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 2025
From the Vault—Prisoners of the Revolution
Join library staff, along with historian Susan Brynne Long, Ph.D., for a special program exploring selections from our library collections relating to the experience of prisoners of war during the American Revolution. The captivity experience of British and American prisoners varied significantly between officers and enlisted men, German and British captives, and across geographies. This special public viewing will allow guests to view rare items up close while learning about the harsh realities and experiences of POWs confined in camps,…
Find out more »June 2025
A Visit to the National Museum of the United States Army
To commemorate the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolution, join us on Saturday June 7, 2025, as the Institute visits the National Museum of the United States Army in Fort Belvoir, Va., to explore its newest exhibition, Call to Arms: The Soldier and the Revolutionary War, on its opening day. Call to Arms explores the creation and early years of the United States Army during the American Revolution and was curated specifically to commemorate the Army’s 250th…
Find out more »July 2025
The Comte de Rochambeau’s 300th Birthday Celebration
The comte de Rochambeau, the commander in chief of France’s 1780 expeditionary force sent to aid the Continental Army, played a pivotal role in helping to secure American independence. To commemorate the 300th birthday of this important figure of the American Revolutionary War, join us and the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail for a special evening honoring the French commander. Beginning at 6 p.m., a performance by the Chorale de l'Ambassade de France will kick off the celebrations before…
Find out more »October 2025
The 2025 Society of the Cincinnati Prize Presentation & Reception
The 2025 Society of the Cincinnati Prize honors Vaughn Scribner, Ph.D., for his book Under Alien Skies: Environment, Suffering, and the Defeat of the British Military in Revolutionary America (University of North Carolina Press, 2024), which illustrates how foreign soldiers’ perceptions of the American environment during the Revolution merged with harsh wartime realities to elicit considerable physical, mental, and emotional anguish. The Revolutionary War is often celebrated as marking the birth of American republicanism, liberty and representative democracy, yet for…
Find out more »November 2025
From The Vault—Military Training in the 18th Century
Join library staff, along with historian Steven Elliot, Ph.D., for a special program exploring selections from our library collections relating to military training during the American Revolution and the long eighteenth century. This special viewing will allow guests to explore rare items—including military treatises, orderly books and training manuals—up close while learning about the various tactics and practices used to train soldiers in eighteenth-century armies. This program will be held in-person only. Registration is limited and will be honored on…
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