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 2022
Lunch Bite – Dr. James Tilton’s Society of the Cincinnati Eagle Insignia and Treatise
Join Deputy Director and Curator Emily Parsons for a discussion of Dr. James Tilton’s Society of the Cincinnati Eagle insignia, along with his 1813 treatise on military hospitals—both of which are on display in our current exhibition, Saving Soldiers: Medical Practice in the Revolutionary War, now on view through November 27, 2022. James Tilton began his long career as a military physician in January 1776 when he joined the Delaware Regiment as a surgeon. Less than a year later, he…
Find out more »July 2022
Author’s Talk – Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778
In this new history of the Continental Army’s Grand Forage of 1778, award-winning military historian Ricardo A. Herrera uncovers what daily life was like for soldiers during the darkest and coldest days of the American Revolution: the Valley Forge winter. There the army launched its largest and riskiest operation—not a bloody battle against British forces but a campaign to feed itself and prevent starvation or dispersal during the long encampment. Herrera brings to light the army’s Herculean efforts to feed…
Find out more »Lunch Bite – Nathanael Greene’s pistols
Join Historical Programs Manager Andrew Outten for a presentation on a pair of holster pistols that was owned by Gen. Nathanael Greene and given to his aide-de-camp, Nathaniel Pendleton, who served under Greene during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. The brass box-lock pistols were made about 1782 by William Grice and Charles Freeth of Birmingham, England, and feature the initials “NG” engraved on the silver escutcheons. This Lunch Bite will focus on the history of the pistols along…
Find out more »Lecture – The Art and Science of Siege Warfare in the American Revolution
Fortification and siege doctrine were a critical component of any eighteenth-century military. Following a discussion of artillery in the Revolutionary War and a unique American-manufactured six-pounder owned by the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of South Carolina, Glenn F. Williams of the U.S. Army Center of Military History explores the intricacies and technical expertise required to carry out an effective and successful siege in the Revolutionary War. The discussion will center on eighteenth-century field fortification design and construction…
Find out more »Lecture – The Artifacts of Arnold’s Bay: Following the Diaspora of Material Culture Over Time
During the last engagement in the 1776 northern campaign season, Gen. Benedict Arnold burned the remaining vessels of his American fleet in Lake Champlain to prevent capture by the British. In 2020, the National Park Service American Battlefield Protection Program funded an archeological survey project of this area, now classified as a Revolutionary War battlefield known as Arnold’s Bay. Historical archaeologists Cherilyn Gilligan and Christopher Sabick of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum discuss their work on this recent archaeological study…
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