Genealogy Sites Guide

As many of our members are also interested in genealogy, Maria Jones sent me the following link, "25 Best Genealogy Sites - The Definitive Guide." Thanks, Maria!

100 Members!

For the first time in our history, we have hit 100 members.  Thanks to all our new members and to all who have been part of our history.  Impressive from a four member start. 

As a reminder, all dues paying members from 2020 have had their dues credited to 2021.  That means that no dues will be required from this group.  New 2021 members will be assessed the regular $20 fee (including $5 for preservation), unless circumstances change. 

Seventh Congress of ARRTs: November 19-21, 2021

The seventh Congress of American Revolution Round Tables will meet at George Washington's Mount Vernon over the weekend of Friday, November 19 through Sunday, November 21, 2021, with the Congress to be held in their library.  Tours of the estate and library will be part of the weekend.  The staff at Mount Vernon has been very helpful and accommodating in assisting us.  https://www.mountvernon.org/

Tentative plans include a Friday night dinner at a restaurant to be determined and hopefully a Saturday night dinner gathering at Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria.  The actual Congress session will occur on Saturday, with Sunday reserved for local history visits.

All ARRT members are invited, not just group officers.  Especially welcome are folks in the process of forming a round table.  Please share this news with your members and others.

The local arrangements committee is working on hotel and other details.  As usual, you will be responsible for the cost of lodging and meals.  More details will follow within the next few months.

Please reserve November 19-21 for the 7th Congress.  We look forward to seeing you at Mount Vernon!

July 21, 2021 Meeting

Bob Selig will present at our July 21 Zoom meeting. His topic will be: "Do you believe in Magic? Spells and Witchcraft during the American War of Independence."

Dogs that would not bark, horses that would not walk, women who turned into animals at night: the belief in the existence of witches and witchcraft was widespread during the second half of the eighteenth century. Sometimes these powers were employed in the cause of American Independence, sometimes against it. Decades later veterans would record these super-natural occurrences in their pension applications or tell them to people collecting oral history accounts and traditions of the war.

Based on pension applications and accounts found in oral history collections such as the Asa Fitch Papers, the McDonald Papers, and the Draper Collection, this talk presents some of these events, looks into the medieval origins of these beliefs, and places them into the historical context of the War of Independence. 

Meeting Notes: January 27, 2021

ARRT-Richmond 1/27/21 Meeting Notes

Pre-Guest Speaker Notes:

ARRT-R’s next meeting is scheduled for 3/17/21 at 6:30 p.m. This is a Zoom meeting!  Sign-in details will be provided in the March newsletter. Thanks again to Peggy Watson for allowing us to utilize the Osher network.

ARRT-R’s featured speaker on 3/17/21 will be Gary Ecelbarger. Mr. Ecelbarger will be speaking on “George Washington During the First Month of the Philadelphia Campaign: Old Challenges and New Discoveries, August 24 – September 23, 1777”.

Mr. Ecelbarger is the author of seven books on the Civil War and Lincoln. He is an experienced tour guide of Revolutionary War and Civil War sites and is authoring a campaign biography of Washington during the struggle for Philadelphia. He’s also an ARRT-Richmond member and a long-time friend.

Jack Kelly will be our May 19 speaker, presenting virtually on his new book “Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty”.

 

Guest Speaker – Ed Lengel – “New Thoughts on Valley Forge”

Dr. Lengel was a historian in residence at Colonial Williamsburg and previously served as Chief Historian of the White House Historical Association. Before that, Lengel was Editor-in-Chief of the Papers of George Washington and Professor at the University of Virginia. He is currently chief historian at the new Museum of the Medal of Honor.

Dr. Lengel is the author most recently of Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion (2018). He is also author of Thunder and Flames: Americans in the Crucible of Combat, 1917-1918 (2015), To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne, 1918 (2008), and This Glorious Struggle: George Washington’s Revolutionary War Letters (2007). His book General George Washington: A Military Life was a finalist for the 2006 George Washington Book Prize.

Ed offered up multiple questions to provoke viewer discussion:

Should the Army have gone to York, PA or Lancaster, PA instead of Valley Forge?

How bad was Valley Forge? Did George Washington manufacture a crisis?

Did the army operate for economic reasons?

Did Baron von Steuben make a difference?

Did Valley Forge change the army’s relationship with Washington?

Next Meeting: May 19, 2021

Our next meeting will be held via Zoom at 6:30 p.m. on May 19, 2021. Jack Kelly will speak on Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty. Information regarding the meeting (log-ins, etc.) will be in the early-May newsletter.

During the summer of 1776, a British incursion from Canada loomed. In response, citizen soldiers of the newly independent nation mounted a heroic defense. Patriots constructed a small fleet of gunboats on Lake Champlain in northern New York and confronted the Royal Navy in a desperate three-day battle near Valcour Island. Their effort surprised the arrogant British and forced the enemy to call off their invasion.

Jack Kelly's Valcour is a story of people. The northern campaign of 1776 was led by the underrated general Philip Schuyler (Hamilton's father-in-law), the ambitious former British officer Horatio Gates, and the notorious Benedict Arnold. An experienced sea captain, Arnold devised a brilliant strategy that confounded his slow-witted opponents.

America’s independence hung in the balance during 1776. Patriots endured one defeat after another. But two events turned the tide: Washington’s bold attack on Trenton and the equally audacious fight at Valcour Island. Together, they stunned the enemy and helped preserve the cause of liberty. (From amazon.com)

Next Meeting: March 17, 2021

Our March meeting will again be a Zoom meeting. Gary Ecelbarger will speak on "George Washington During the First Month of the Philadelphia Campaign: Old Challenges & New Discoveries, August 24-September 23, 1777." Information about the Zoom meeting will be conveyed in Bill's March newsletter.