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.
March 2025
Special Opening Reception — Revolutionary Beginnings: War and Remembrance in the First Year of America’s Fight for Independence
Join us for a reception celebrating the opening our new exhibition, Revolutionary Beginnings: War and Remembrance in the First Year of America's Fight for Independence. The War for American Independence began on April 19, 1775 — 250 years ago this spring — with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. These initial engagements gave way to the Patriots’ Siege of Boston, a nearly year-long effort to drive the British from the city. But the fighting during the first year…
Find out more »Lecture—The Cutting Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in the American Revolution
Historian Wayne E. Lee of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill discusses Indigenous warfare before and during the American Revolution. Throughout the Revolution, Indigenous warriors sought to surprise their targets, and the size of the target varied with the size of the attacking force. A small war party might "cut off" individuals getting water or wood or out hunting, while a larger party might attempt to attack a whole town. Once revealed by its attack, the invading war party…
Find out more »Art in Bloom DC 2025
Get Tickets Now Art in Bloom DC returns to Anderson House for a fifth time on March 20-23! This popular event fills our historic headquarters with more than thirty floral arrangements inspired by the art and architecture of Anderson House. Art in Bloom provides a unique opportunity in the nation’s capital to stroll through the museum at your own pace, viewing interpretations of specific artworks, furnishings and architectural details rendered in a floral medium by some of Washington’s most creative…
Find out more »April 2025
Lecture—The Realities of Infantry in Combat During the American Revolution
Historian Alex Burns, Ph.D., assistant professor of history at Franciscan University of Steubenville, places the common enlisted man during the American Revolution at center stage by discussing their experiences during the war. Drawing from his archival research on the American, British and Prussian armies, Dr. Burns shows how the infantryman throughout the eighteenth century played an important role by asserting tactical reforms from below and places the tactical experiences of the Continental Army in a European context. Registration is requested.…
Find out more »Lunch Bite—A Hanger Sword Owned by Massacusetts Minute Man James Taylor
Deputy Director and Curator Emily Parsons discusses an American-made hanger sword carried during the early months of the Revolutionary War by James Taylor, a minute man from western Massachusetts. A native of Pelham, Taylor was an ensign in Capt. David Cowden’s company of minute men when it answered the Lexington Alarm—seventy-five miles east—on April 19, 1775. Two months later, Taylor participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill, a sobering victory for the British Army, which lost so many casualties that…
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