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.
June 2023
Author’s Talk – Washington’s Marines: The Origins of the Corps and the American Revolution, 1775-1777
In the early days of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress rushed to form an army but soon realized that, to win its freedom, America would need men who could fight both on land and sea. Enter the Marines. As Washington struggled to preserve his command after defeats in New York and New Jersey in 1776, the nascent U.S. Navy and Marines deployed the first American fleet, conducted their first amphibious operation, and waged a war on the rivers and…
Find out more »July 2023
Lecture – The Franco-British Struggle for Global Hegemony and the Career of Lt. Col. Dupleix de Cadignan, 1755-1784
Jean-Baptiste Dupleix de Cadignan (1738-1824) entered the French army’s Régiment de Bourgogne-Infanterie as a lieutenant on April 15, 1754, five weeks before his sixteenth birthday. That same day, he began a diary that forms the basis for his over four-hundred page, two-volume journal owned by the Society of the Cincinnati. Commencing in April 1755, when he embarked for Louisbourg, Canada, Dupleix de Cadignan's journal describes his experience as a prisoner of war in July 1758, his exchange the following year…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service During the American Revolution
The Loyalists who supported the British during the American Revolution have frequently been neglected in accounts of that conflict. Nevertheless, Loyalists made significant efforts to assist British forces in restoring royal control of the thirteen colonies. This was especially true in South Carolina, where backcountry Loyalists under almost-forgotten leaders such as Joseph Robinson and Euan McLaurin challenged the Revolutionary movement in 1775. Although their initial efforts were unsuccessful, Robinson, McLaurin and hundreds of their followers eventually made their way to…
Find out more »August 2023
Lecture – The Fighting Sullivans of World War II
On November 13, 1942, the American cruiser USS Juneau was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Serving on the cruiser were George, Francis, Joseph, Madison and Albert Sullivan, five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who were all tragically killed in the attack. In 1944, their parents, Thomas and Alleta Sullivan, were presented with five Purple Heart medals by Rear Admiral Clark H. Woodward in the Key Room at Anderson House, where several U.S. Navy departments were headquartered…
Find out more »Lecture – William Hunter: A British Soldier’s Son Who Became an Early American
The son of a British soldier, William Hunter accompanied his father, a non-commissioned officer in the British army’s 26th Regiment of Foot, while on campaign during the American Revolution. Throughout the war, Hunter witnessed the first-hand terrors of combat, was captured twice, and produced the only surviving account written by a child of a British soldier. Drawing from Hunter’s recently discovered journal, which will be on display at the lecture, historian Euguene Procknow discusses his experiences during the Revolution and how they…
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