleston”; Mark R. Anderson, “Our
Kahnawake Friends: America’s Essential Indian Allies in the Canadian Campaign;” Phillip Hamilton,
“Loyalty and Loyalism: Henry Knox and the American Revolution as a
Transatlantic Family Struggle”; Patrick Lacroix, “Promises to Keep: French-Canadian Soldiers of the Revolution,
1775-1783”; Bryan C. Rindfleisch, “’Twas a Duty Incumbent on Me’: The
Indigenous & Transatlantic Intimacies of George Galphin, the American
Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the South”; John Ruddiman, “German Auxiliaries’ Reactions to American Slavery and Relationships with Enslaved
Americans”; Jessica J. Sheets, “‘I Hope…We Shall Ever Be on Terms of
Friendship’: The Politically Divided Tilghman Family”; Alisa Wade, “‘To Live a
Widow’: Personal Sacrifice and Self-Sufficiency in the American
Revolution”. To learn more or register, click here: https://www.fortticonderoga.org/event/annual-seminar-on-the-american-revolution/2019-09-20/
September 28, 2019: The First Emerging
Revolutionary War Symposium at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in Alexandria, Virginia.
On September 28, the first Emerging
Revolutionary War Symposium will take place at the Gadsby’s Tavern
Museum in Alexandria, Virginia. This year’s theme is “Before They Were
Americans,” and the speakers will discuss what led to the idea of breaking from
Britain:
· Peter Henriques,
“George Washington: From British Subject to
American Rebel”
· Phillip
Greenwalt, “I wish this cursed place was burned: Boston and the Road to
Revolution”
· Katherine
Gruber, “A Tailor-Made Revolution: Clothing William Carlin’s Alexandria”
· William
Griffith, “A proud, indolent, ignorant self sufficient set: The Colonists’
Emergence as a Fighting Force in the French and Indian War”
· Stephanie Seal
Walters, “Smallpox to Revolution”
To register, please click here: https://shop.alexandriava.gov/EventPurchase.aspx
November 8-10, 2019: Sixth Congress of American
Revolution Round Tables, Philadelphia.
The Committee of Correspondence humbly invites you to attend
the Sixth Congress of American Revolution Round Tables in historic Philadelphia
at the Museum
of the American Revolution on November 9, 2019. We will be
meeting as the guests of this magnificent museum. While Saturday will be
the work day, Friday evening will be devoted to informal gatherings of early
arriving members. Saturday evening will feature a group dinner at the
City Tavern, a favorite gathering place for many of the Continental Congress
delegates. Sunday will offer ample time to explore the many important
historical sites in and around Philadelphia.
The purpose of our Congressional
gathering is to grow current ARRTs and nurture new ones, exchange ideas and initiatives,
and build fellowship. This location was selected at our last Congress in
Yorktown, Va. and Philadelphia hosted the Continental Congress and the
Confederation Congress from 1774-1789. Collegial coordination modeled
after the First Continental Congress continues to serve us well. This is
not a bureaucratic governing board for ARRTs. However, we are on the cusp
of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary movement and the war. Who
knows what may transpire! Some ARRTs are already committed to sending representatives.
We need delegates from each and every ARRT. So come one and come
all! Please share this information with your members, as well as other
potential ARRT attendees. Delegate your Revolutionary Spirit in this
continental gathering! We’ll keep you apprised of details as the Congress
of ARRTs approaches, including registration and housing arrangements. But
please make your calendars now! David Reuwer, Southern Campaigns
Revolutionary War Roundtable Davidreuwer3@aol.com ; Bill Welsch,
ARRT – Richmond mailto:wmwelsch@comcast.net ; Mel
Bernstein, ARRT at Minute Man NHP mailto:mbern9@gmail.com ; Randy Flood,
Williamsburg Yorktown ARRT mailto:rgflood@cox.net ; Jeff Lambert,
Williamsburg Yorktown ARRT mailto:jdlambert@yahoo.com .
[The
George Washington American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia
needs representatives at this conference! Lorna Hainesworth is attending
on behalf of our organization. Glenn has a conflict. Please let Glenn or
I know if you plan to attend.]
McBurney Recommendation: Possible Transfer of
Oriskany Battlefield and Steuben Memorial to National Park Service
Unfortunately, some states do not have the budget (or do not
have the budget priority) to properly maintain and operate Revolutionary War
battlefield sites and other locations. We saw this in Pennsylvania, which
closed some Rev War related parks. One solution may to be transfer the
battlefield land to the National Park, which has the resources to better
operate and show the battlefield. Of course, the National Park Service has
serious budget constraints too, but it is a much larger organization than any
single state park system. And it has strong rules to protect the
battlefield. (One of them is that reenactors cannot fire muskets on
National Park land, which is a shame!). Patrick Wamsley brought the
following to my attention:
Two area lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking
him to consider having the National Parks Service take full control of the
Oriskany Battlefield and Steuben Memorial. State Senate Deputy Minority Leader
Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, and Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschonn, D-Marcy,
announced their request to Cuomo on Tuesday, the same day the Battle of
Oriskany commemorated its 242nd anniversary. “It is our belief that granting
full control of the Oriskany Battlefield State Historic Site and the Steuben
Memorial State Historic Site to the National Park Service would be in New York
State’s best interest,” the two wrote in a joint letter. “Doing so will
potentially save the state money, put several of the Mohawk Valley’s
Revolutionary War sites under one umbrella and ensure that the battlefield
remains open for generations of visitors” See https://www.uticaod.com/news/20190806/legislators-let-feds-take-over-local-historic-sites
The National Park Service, which oversees the Fort Stanwix
National Monument in Rome, has expressed interest in taking over the Oriskany
Battlefield State Historic Site and the Steuben Memorial State Historic
Site. Fort Stanwix National Monument (created in 1935, reconstructed fort
opened in 1976). See https://www.nps.gov/fost/index.htm
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Christian McBurney
