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.
May 2026
Author’s Talk—Washington’s One-Man Army: The Life, Legends, and Battles of Peter Francisco
Adm. John Palmer (Ret.), U.S. Navy, discusses his new book that tells the riveting narrative of Peter Francisco, who was born in the Portuguese Azores in 1760, was kidnapped and brought to Virginia in 1765, and joined the Continental Army’s Virginia Line at the outbreak of the American Revolution. Considered to be a larger-than-life soldier at 6 feet 6 inches tall, he served in the Battles of Brandywine, Germanton, Monmouth, Stony Point, and Guilford Courthouse. Admiral Palmer tells the true…
Find out more »June 2026
Lecture—Across the Ocean, Into Battle: German Soldiers, Families, and Community in the American Revolutionary War
Historian Friederike Baer focuses our attention on the varied experiences of the German auxiliaries in the American Revolution. Between 1776 and 1783, Great Britain hired more than thirty thousand German soldiers to fight in its war against the American rebels. Collectively known as Hessians and accompanied by many civilians, including hundreds of women and children, they spent extended periods in locations as far-flung and varied as Canada and West Florida. Drawing on extensive research in German-authored private papers and official…
Find out more »Author’s Talk—National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America
Award-winning historian Michael Auslin discusses his new book that demonstrates how Thomas Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence have inspired implausibly varied causes, from suffragists and civil rights leaders to groups waging war on the United States government. Auslin will address the lessons that should be taken from the document today and how the Declaration’s ideals can bring a disparate nation together. As we gather to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founders’ bold experiment in democracy, this talk…
Find out more »July 2026
Lecture – Palmetto Parapets: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island, June 28, 1776
Independent historian Chip Bragg commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, where Maj. Gen. William Moultrie commanded a valiant defended an unfinished log fort on Sullivan’s Island, located at the entrance of Charleston harbor in South Carolina, against a determined British naval attack. Drawing from his extensive research, Dr. Bragg gives an in-depth overview of the iconic battle—which occurred while the Continental Congress in Philadelphia considered a draft of the Declaration of Independence—and demonstrates how a garrison…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – Suffering for the Crown: The Hudson Valley Loyalists and the Violence of Revolution
Kieran O’Keefe of Lyon College discusses his new book that focuses our attention on Loyalists living in New York’s Hudson Valley during the Revolution, an epicenter where neighbor fought neighbor, brother fought brother, and fathers fought sons. Through an analysis of the effects of violence on Loyalist communities—which included white, Black, and Native peoples—this talk reveals the brutal reality of war by examining its enduring psychological and social legacies, providing a nuanced understanding of the Revolution’s human cost and how…
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