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.
January 2022
Virtual Lunch Bite – Portrait of General Sir William Green
Join Museum Collections and Operations Manager Paul Newman as he discusses a portrait of General Sir William Green, Baronet (1725-1811), by George Carter (1737-1794), ca 1784. As the chief engineer for Gibraltar prior to and during the Franco-Spanish siege of the British territory, it was Green who designed, lobbied for and oversaw the construction of greater defenses of the Rock. This Lunch Bite will focus on why one of the Revolutionary War's greatest sieges was fought on the doorstep to…
Find out more »February 2022
Virtual Author’s Talk – The Untold War at Sea: America’s Revolutionary Privateers
Action at sea played a critical role in European and Anglo-American conflicts throughout the eighteenth century. Yet the oft-told narrative of the American Revolution tends to focus on battles on American soil or the debates and decisions of the Continental Congress. The Untold War at Sea is the first book to place American privateers and their experiences during the War for Independence front and center. Kylie A. Hulbert tells the story of privateers at home and abroad while chronicling their…
Find out more »Virtual Lunch Bite – A German Military Jaeger Rifle
Join Historical Programs Manager Andrew Outten for a discussion of a German military jaeger rifle. The soldiers who comprised the German auxiliary forces that supported Great Britain during the Revolutionary War were a formidable foe. They were well trained and highly disciplined. Among these German auxiliaries were specialized corps of light infantry soldiers known as jaegers. With backgrounds as huntsmen, foresters, and trackers in the German wilderness prior to arriving in North America, men who made up the various jaeger…
Find out more »Virtual Author’s Talk – A Most Gallant Resistance: The Delaware River Campaign, September-November 1777
By October 1777, British forces occupied Philadelphia. Yet an elaborate American defense of the Delaware River crippled the British supply lines and threatened their ability to hold the city. Historian Jim Mc Intyre discusses the massive effort by the Crown forces to gain control of the strategic waterway. He highlights the British occupation of Philadelphia, the American defense of the river, and several often-neglected engagements such as the successful repulse of a Hessian attack on Fort Mercer in New Jersey,…
Find out more »March 2022
Virtual Author’s Talk – Cornwallis: Soldier and Statesman in a Revolutionary World
Charles Cornwallis was a leading figure in late eighteenth-century Great Britain. His career spanned the American War of Independence, Irish Union, the French Revolutionary Wars and the building of the second British Empire in India. Focusing on the first part of his new book, Richard Middleton offers insight into Cornwallis’ time in America and shows that Cornwallis' legacy during the Revolutionary War is significantly more complex than the shortcomings he is most often associated with. The talk will last approximately…
Find out more »