The United States of America was forged in the meeting halls and on the battlefields of the American Revolution, which established our republican form of government and committed the new country to ideals of liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship. Over eight long years, the Revolutionary War was fought across large swaths of North America and beyond, involving the militaries of at least five nations. It touched the lives and families of nearly everyone in what would become the United States, yet the full scope of who participated in our Revolution and the effects it had on those who fought in it remains less understood.
In 2026, as we mark the 250th anniversary of the creation of our nation and the Declaration of Independence, the exhibition Voices of Revolution will explore the variety of people who participated in the Revolutionary War and some of the battlefields where their paths crossed. From well-known battles at Yorktown and Brandywine to lesser-known engagements like Young’s House, New York, and Pensacola, Florida, the exhibition will use battlefields to explore the human experience—what individuals saw and did, where they came from and why, how the war impacted them, and how they impacted the war—using their words, belongings and likenesses.
The exhibition Voices of Revolution and a companion digital interactive will draw from the collections of the American Revolution Institute as well as other museums and private collectors to feature the complex and compelling stories of numerous individuals who participated in the Revolutionary War in different ways and on different sides of the conflict, as a soldier, sailor, laborer or observer. Together, these stories will offer a broader picture of the kinds of people—American, French, British, Loyalist, Female, Black, Native American, German, Spanish—who took part in the American Revolution and will underscore the scale and importance of this event at the heart of our national identity.
Support the Exhibition
This exhibition is only possible thanks to generous philanthropy. To support this museum exhibition, please click below to make a tax-deductible donation to the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, Inc.
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