Calendar of Historical Programs

When the Revolutionary War began, the patriots were desperate for military arms. France quietly supplied the Continental Army with surplus weapons. This French Model 1763 infantry musket was one of the first to arrive. Join Executive Director Jack Warren for a discussion of how the French supplied our desperate need for arms and equipment and how we know that this musket, recently acquired for our collections, was one of the first French muskets supplied to the Continental Army. The presentation…

Michele Lee Silverman, research services librarian, discusses recruitment broadsides for the Revolutionary War. As America’s war for independence from Great Britain continued into 1776, the Continental Army faced depleting resources, including hundreds of soldiers whose enlistment terms were set to expire. The army needed to encourage soldiers to reenlist and entice even more to join. Broadsides, a single sheet of paper with print on one side, offered a quick and inexpensive method for the army to advertise their initiatives and…

Portraits of American loyalists depicted in the uniforms they wore when they fought against the patriot cause are rare. This recently acquired oil painting is of Colonel James DeLancey of Westchester County, New York, who led several loyalist cavalry and infantry units during the Revolutionary War. Attributed to itinerant artist John Durand, the portrait was painted ca. 1778-1782. Join Deputy Director and Curator Emily Schulz Parsons for a discussion of this painting, DeLancey's activities during the Revolution and eighteenth-century depictions…