August 2022
Author’s Talk – The Habsburg Monarchy and the American Revolution
During the Revolutionary War, the Habsburg monarchy, the largest continental European power of the eighteenth century, never formally recognized the United States, but its ruling and mercantile elites saw opportunity, especially for commerce. Bringing together materials from nearly fifty international archives, Jonathan Singerton of the University of Innsbruck reconstructs the full sweep of relations between the nascent United States and one of the oldest European dynasties during and after the American Revolution and offers a reexamination of the Revolution by…
Find out more »Lunch Bite – The Patriot’s Monitor
Director of Education Stacia Smith discusses The Patriot’s Monitor, an early American primer published in 1810. This textbook contains content “Designed to Impress and Perpetuate the First Principles of the Revolution on the Minds of Youth; Together with Some Pieces Important and Interesting Adapted for the Use of Schools.” This Lunch Bite will explore the history of this teaching aid and its relevance in the modern classroom. This presentation will be held in our research library and last approximately 30…
Find out more »Virtual Lecture – “To Have The Bed Made”: Invisible Labor and the Material Culture of Nursing in the Revolutionary War
In this lecture, historian Meg Roberts sheds light on the labor of the Revolutionary War’s caregivers. Alongside the surgeons and physicians, the medical care of the thousands of sick and wounded Continental soldiers relied upon the tireless work of army nurses, camp followers, housewives, cooks, laundresses and local families. In contrast to the voluminous records of soldiers’ and military leaders’ wartime experiences, the contribution of women has often been summarized fleetingly with three verbs: washing, cooking and nursing. The rich…
Find out more »September 2022
Lunch Bite – 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…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade
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…
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