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.
October 2019
Lecture – French Marquis, Yorktown Victor, Spanish Grandee: Claude-Anne de Rouvroy, marquis de Saint-Simon
Historian Robert Selig explores the dramatic life of Claude-Anne de Rouvroy, marquis de Saint-Simon-Montbléru, and his role in the Siege of Yorktown, which occurred 238 years ago this month. Though almost entirely forgotten in the United States, Saint-Simon commanded more than three thousand French troops at Yorktown and was the highest ranking officer wounded during the siege. Based on recently discovered primary sources—including the journal of Jean-Baptiste Gérard Dupleix de Cadignan, lieutenant colonel in the Agenois Regiment under Saint-Simon’s command, in…
Find out more »November 2019
Panel Discussion – Why the American Revolution is Still Relevant
Join the American Revolution Institute for a special panel discussion and reception in Camden, South Carolina, at the Robert Mills Courthouse. Two hundred and thirty-six years after the conclusion of the American Revolution, the ideals that were fought for and won by the United States remain the foundation of our nation today. Panelists Walter B. Edgar, Woody Holton and Jack D. Warren, Jr., discuss the timeless significance of the vast event that created our nation. The evening begins with a…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President
Matthew R. Costello, assistant director of the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History, discusses and signs copies of his book on George Washington’s tomb at Mount Vernon. In the nineteenth century, Washington’s resting place at his beloved Mount Vernon estate was increasingly popular among American citizens and, at times, as contested as his iconic image. While Washington was an affluent slave owner who believed that republicanism and social hierarchy were vital to the young country’s survival, he remains largely…
Find out more »Panel Discussion – American Veterans through Two Centuries
Americans today honor the men and women who have served in our armed forces. We regard the payment of pensions and other veteran’s benefits as the fulfillment of our commitment to them and an expression of our appreciation for the sacrifices they have made for us. It has not always been so. Like so many aspects of our national culture, our traditions of honoring veterans are a legacy of the American Revolution. For Veterans Day the Institute presents an examination…
Find out more »January 2020
Lecture – Sealed with Blood: Gratitude for Revolutionary Veterans and American National Identity
Sarah Purcell, L.F. Parker Professor of History at Grinnell College, discusses how public memories and commemorations of the Revolutionary War and its veterans helped early Americans form a common bond and create a new national identity. Officers were often remembered as national heroes in newspapers, songs, pamphlets, sermons and theater productions. Martyred heroes such as Joseph Warren and Richard Montgomery created powerful images of a nation united by grief. Common veterans also sought to claim some measure of public gratitude…
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