Battle Briefs

Ten Crucial Days: The Trenton/Princeton Campaign, 1776-77

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | 12 p.m. ET | Virtual and In-Person

From the winter crossing of the icy Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776, to Gen. George Washington’s crucial victory at Princeton, New Jersey, ten days later, American fortunes in the Revolutionary War changed from almost hopeless to suddenly promising. Learn from historian John Maass how Washington and his freezing, ragged troops defeated their British and Hessian enemies in three battles that marked a major turning point in the war, and helped lead to American independence seven years later.

Dr. John Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a B.A. in history from Washington and Lee University, and a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. His most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on December 5 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, December 12. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on December 12 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on December 12 at 12 p.m. ET

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“War Is So Terrible”: Burnside’s Debacle at Fredericksburg, 1862

Tuesday, January 2, 2024 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, January 9, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | In-Person and Virtual

In December 1862, newly-appointed commander of the Union Army of the Potomac Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside faced off against Confederate forces led by Gen. Robert E. Lee in strong positions at Fredericksburg, Virginia. In a maneuver to force the rebels out of their defenses, Burnside ordered a series of frontal assaults, Union troops were slaughtered and repulsed with heavy losses. Learn about Burnside’s inept handling of his army in a costly battle that prompted Lee to remark “It is well that war is so terrible — we should grow to fond of it.”

Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. His most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on January 2 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, January 9. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on January 9 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on January 9 at 12 p.m. ET

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Washington’s Forts: The Colonial Frontier, 1754-58

Tuesday, February 6, 2024 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, February 13, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | In-Person and Virtual

George Washington got his first taste of war as a young frontier officer in the French and Indian War. He served at and traveled to dozens of forts, blockhouses, and stockades across hundreds of miles to oversee the defenses of Virginia and her neighboring colonies. Take a photographic tour of these backcountry outposts with historian John Maass, using period maps and modern images to explore Col. Washington’s service from 1754 to 1758.

Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. A former U.S. Army Reserve officer, his most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on February 6 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, February 13. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on February 13 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on February 13 at 12 p.m. ET

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Defeating Stonewall: Kernstown, 1862

Tuesday, March 5, 2024 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, March 12, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | In-Person and Virtual

The story of the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign in Virginia during the Civil War is typically told as the brilliant victory of Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson over larger Union forces led by inept commanders. Often overlooked, however, is the first battle of the campaign, in which Jackson and his small army were soundly defeated by the Federals on March 23, 1862, and had to flee the field. Explore the Battle of Kernstown with historian John Maass, and learn how Union troops led by Col. Nathan Kimball defeated the legendary rebel general in the southern valley of Virginia.

Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. A former U.S. Army Reserve officer, his most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on March 5 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, March 12. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on March 12 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on March 12 at 12 p.m. ET

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The Other Battle of Petersburg: Revolutionary War Clash in 1781

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, April 9, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | In-Person and Virtual

When many people hear the Battle of Petersburg mentioned, they think of Lee and Grant and the nine-month siege in Virginia during the last year of the Civil War. But there was also a Battle of Petersburg in the Revolutionary War, in April 1781. Learn from historian John Maass about this small but important battle between raiding British redcoats and courageous American militia forces in the campaign leading up to Yorktown, and the critical role played by Maj. Gen. Baron von Steuben — the “Valley Forge drillmaster” — in the fighting.

Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. A former U.S. Army Reserve officer, his most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on April 2 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, April 9. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on April 9 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on April 9 at 12 p.m. ET

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The Saddest Affair: The Battle of the Crater, 1864

Tuesday, May 7, 2024 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual

Tuesday, May 14, 2024 | 12 p.m. ET | In-Person and Virtual

On July 30, 1864, an enormous explosion rocked Confederate trenches at the siege of Petersburg, Virginia, in the Civil War. The blast filled the air with “earth, stones, timbers, arms, legs, guns unlimbered and bodies unlimbed,” a shocked Soldier reported. Union Soldiers—including thousands of U.S. Colored Troops—rushed forward to exploit the gap in the rebels’ lines, but met a bloody repulse. Join historian John Maass to learn how a regiment of Pennsylvanians planned, built, and detonated a mine filled with gunpowder, and how the Union attack that followed was bungled from the start.

Dr. John R. Maass is an education specialist at the National Museum of the United States Army. He received a Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in early U.S. history and military history. A former U.S. Army Reserve officer, his most recent book is “The Battle of Guilford Courthouse: A Most Desperate Engagement” (2020).

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on May 7 at 7 p.m. ET

This program is offered VIRTUALLY and IN-PERSON on Tuesday, May 14. Museum guests may attend in-person. Seats are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Register for the VIRTUAL Battle Brief on May 14 at 12 p.m. ET

Register for the IN-PERSON Battle Brief on May 14 at 12 p.m. ET

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