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.
April 2024
Author’s Talk— Revolutionary Blacks: Discovering the Frank Brothers, Freeborn Men of Color, Soldiers of Independence
Through the experiences of William and Benjamin Frank, who enlisted in the Second Rhode Island Regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Dr. Shirley Green, adjunct professor of history at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University, focuses our attention on the Black experience during the American Revolution by underscoring the significant distinction between free Blacks in military service and those who had been enslaved, and how they responded in different ways to the harsh realities…
Find out more »Lunch Bite — A map created by Lafayette’s aide-de-camp for King Louis XVI
In 1777, French army officer Michel Capitaine du Chesnoy arrived in Charleston, South Carolina, with the marquis de Lafayette. During the American Revolution, Capitaine du Chesnoy served with Lafayette as both his aide-de-camp and mapmaker, producing several important plans of key engagements. In addition to his maps serving as vital tools for French officers who were strangers to the geography of the United States, Capitaine du Chesnoy’s maps also became an important propaganda tool. Join the Institute’s historical programs manager,…
Find out more »Lecture – An English Lord in America: Lord Fairfax and George Washington in Revolutionary Virginia
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, played an influential role throughout the life of George Washington. Having been introduced to Washington shortly after settling in Belvoir, Va., in 1747, Fairfax became Washington’s first employer when he hired the sixteen-year-old Virginian to survey his lands west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Although a professed Loyalist throughout the American Revolution, Fairfax was quiet about his sentiments and remained a close friend of Washington until Fairfax’s death in 1781. In this lecture,…
Find out more »May 2024
Lecture—A Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
Few in history can match the revolutionary career of the marquis de Lafayette. For over fifty incredible years at the heart of the Age of Revolution, he fought courageously on both sides of the Atlantic as a soldier, statesman, idealist, philanthropist and abolitionist. As a teenager, Lafayette ran away from France to join the American Revolution. Returning home a national hero, he helped launch the French Revolution, eventually spending five years locked in an Austrian prison. After his release, Lafayette…
Find out more »Dupont-Kalorama Museum Consortium Walk Weekend
Join us and six of our partner museums in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C., that will be open free of charge for this annual festival featuring special exhibitions and activities. Participating museums are Anderson House, Dumbarton House, The Phillips Collection, The President Wilson House, The National Museum of American Jewish Military History, The O Museum in the Mansion and Dupont Underground. For additional information, visit www.DKMuseums.com. Advanced registration for Walk Weekend tickets is encouraged, but not required. For…
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