Next Meeting Speaker and Topic: November 18, 2020

For our final meeting (Zoom, of course!) of 2020, our speaker will be Jeff Dacus speaking on "Washington's Family: The Aides and Secretaries that Helped Him Through the War." As Jeff says, "Most people think it was just Alexander Hamilton but he had an excellent group of young men that did his staff work."

Jeff Dacus is a retired schoolteacher who taught U.S. history for 35 years and also taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Portland. A retired Marine tanker, he volunteers with local veterans groups and is a speaker at historical events. A member of the Company of Military Historians, he has written numerous articles in The Journal of the Company of Military Historians, Marine Corps Tanker's Association Newsletter, as well as Leatherneck and Armor Magazines. He has written numerous articles online for the Journal of the American Revolution. He is the winner of the 2020 General Roy S. Geiger Award given to the author of the best article in the field of Marine Corps Aviation. His first book is The Fighting Corsairs: The Men of Marine Fighting Squadron 215.

Jeff has appeared on the SIRIUS radio "Dave Nemo Show," and on the Journal of the American Revolution podcast "Dispatches." He holds several advanced degrees and he was a Distinguished Graduate at American Military University. He resides in Vancouver, Washington. Website: www.jeffdacus.com 

Yorktown Day 2020 Schedule

As most of you know by now, the events for this year's Yorktown Day have been seriously reduced. Listed below are some of the events being held.

AMERICA’S DECISIVE REVOLUTIONARY WAR VICTORY AT YORKTOWN

MARKED WITH TOWNWIDE EVENTS & INTERPRETIVE PROGRAMS, OCTOBER 17 & 18

YORKTOWN, Va., September 30, 2020 — The 239th anniversary of America’s decisive Revolutionary War victory at Yorktown will be celebrated on Saturday and Sunday, October 17 and 18, with a variety of events and activities at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Yorktown Battlefield and throughout Historic Yorktown.

While the annual Yorktown Day parade and public commemorative ceremonies are cancelled this year in response to COVID-19, an array of programs will salute the momentous allied American-French victory over the British in 1781. Visitors can take the free Yorktown Trolley to various Yorktown attractions between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. daily, following new safety protocols.

On October 19, 1781, following a nine-day bombardment, British forces in Yorktown under General Charles Cornwallis requested a cease-fire and then surrendered more than 8,000 soldiers and sailors to the combined American and French armies commanded by General George Washington. This was the last major military action of the American Revolution, effectively securing independence for the American colonies following a six-and-a-half-year military struggle.

AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN – OCTOBER 17

Revolutionary War Programs, Artillery Firings and Immersive Exhibits & Films

The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown will present a variety of interpretive experiences and artillery firings as part of its annual “Yorktown Victory Celebration” event on Saturday, October 17. Stories of citizens and soldiers of the American Revolution unfold at the expansive history museum through immersive films, exhibition galleries and outdoor re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and Revolution-era farm – all following new safety protocols.

Visitors can interact with Revolutionary War re-enactors, take in the “Siege of Yorktown” experiential theater and view artifacts from the Betsy, one of the British ships scuttled in the York River, on loan from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Outdoors, discover aspects of military life, from enlistment, troop supplies and medical care to flintlock musket and artillery demonstrations, as well as how farming families prepared food over an open hearth, processed plant fibers into cloth and dyed fabric using natural pigments.

The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and Gift Shop, open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, are located on Route 1020 in Yorktown. The event is included with museum admission: $15.25 for adults, $7.75 for ages 6-12, and free for children under 6. Residents of York County, James City County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive complimentary admission with proof of residency. Event activities are presented in part by the York County Arts Commission. For more information, call (757) 253-4838 or visit historyisfun.org.

YORKTOWN BATTLEFIELD – OCTOBER 17 & 18

Self-Guided Battlefield Tours and Outdoor Ranger Overviews

Colonial National Historical Park at Yorktown Battlefield, site of the climactic 1781 siege, is open for self-guided tours. A free tour app is available at nps.gov/york/yorktown-guide-app.htm. Park Rangers are available to provide information about Yorktown Battlefield and Colonial National Historical Park outside the Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, weather permitting. Stop by the Eastern National Park Store in the Visitor Center, Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to purchase items to commemorate your visit to the park. The Visitor Center is located at 1000 Colonial Parkway at the eastern end of the Colonial Parkway, 12 miles from Williamsburg.  For more information, visit nps.gov/colo.

VISITING HISTORIC YORKTOWN

Take the Yorktown Trolley to Enjoy Weekend Events & Outdoor Activities

Throughout the weekend, Historic Yorktown visitors can enjoy several outdoor activities, such as sails aboard the Schooner Alliance at the Riverwalk Landing piers as well as bicycle, paddleboard and kayak rentals and Segway tours from Patriot Tours & Provisions. On Saturday, October 17, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., shop the inaugural First Responders Market, dedicated to all the men and women who work year-round to keep the community safe, a tribute especially fitting during the pandemic. Down the street, the Watermen’s Museum will hold its rescheduled Oyster Roast from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is in addition to their two-day Maritime Heritage Festival with re-enactors, sea shanties, vendors and boat building. Yorktown Ghost Walks will be offering ticketed evening tours that must be booked in advance.

On Main Street, enjoy local art at On the Hill Gallery and the Gallery at York Hall. Mobjack Bay Coffee Roasters will have several ticketed historic walking tours October 16-19, including visits to Yorktown Battlefield Surrender Field, exploring everything from the beginning of the Yorktown campaign to the climactic final week of the siege. On Sunday, a “Victory and Alliance French Wine & History Celebration” at Mobjack Bay will include a tasting of French wines while learning about the French alliance and its invaluable contribution to the Revolution. For more information about Historic Yorktown events and programs, call (757) 890-5900 or visit visityorktown.org.  

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Media Contacts:

Yorktown Battlefield, Colonial National Historical Park
Michael Byrd, (757) 898-2422 or michael_byrd@nps.gov

American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Tracy Perkins, (757) 253-4114 or tracy.perkins@jyf.virginia.gov

York County Public Affairs
Gail Whittaker, (757) 890-3310 or whittgl@yorkcounty.gov

Next Meeting: November 18, 2020

Our November 18 meeting will again be a Zoom session rather than an in-person gathering.  Thanks again to Peggy Watson, we will be utilizing the Osher network. 

Our industrious V.P., Bruce Venter, is currently working to line-up a speaker for this meeting. We will notify you as soon as the speaker and topic are finalized.

To participate in a Zoom session, your computer will need a camera function, standard for most lap tops and tablets.  But I would suggest reviewing the camera function before that time.  We recommend that you join in 5 - 10 minutes before the start, to be sure that your equipment is working.  All attendees will be put in a waiting room, then admitted one by one. You will be muted on admittance, but will be able to unmute as soon as you’re in.  Peggy Watson will explain the meeting protocol.

Sign in information will be provided in the November newsletter, about a week before the meeting. 

We do realize that all members might not be able to view the program, but also feel that this approach is better than entirely missing another meeting.  As with previous Zoom meetings, we won't worry about most of the other parts of the meeting. 

Meeting Notes: July 15, 2020

 ARRT-Richmond 7/15/20 Meeting Notes

Pre-Guest Speaker Notes:

ARRT-R’s next meeting is scheduled for 9/16/20 at 6:30 p.m.  This is a zoom meeting!  Sign in details will be provided in the August newsletter.  Thanks again to Peggy Watson for allowing us to utilize the Osher network.

ARRT-R’s featured speaker on 9/16/20 will be Norm Bollen. Norm will be speaking on his new book, George Washington and the Mohawk Valley.  Norm is chairman of the board of the Fort Plain Museum and Historical Park. He is former president of the Mohawk Valley Museum Consortium and the president and founder of Mohawk Country, Inc., a non-profit group which promotes historic preservation and heritage based tourism  in the Mohawk Valley.

Guest Speaker: Bert Dunkerly, “Four Winters at Morristown: Smallpox, Starvation, and Mutiny.”

Bert Dunkerly is currently a Park Ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park.  He holds a degree from St. Vincent College and a Masters in Historic Preservation from Middle Tennessee State University.  Bert recently spent six months as the Acting Supervisory Ranger at Morristown National Park.

Why did George Washington select Morristown as a base?

1. While Morristown’s location in northern New Jersey was close enough to New York City to threaten the British it’s located more than a day’s march from the city.  This would prevent the British from quickly moving on the Continental Army.

2. Morristown was a crossroads village with multiple roads leading in and out allowing for easy movement of troops and supplies.

3. Natural resources such as water and timber where in abundance in the area surrounding the village.

4. While parts of New Jersey contained large percentages of “loyal” subjects the area around Morristown was considered very friendly to the rebellion.

Winter#1: 1776-1777

The Continental Army arrived at Morristown on January 6th, 1777.  The army that arrived numbered only 2000 men.  Troops where not quartered in huts but in private homes and barns.  The Army faced issues including dwindling enlistment, desertion, and a lack of supplies and pay.  Within weeks of arriving in Morristown the Army also faced an issue with a smallpox epidemic.  In response, Washington instituted an inoculation campaign in a successful effort to stamp out the epidemic.

Washington created a defensive network around Morristown.  The most significant part of the defensive sites was “High Hill – Fort Nonsense”.   From “High Hill” you can see Manhattan on a clear day.

Winter#2: 1778-1779

In 1778 the Army returned to Morristown.  Winter#2 was much colder than Valley Forge.  Instead of living in private residences the Army built huts.  

Deaths due to disease and other causes where much smaller at Morristown in 1778-1779 than at Valley Forge.  The Army had learned lessons involving issues such as sanitation and camp layout. 

Winter#3: 1780-1781

Instead of the entire Army being based in Morristown only Pennsylvania troops were quartered in and around the village.

On January 1, 1781 much of the Pennsylvania force mutinied.  The mutineers marched to Princeton in attempt to meet with the Continental Congress.

Winter#4: 1781-1782

Only New Jersey troops where based in Morristown.  Troop numbers where estimated to be around 700.

--Noah Rogers

2020 Harry M. Ward Book Prize Winner Announced

 

The ARRT-Richmond Book Prize Committee has announced the winner and runners-up for the 2020 Prize. They are:

WINNER:

Contest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775-1783, by Seanegan P. Sculley. Westholme Publishing, 2019.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution, by David Head. Pegasus Books, 2019.

Washington’s Revolutionary War Generals, by Stephen R. Taaffe. University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.

Southern Gambit: Cornwallis and the British March to Yorktown, by Stanley D. M. Carpenter. University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.

Heartfelt thanks to the committee: Mark Lender, Fred Sorrell, and Bert Dunkerly.

Thaddeus Kościuszko

Woody Childs sent along a link to an article entitled, "Revolutionary War Hero Thaddeus Kościuszko Ages Well in New Era of Social Justice," written by Amy Cohen for "Hidden City." Very interesting article--give it a read!

Thanks, Woody!

Click here for article

Crossing of the Dan Commemoration for 2021

The annual Crossing of the Dan commemoration in 2021 will be held on Saturday, February 20 in South Boston. Due to the virus concerns, it will be somewhat down-sized but will occur nevertheless. Be sure to mark your calendars for this annual event!