ARRT-DC Meeting: September 4, 2013

See: http://xenophongroup.com/patriot/arrt/arrt_web.htm   for more information on the ARRT-DC.

Those who live in, or may be planning to visit, the Washington, DC, area are cordially invited to join us for the next meeting of the American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia on Wednesday, 4 September 20013. 

"As great a piece of Generalship as ever was performed: Reinterpretation of the Battle of Princeton, 3 January 1777."

The 4 September 2013 program "As great a piece of Generalship as ever was performed: Reinterpretation of the Battle of Princeton, 3 January 1777." will be presented by Wade P. Catts. This illustrated lecture will present new information and in some cases, reinterpretation, of the battle of Princeton. The culminating battle of the "Ten Crucial Days," Princeton was a remarkable military maneuver that had far-reaching results for the American cause, and a major setback for the Crown. Undertaken by the Princeton Battlefield Society and funded by a grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program, the recently completed study utilizes historical records, maps, topography, GIS, and archeology to examine the battlefield.

Wade P. Catts is Associate Director of Cultural Resources with John Milner Associates, Inc., an historic preservation consulting firm based in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Mr. Catts served on the Princeton project team as an historical archeologist. He has worked on a number of Revolutionary War sites, including Cooch's Bridge, Fish Creek (Saratoga), Short Hills, Raritan Landing, Brandywine, Paoli, the Battle of the Clouds, Valley Forge, and the site of the Continental Powder Works on French Creek. He holds a graduate degree in American History from the University of Delaware.

Looking ahead, our November program will feature Don N. Hagist, author of "British Soldiers, American War:: Voices of the American Revolution, 1775-1781"

EDITORIAL on the September Program:

Fought on January 3, 1777, the climax of the “ten crucial days” that saved our American Revolution, Princeton represented a victory that gave new life to the Continental Army as it battled for our independence.  Unfortunately, the most historically significant part of the battlefield is in danger of being lost to modern development.  The scene of Washington’s counter-attack, the climax of the “ten crucial days” that saved American independence, is outside the boundary of the state park that commemorates the event.  The Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS), which owns the property, has plans for a project that would build family housing for its faculty on this irreplaceable cultural resource.  In the past, IAS generously donated acreage to the state of New Jersey to expand the adjacent historical park, while it retained ownership of this significant parcel.  It had always been hoped the Institute would act as a responsible steward of that part of the battlefield which falls outside the park boundaries – possibly with a voluntary legal agreement such as a Historic Preservation Easement.  That appears to not be IAS’s intent.

As many of you know, I am involved with the Princeton Battlefield Society in its attempt to preserve what the National Trust for Historic Preservation recently named one of “America’s Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places.”  Such a battle requires public support and legal action to preserve the site of one of the most important turning point events in our nation’s history.  I do not usually make requests of this nature, but I hope you will consider joining me as a member of the Princeton Battlefield Society, and/ or contributing to the legal fund to save the battlefield.  Please see: http://www.theprincetonbattlefieldsociety.com for ways you can help.  Thank you.

Glenn

The ARRT of DC meets at the Fort Myer (Arlington, VA) Officers Club on the first Wednesday of September, November, March and May, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. For more information on attending the program, or the ARRT of DC in general, go to our web page at http://xenophongroup.com/patriot/arrt/arrtprgm.htm; OR, send me an e-mail off-list to gfwilliams607@verizon.net; or call: (703) 360-9712; or write: ARRT DC, PO Box 137, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.