Greetings! I hope each of you is doing well. Our next meeting is to be an online Zoom meeting scheduled for Wednesday, July 7 at 7 p.m. Please let me know by responding to this email if you would like to attend the online Zoom meeting. I will then email you a Zoom link to the meeting on July 7, the day of the meeting.
Our next speaker will be Holly A. Mayer, who will speak on her recent book, Congress’s Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union (University of Oklahoma Press, 2021). The book focuses on Colonel Moses Hazen’s 2nd Canadian Regiment, one of the first “national” regimens in the Continental Army. Historian David Preston writes of this book, “By far one of the most important and original studies of the Continental Army yet published, Holly Mayer’s book is notable for how deeply and broadly it explores the Canadian borderlands context that gave birth to Congress’s Own Regiment, as well as the meanings of community, independence, and union for which Continental soldiers fought and died.”
Holly A. Mayer is an historian of early America. As a professor of history, she taught at Duquesne University for decades. Her positions included History Department chair between 2007 and 2013 and Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs from 2017 to 2019. Dr. Mayer was also the visiting Harold K. Johnson Chair of Military History at the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, in 2016-2017. She is now beginning a teaching stint at West Point. Dr. Mayer is also the author of Belonging to the Army: Camp Followers and Community During the American Revolution (University of South Carolina Press, 1996).
If you would like to order prior to our meeting a copy of Holly’s book, Congress’s Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union, here is a link to purchase the book on amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Congresss-Own-Continental-Campaigns-Commanders/dp/080616851X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1624372901&refinements=p_27%3AHolly+Mayer&s=books&sr=1-1
Also let me know if you want to purchase a signed book from her.
Here are a few other activities that may interest you.
7th Congress of the American Revolution Round Tables from November 19 to 21 at Mount Vernon
Our George Washington American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia is hosting the 7th Congress of the American Revolution Round Tables from November 19 to 21. We have some great plans for an inside tour of the Mount Vernon Library and Mount Vernon. Doug Bonforte and Rob Orrison have done a great job finding and securing The Alexandrian Hotel for accommodations and dinner at Gadsby’s Tavern in Alexandria on the Saturday night. Given the cheap rate of the hotel, I plan to spend Saturday night there. Only a few rooms are left. The reservation is under the Congress of the American Revolution Round Tables. If you are interested in attending, even if not staying at the hotel, please let me know and I will put you on my list and keep you updated.
Here is the information below and attached from Bill Welsch of the Richmond ARRT.
Dear Congress Delegates,
As a reminder, the 7th Congress of American Revolution Round Tables will be held from Friday, November 19 through Sunday, November 21. The Congress will convene on Saturday at Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon staff have been very helpful and accommodating in assisting the George Washington ARRT team with the arrangements. We thank them both.
We will be staying at The Alexandrian Hotel and dining at Gadsby's Tavern, both in Alexandria. We encourage you to make your room reservations as soon as possible, so we know if more than twenty rooms are needed. The hotel is willing to assist, if more rooms are available. Please don't delay.
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Here's the link to use to make direct online reservations, effective immediately: |
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Book your group rate for American Revolution Round Table Block |
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Additional days at the discount rate are available should you wish to visit the DC area on your own. Room Block Start Date: Wed, Nov 17, 2021 |
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Room Block End Date: Tue, Nov 23, 2021 |
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Last Day to Book: Mon, Oct 4, 2021 Alternatively, you may call (703) 549-6080 or toll-free at (888) 236-2427 to make reservations but be sure to mention you are with the “American Revolution Round Table” group block to get the discount rate. |
The Committee will forward further details and requests as we get closer to the meeting. We will query delegates as to dinner entree selections and agenda details, as well as a Friday night gathering for early arrivals and Sunday tours.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions with the group. Please share this with your members. And, please...
PLAN TO JOIN US ! MAKE YOUR HOTEL RESERVATIONS NOW!
George Washington’s Mount Vernon is Open
Mount Vernon is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The grounds, museum and mansion are open (but first floor only in the mansion). Social distancing and other safety precautions are in effect. For more information, go to this link: https://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/reopening-information/
Museum of the American Revolution Still Open Fridays-Sundays
Road trip anyone? Starting June 23, the Museum will be open daily from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. with some health and safety protocols. buy your tickets online.
An upcoming exhibit that should be of interest to many is titled, “Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War (October 16, 2021 to September 5, 2022). Over 40 of Troiani’s original paintings and dozens of artifacts from his personal collection—most on display for the first time in public—will plunge visitors into some of the most pivotal moments of America’s fight for independence, from the Battles of Lexington and Concord to the Siege of Yorktown.
McBurney Column: Butts Hill Fort in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Receives Honor
Congratulations to the Portsmouth Historical Society of Rhode Island! In April, the Butts Hill Fort Restoration Committee was notified that the National Parks Service has made Butts Hill Fort in Portsmouth a location on the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail. Built by the British in 1777, it was used by the British to defend Aquidneck Island against a possible invasion by New England troops on the mainland. It also played a key role in the Battle of Rhode Island on August 28, 1778, as Major General John Sullivan used it as his headquarters to coordinate the American Army’ s successful defense against British and Loyalist attacks. The plan is to raise money to restore the Fort by the time of the 250th anniversary of the battle in 1778. For more information and donations, go to www.portsmouthhistorical.org. (I will be giving a lecture on the Battle of Rhode Island for the Portsmouth Historical Society on August 25). After the British evacuated Newport and the rest of Aquidneck Island in October 1779, in July 1780, the locations were occupied by a French naval and army force under General Rochambeau. Not surprisingly, efforts were almost immediately made to shore up the defenses, including at Butts Hill Fort.
Butts Hill Fort remains the largest Revolutionary War earthwork in southern New England. Its dirt walls are high and still impressive. But the whole site is overgrown with scrubby bushes and desperately needs to be restored.
- Christian McBurney
christian.mcburney@arentfox.com
