Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10. Our speaker will be Harold Knudson, who will cover his book Fisher Ames, Christian Founding Father & Federalist. Ames was a Federalist who served four consecutive terms in the House of Representatives, concurrent with the George Washington’s first administration. A capable ally to Alexander Hamilton and the President, he fought many successful legislative battles, advancing the Federalist agenda. He helped create the early government, framed the words to what are often termed the religious clauses of the First Amendment, and became famous well into the 19th Century, for his Jay Treaty Oration that Washington needed to secure his treaty with Britain in 1797.
After leaving office, Ames lived a decade longer—and offered his counsel
to the Federalist Party and wrote many essays in his last years. He
died on July 4th, 1808. Harold Knudsen will touch on these areas of
Ames’s life and career as a Federalist, and also many other topics from
the Founding and Early Republic decades. He will have books available to
purchase and have signed. The price for round table members will be $30
(discounted from the online price).
A book review mention: “Historian
Knudsen explores the distinctly Christian roots of a seminal politician
of the Early Republic era.… This book does an admirable job of
providing a thorough survey of his personal values, political beliefs,
and major accomplishments. It’s accompanied by dozens of drawings,
illustrations, reproductions of primary sources, and other visual
elements that make it more accessible. The biography prioritizes
archival research with more than 1,000 footnotes and a bibliography of
more than 50 pages.” -- “Kirkus Reviews”
Harold Knudsen,
born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, is a retired Army Lieutenant
Colonel of twenty-five years of active-duty service. He currently
resides in Alexandria, Virginia, and continues to work for the Army as a
civilian at Fort Belvoir. His first book about Confederate General
James Longstreet, was published in 2022, and is a military analysis of
this general’s larger scale work written to counter some of the
propaganda leveled against Longstreet’s record by “Lost Cause”
detractors.
We will be meeting in person at the Mount Vernon Inn,
south of Alexandria, Virginia, at 6 p.m. (social hour) and 6:40 p.m.
(dinner). If you plan to attend, please let me (Christian McBurney) know
by Friday March 5 and also inform me of your main course selection
(salmon or meatloaf). You must pay at the door. Our dinner rate is $40
per dinner. Checks are preferred but cash is fine. Write your check to:
ARRT.
Zoom attendance: For those who want to attend
remotely, please let me know by providing me with your name and email
address. I will email you a Zoom link the afternoon of the day of the
meeting. The meeting will start about 7 p.m. Feel free to share this
email with a friend or family member whom you think may be interested.
Line-up for Our Spring Meetings:
Our remaining Spring hybrid in-person and Zoom meetings are as follows:
April 7, 2026: Gabriel Neville speaks on his book on the Virginia 8th Regiment of Continentals
May 12, 2026: Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland, speaks on his new book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World)
June 16, 2026: John Maass speaks on his book, The Battles of Spencer’s Ordinary and Green Spring, 1781
March 27-29: America's History LLC Presents: 13th Annual Conference of the American Revolution, This
terrific annual conference is scheduled for March 27-29 at the Virginia
Crossings Hotel and Conference Center, 1000 Virginia Center Pkwy, Glen
Allen, VA.
Richard “Rick” Bell—”The American Revolution and the Fate of the World”
Todd
W. Braisted—'”You must expect to hear me talked of as a monster of
cruelty’: Colonel Francis Lord Rawdon and the Revolutionary War”
Denver Brunsman—”Prisoners, Press Gangs, and the Battle for Sailors in the Revolutionary War.”
Iris de Rode—”Something New to Think About: The Dutch in the American Revolution”
William “Larry” Kidder – “Defending Fort Stanwix: New York’s Frontier During the Revolutionary War:
Lorna
Hainesworth Sponsored Speaker: Stephen L. Kling – “An Underappreciated
Victory: Bernardo de Gálvez’s Mississippi River Campaign Against the
British in 1779”
Mark Edward Lender—”War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution”
Charles P. Neimeyer—”Revolutionary Riverine Warfare: The War for Independence on America’s Rivers and Lakes”
Gordon Blaine Steffey—”‘Trust Not Professions’: Feuding Founders and Diplomatic Disorder in the Arthur Lee-Silas Deane Affair”
Andrew Waters—”Backcountry War: The Rise of Francis Marion, Banastre Tarleton and Thomas Sumter”
Friday Bus Tour (8am-4:30pm):
“More Virginia Founding Fathers: Essentially Important for
Independence”—Ferry Farm, Gunston Hall, and Historic St. John’s Church.
Tour Leader: Edward G. Lengel—independent Historian and Washington Scholar
**Limited to one bus, so please register early!**Tour includes an experienced guide, all admissions, lunch,
refreshment breaks, and all gratuities $195. Bus leaves Virginia
Crossings Hotel promptly at 8 AM.
Cocktail Reception on Friday Evening at 6:30pm for all Speakers and Attendees
Conference Registration:
includes cocktail reception, two buffet breakfasts lunch and
refreshment breaks: $325, if paid by 3/1/26; after 3/1/26 registration
is $375.
You can register here (copy link and paste it in your browser): https://americashistoryllc.com/2025/13th-annual-conference-of-the-american-revolution-march-27-29-2026/
Revolutionary War 250 2026 Symposium, National US Army Museum, Fort Belvoir, Friday, May 8, 2026
8:45-9:45 a.m. – The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution, with Kevin Weddle, Ph.D.
10-11 a.m. – General George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine: A New Understanding, with Gary Ecelbarger
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – FOB Valley Forge: Washington’s Armed Camp on the Schuylkill, with Ricardo Herrera, Ph.D.
12:15-1:45 p.m. – Lunch on your own and gallery exploration
1:45-2:45 p.m. – “The Guns Roared and the Blood Flowed Abundantly”: The Revolutionary War in the South, 1777–79, with Mark Maloy
2:45-3:30 p.m. – The Origin Story of the French Alliance, with Iris de Rode, Ph.D.
3:45-4:45 p.m. – A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, 1778, with William R. Griffith IV
(There is also a May 7 evening event that is virtual only)
This
conference is free, but you must register and seating is limited.
There is also a Friday evening event. You can register here (copy link
and paste it in your browser): https://www.thenmusa.org/symposium2026/
Thank you and have a great day!
- Christian McBurney
President (mcburneyc1@gmail.com)
George Washington American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia
Other Officers:
Vice President: Eugene Procknow (geneprock@gmail.com)
Treasurer: Richard Rankin (brandywinecreek@aol.com)
Secretary and Webmaster: Doug Bonforte (ebonforte@cox.net)
Here is the link to our website (copy link and paste it in your browser): https://arrt-dc.blogspot.com/
