The American Revolution marked the beginning of an age of democratic revolutions that swept over France and challenged the old order throughout the Atlantic world. The French officers who served in the American War of Independence, whether as idealistic volunteers or resolute soldiers of their king, remembered the experience for the rest of their lives. […]
Watch live online as Professor John Hardman presents the 2019 George Rogers Clark lecture on King Louis XVI’s decision to support the American War for Independence. Louis, he argues, was a highly educated ruler who, though indecisive, possessed sharp political insight and a talent for foreign policy. Why did the king choose war? Could France have taken […]
Celebrate the Second of July, the day the Continental Congress voted for American independence, with music of the founding era. David and Ginger Hildebrand of the Colonial Music Institute perform eighteenth-century songs—including ballads, marches and French-inspired songs—in costume with period instruments. The concert will last approximately one hour. About the Performers David and Ginger […]
One of the greatest obstacles that the Continental Army faced during its first two years was providing an adequate supply of firearms suitable for military service. Arms production in Revolutionary America never met the demand for weapons to fight the British. The timely influx of weapons captured from British ships and purchased from France saved […]
When the Revolutionary War began, the patriots were desperate for military arms. France quietly supplied the Continental Army with surplus weapons. This French Model 1763 infantry musket was one of the first to arrive. Join Executive Director Jack Warren for a discussion of how the French supplied our desperate need for arms and equipment and […]