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.
March 2019
Lecture – “Wonderland of the World”: The Andersons and Japan
Japan was a touchstone in the lives of Larz and Isabel Anderson, who traveled to the country four times during the so-called “Gilded Age,” when status was expressed in part through collecting fine art. The couple assembled a large collection of Meiji-period Japanese art and displayed much of it amidst the western-style interiors and décor of Anderson House. Commemorate the 113th anniversary of the completion of Anderson House with an exploration of key Japanese works in the Anderson collection presented…
Find out more »April 2019
Author’s Talk—John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court
Historian and columnist Richard Brookhiser discusses and signs copies of his biography of John Marshall, a Revolutionary War veteran whose career as chief justice of the Supreme Court transformed American law and politics. When Marshall became the fourth chief justice of the United States in 1801, the Supreme Court was the weakest branch of the federal government. After his thirty-four-year tenure on the bench, the judicial branch was an equal power in American government. Marshall’s influence over three decades of…
Find out more »May 2019
Author’s Talk—Daniel Morgan: A Revolutionary Life
Historian Albert Louis Zambone discusses and signs copies of his biography of Daniel Morgan, a homeless, illiterate teenage laborer who, with ambition, determination and a great deal of luck, became a landowner, congressman and one of America’s greatest battlefield commanders. The talk will last approximately 45 minutes, followed by a book signing and refreshments. Copies of the book will be available to purchase at the event. About the Speaker Albert Louis Zambone earned his doctorate in American history from…
Find out more »Lecture – Maritime Archaeology of the Betsy: A Merchant Ship at War
Underwater archaeologist John D. Broadwater discusses his work as the principal investigator for the Yorktown Shipwreck Archaeological Project, conducted 1978-1989, that located and examined British supply ships sunk off Yorktown, Virginia, during the climactic campaign of the Revolutionary War. The talk will last approximately 45 minutes. About the Speaker John Broadwater is the acting state underwater archaeologist with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. From 1992 to 2010 he worked for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), first…
Find out more »Author’s Talk – The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution
Historian John Buchanan discusses and signs copies of his long-awaited sequel to The Road to Guilford Courthouse that brings the story of the war in the South to its dramatic conclusion. Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaign was the most difficult of the war. With a supply line stretching hundreds of miles northward, it revealed much about the crucial military art of provision and transport. Insufficient manpower a constant problem, Greene attempted to incorporate black regiments into his army, a plan angrily rejected…
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