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Fourteenth Annual Fort Ticonderoga Seminar on the American Revolution: September 22-24, 2017

A View of the Old French Fort, Redoubts, and Batteries at Ticonderoga on Lake ChamplainFort Ticonderoga presents the Fourteenth Annual Seminar on the American Revolution September 22-24, 2017. This weekend seminar focuses on the military, political, and social history of the American War for Independence. The Seminar takes place in the Mars Education Center and is open to the public; pre-registration is required.

Beginning in 2004, the Seminar on the American Revolution has become a noted national venue for presenters, featuring a mix of new and established scholars highlighting a variety of topics on the war for American Independence. This year’s speakers include:

  • Michael Alkey, a retired director of the New York State Military Museum, “Ballston Raid of 1780: Military Operation and/or Time to Settle Old Scores.”
  • Todd Braisted, an Honorary Vice President of the United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada, “Grand Forage 1778.”
  • Don N. Hagist, editor of Journal of the American Revolution, “Sparing the Lash: A Quantitative Study of Corporal Punishment and Its Effect on British Soldiers’ Careers.”
  • Ricardo A. Herrera, associate professor of military history at the School of Advanced Military Studies, US Army Command and General Staff College, “Feeding Valley Forge.”
  • William P. Tatum III, Dutchess County (NY) Historian, “An Example or two of death is necessary: The British Military Justice Process during the American Revolution.”
  • Richard Tomczak, a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University, “To be ordered upon corvees: French Canadian Laborers in the American Revolution, 1774-1778.”
  • Joseph W. Zarzynski, maritime archeologist with the Rhode Island Marien Archeology Project, “Behold the Cerberus the Atlantic plough—The History and Archeology of the HMS Cerberus.”
  • Matthew Zembo, an associate professor of history and military history at Hudson Valley Community College, “The Battle of Fort Anne: In Consequence of this Action Fort Anne was Burnt and Abandoned.”

The Seminar features a presentation by Fort Ticonderoga’s Vice President of Public History and Operations, Stuart Lilie. Lilie is a nationally recognized leader in public history and material culture. His presentation “Those Marked O are Old-Men of the 26th Foot at Ticonderoga” examines the 26th Foot’s service in America and how this regiment formed a guard for Ticonderoga. He explores Captain William Delaplace’s guard and its place in the community on Lake Champlain in the months prior to the outbreak of the Revolution.

Also featured during the Seminar is Matthew Keagle, Curator of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. Keagle is a leading authority on 18th-century military history and material culture and has presented his research throughout the Atlantic World. His presentation “More than Red and White: Franco-British Reform and Military Dress in the late Ancien Regime” will explore the permeability of Franco-British relations and the international character of military dress by the period of the American Revolution.

If you register before August 15th, registration will be $110 for Fort Ticonderoga Members and $130 for the general public. Registration for the Seminar after August 15th is $155 per person, $135 for Fort Ticonderoga Members. Registration forms can be downloaded from Fort Ticonderoga’s website at www.fort-ticonderoga.org under the “Education” tab by selecting “Workshops and Seminars” on the drop down menu. A printed copy is also available upon request by contacting the Fort at 518-585-2821.

America’s Fort is a registered trademark of the Fort Ticonderoga Association.

Photo: Detail, A View of the Old French Fort, Redoubts, and Batteries at Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain, Henry Rudyard, 1777. (Collection of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, photo Gavin Ashworth).