George Washington, Namesake of our Round Table

SEP 2022

Wow, we are having our first in-person meeting in almost two years!  Please join us on Tuesday, September 27, at 6 pm for social hour and 6:30 pm for dinner at the Mount Vernon Inn.  Please complete the attached dinner meeting reservation form and email or mail it to John McConnell, as indicated in the attached form.  We are keeping the fee at $35 per person.  (Please wear a mask to the meeting or do not attend if you are concerned about catching Covid-19.)

Our guest speaker will be David O. Stewart, formerly a Washington, D.C. attorney, who has authored five American history books, notably the best-selling The Summer of 1787, The Men Who Invented the Constitution (Simon & Schuster, 2008). He will be speaking to us on two of his recent books:

George Washington: The Political Rise of America’s Founding Father (Dutton Books, 2021).  The Wall Street Journal writes that Stewart’s book is “an outstanding biography that both avoids hagiography and acknowledges the greatness of Washington’s character . . . . Mr. Stewart’s writing is clear, often superlative, his judgments are nuanced, and the whole has a narrative drive such a life deserves.”  Nathaniel Philbrick writes of it, “An important new portrait of our first president. As Stewart demonstrates time and time again, with vivid prose and a wonderful sense of pacing, great leaders are also great learners.”  This book won the 2022 Book Award of the Colonial Dames of America, the History Prize of the Society of the Cincinnati of New Jersey, and the George Washington Memorial Award of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association, was a finalist for Mount Vernon’s George Washington Prize, and was featured at the 2021 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.  To purchase this book prior to our meeting, go to:  Amazon.com: George Washington: The Political Rise of America's Founding Father (Audible Audio Edition): David O. Stewart, Arthur Morey, Penguin Audio: Audible Books & Originals

Stewart is also the author of a new historical fiction series. His first book of a three-part series is The New Land, The Overstreet Saga, Book One (Permuted Press, 2021).  The book’s promo provides:  “Seeking a new life, the Oberstrasse family reaches the wild Maine coast in 1753. The American frontier teems with swindlers, hostile French and Indians, killing diseases and bone-cracking cold. Renaming himself Overstreet, Johann tries to put aside his soldiering past. But even an ocean cannot protect the Overstreets. War follows them, first the French and Indian War, then the fierce fight for independence.” To purchase this book prior to the meeting, go to: The New Land: Stewart, David O.: 9781637580806: Amazon.com: Books

If you are interested in attending remotely, please let me know.  We are also going to attempt to have a live Zoom presentation of David’s lecture.

Here are some upcoming events of interest; it looks like a great start after returning from the summer.  (One is by me on my new book).

Sept. 6, 7 pm (Virtual) and Sept. 13, 12 noon (in-person and virtual), National Museum of the U.S. Army:  “We Will Fight Like Lions”: The Yorktown Campaign of 1781

The American and French victory at Yorktown in October 1781, was one of the most pivotal events of the Revolutionary War (1775-83). After a three-week siege in Virginia’s Tidewater region, beleaguered British forces under General Charles, Lord Cornwallis surrendered to an allied army led by General George Washington, effectively ending major military operations in the new United States, and guaranteeing American independence. How did Washington’s Continental Army and their French allies force the capitulation of a major British field army along the York River? How did Cornwallis get trapped in fortifications around Yorktown, unable to be rescued by the Royal Navy and redcoat soldiers?

In this two-part program, U.S. Army historians Dr. John Maass and Dr. Britt McCarley examine this decisive event in our nation’s early military history. On September 6, Maass explores the sprawling campaign in the months before the siege that led to the British defeat. In operations that ranged from Rhode Island to North Carolina, this presentation focuses on Cornwallis’s invasion of Virginia, the Marquis de Lafayette’s attempts to defend the state, and the movements of both armies—and navies—to Yorktown. McCarley takes up the story on September 13, with an in-depth analysis of the siege, including logistics, fortifications, artillery and General Washington’s key role in the triumph.

To register visit  https://www.thenmusa.org/public-programs/battle-briefs/ ((The U.S. Army Museum is conveniently located at 1775 Liberty Drive, Fort Belvoir, VA)

Sept. 9, 12:30 pm, Lunch Bite:  American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati:  William Faden’s 1778 & 1784 maps of the Battle of Brandywine

Historical Programs Manager Andrew Outten discusses two maps produced by British cartographer William Faden depicting the Battle of Brandywine. William Faden is well known for his maps of major battles of the Revolutionary War. Unusually, he produced two maps of the Battle of Brandywine, one in 1778 and the other in 1784. Each map shows troop movements and positions along with other aspects of the overall battlefield landscape, but each conveys significantly different information. This Lunch Bite will focus on the Battle of Brandywine, the key differences between the two maps, and the potential reasons for the differences. This presentation will be held in our research library and last approximately 30 minutes.

Registration is requested. To attend the Lunch Bite in-person at Anderson House, or to watch virtually, please use the appropriate form below.

To register, click here: Lunch Bite – William Faden’s 1778 & 1784 maps of the Battle of Brandywine

Currently, all visitors to Anderson House age 2 and older are required to wear a mask while attending a historical program or visiting the museum or library.

Sept. 22, 6:30 pm:  American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati: Author’s Talk – Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade (by Christian McBurney)

Historian Christian McBurney discusses the harrowing voyage of the Marlborough, an American privateer vessel that sailed across the Atlantic to attack British slave trading posts and ships on the coast of West Africa during the Revolutionary War. His new ground-breaking book is the first to explore the efforts of the Marlborough’s officers and crew, along with other American privateers that targeted British slave ships, fostering a better understanding of the Atlantic slave trade during the Revolution and the role American privateers played in diminishing Britain’s slave trading enterprise. The talk will last approximately 45 minutes, followed by a book signing. Copies of the book will be available to purchase at the event.

Registration is requested. To attend the author’s talk in-person at Anderson House, or to watch virtually, please go to this link:

Author's Talk - Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade - The American Revolution Institute 

Sept. 24, All-Day Event, Emerging Revolutionary War Symposium, Alexandria, Virginia

Join us for our Third annual Emerging Revolutionary War Symposium on September 24, 2022. Emerging Revolutionary War is excited to continue our partnership with Gadsby’s Tavern Museum and The Lyceum of Alexandria, VA to bring to you a day-long Symposium focusing on the American Revolution. The theme for 2022 is “The World Turned Upside: The American Revolution’s Impact on a Global Scale. The American Revolution created waves across the world with its lasting impacts felt even today. This symposium will study the effects of this revolution that transformed governments and the governed across the globe.  The speakers and topics include:

Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky – “Peace and Inviolable Faith with All Nations”: John Adams, Independence, and the Quest for Neutrality

Norman Desmarais – “Reevaluating Our French Allies” A New Look at Popular Assumptions of the French Army through the Diary of Count de Lauberdiere.

Kate Gruber – “A Retrospective Revolution: England’s Long 17th Century and the Coming of Revolution in Virginia”

Scott Stroh – “George Mason’s Declaration of Rights and Their Global Impact”

Eric Sterner – “Britain, Russia, and the American War”

Registration fee is only $60 per person and $50 for OHA members and students. If you feel more comfortable attending virtually, the fee is $30. To register visit: https://shop.alexandriava.gov/EventPurchase.aspx

Thanks all.

 

Christian McBurney

 

Author of the recently-released Dark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade: McBurney, Christian M.: 9781594163821: Amazon.com: Books