Supporting scholarship and promoting popular understanding of the American Revolution is central to the work of the American Revolution Institute. The Institute welcomes distinguished scholars and authors to share their insights and discuss their latest research with the public at Anderson House through lectures, author's talks and panel discussions. The Institute also hosts a variety of other historical programs throughout the year, including our Lunch Bite object talks, battlefield tours, special Anderson House tour programs and other events. Many of the events we offer are free.
December 2022
Lecture – “As long as I have served, I have not left a battlefield in such deep sorrow”: The Archaeology of a Mass Burial Discovered at Red Bank Battlefield
For nearly a decade, Red Bank Battlefield Park, N.J., has been the focus of a series of archaeological studies investigating the Hessian attack on Fort Mercer on October 22, 1777, during the Philadelphia campaign. During a public archaeology program conducted in the summer of 2022, a mass burial space was discovered and is thought to contain remains of Hessian soldiers who lost their lives in the attack. Wade P. Catts, lead archaeologist for the study, discusses how they made the…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution
With a smallpox epidemic raging during the Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington was forced to order the mandatory inoculation of the Continental Army. Washington, however, did not have to convince fearful colonists to protect themselves against smallpox—they were the ones demanding it. In his new book, The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution, Andrew Wehrman, professor of history at Central Michigan University, discusses how inoculation became the most sought-after medical procedure of the eighteenth century…
Find out more »January 2023
Lecture – Environmental Legacies: How the War of Independence Affected the Natural World in Predictable and Surprising Ways
When one considers the effects of war on the environment, their thoughts probably turn to modern events such as the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam. The American Revolution, however, also had a major impact on the natural world in the eighteenth century. At Valley Forge, during the winter of 1777-1778, Continental soldiers cut down over 127,000 trees to build their log huts, leading to short-term and long-term effects of deforestation.…
Find out more »Lecture – The Real Miracle at Valley Forge: George Washington’s Political Mastery
Throughout the punishing winter at Valley Forge, Gen. George Washington preserved the Continental Army while also forging it into an effective fighting force. This achievement not only reflected military leadership but also deft political action that allowed the commander-in-chief both to repel an attempt to supersede him and to command the congressional and national support he needed to remake the army. Historian David O. Stewart examines Washington’s masterful navigation of politics and leadership during the daunting 1777-1778 winter encampment. Registration…
Find out more »February 2023
Lecture – In League with Liberty: The Persistence of Patriots of Color and the Formation of the First Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army
As states struggled to fill enlistment quotas in late 1777, the Rhode Island General Assembly, drawing from a proposal from Rhode Island general James Varnum, voted to allow the enlistments of indentured servants, indigenous peoples and former slaves. With that, the First Rhode Island Regiment, known as “the black regiment,” was formed. Although met with controversy, the regiment fought with distinction in various battles during the Revolutionary War. To mark the anniversary of an important vote on February 14, 1778,…
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