News

A New Home for an Old Veteran

On January 9, President General Pless Lunger and Institute Chairman Mark Williams visited Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie at his office to present him with a replica of A Pensioner of the Revolution, the oldest known portrait of a homeless veteran. They made the presentation to thank the secretary for speaking at Anderson House on Veterans Day 2019 to help launch America’s First Veterans, a new initiative that includes an exhibition, publications, lectures and other programs, as well as new educational programs. A Pensioner of the Revolution portrays Joseph Winter, a Revolutionary War veteran the artist John Neagle met living on the streets in Philadelphia in December 1829. The original portrait is one of the treasures from our collections now on display.

To learn more about Secretary Wilkie’s remarks, read the news release here.

Events

Captives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution

During the Revolution, the number of enemy prisoners in American custody often exceeded that of American soldiers in the Continental Army. On February 27 at 6:30 p.m., join T. Cole Jones, assistant professor of history at Purdue University, for a discussion of his new book examining the logistical and political issues these prisoners presented, and how they transformed the fight for independence into a war for vengeance.

Exhibitions

America’s First Veterans

Over a quarter of a million Americans served in the armed forces that won our independence. Those who survived became America’s first veterans—the world’s first veterans of an army of free men. This exhibition explores their stories and traces how the American republic finally acknowledged its debt and expressed its gratitude to the soldiers who secured the nation’s freedom.

Blog

Joseph Plumb Martin, Everyman

It’s not every man who can play Everyman, but Joseph Plumb Martin pulled it off with what looks like effortless ease. His Narrative of some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier is one of the most insightful, passionate and carefully […]