As the nation prepares to celebrate America 250, the National Army Museum presents a symposium focused on the middle years of the Revolutionary War, 1777-79, exploring the victories and defeats of this critical period in the fight for independence.
These three grueling years saw events of triumph and despair, “times that tried men’s souls,” during the struggle for independence. The summer and fall of 1777 saw the war’s decisive American victories in the sprawling Saratoga Campaign and the surrender of a major British field army, but the season also included George Washington’s defeats in Pennsylvania at Brandywine, Germantown, and the enemy’s capture of Philadelphia. American Soldiers endured months of cold weather, inadequate supplies, and disease in their frigid camps at Valley Forge in 1778, but by the encampment’s end late that spring, a better trained, more confident Army had emerged.
In 1778, Americans also celebrated an invaluable military alliance with France and a well-fought battle by Washington’s improved regiments at Monmouth Courthouse, New Jersey. Still, in 1779, British forces raided Atlantic coastlines, a New England expedition against British-held Maine was a disaster, and a Franco-American army failed to capture British held Savannah in Georgia. Despite the much-welcomed assistance from France, the war was far from over.
Thursday, May 7
7-8 p.m. – Revolutionary War Leadership
Learn from a distinguished panel of historians in a discussion of key Revolutionary War military leaders from the Saratoga Campaign to the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. Larrie Ferriero, William Griffith IV, and Michael C. Harris discuss American, French, and Spanish commanders, their successes and failures from 1777 to 1779, and their impact on the course of the war.
Panelists:
William R. Griffith IV is a Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide. He is the author of “The Battle of Lake George: England’s First Triumph in the French and Indian War” (2016), and most recently “A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778” (2020).
Michael C. Harris is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and the American Military University. He has worked for the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Fort Mott State Park in New Jersey, and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission at Brandywine Battlefield.
Larrie D. Ferreiro, Ph.D., is a 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist for History, for his book “Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It.” He teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
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Friday, May 8
Friday’s presentations are free and require advance registration for in-person and virtual attendance.
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8-8:30 a.m. – Check-in and Late Registration.
8:30-8:45 a.m. – Museum Director’s Welcome, with Paul Morando
8:45-9:45 a.m. – The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution, with Kevin Weddle, Ph.D.
In a sprawling campaign across hundreds of miles of northern wilderness, American, British, and Hessian troops—and Native American warriors—fought for months during the summer and fall of 1777 in New York and Vermont. Kevin Weddle tells how the grueling Saratoga Campaign proved to be the turning point for the American War of Independence.
Retired U.S. Army Col. Kevin Weddle, Ph.D. is a retired Distinguished Fellow and military historian at the U.S. Army War College. His most recent book is “The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution” (2021) , winner of six literary awards including the Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History.
10-11 a.m. – General George Washington at the Battle of Brandywine: A New Understanding, with Gary Ecelbarger
The Battle of Brandywine was the largest and longest single-day battle of the Revolutionary War. George Washington’s decisions and actions on Sept. 11, 1777, have been misrepresented and misinterpreted for nearly 250 years. Gary Ecelbarger has studied and led tours of this contest for 20 years and from those experiences has revised our understanding of the battle and will present it based on what Washington knew, what he should have known, when he learned it, and what he did about it.
Gary Ecelbarger is an award-winning author of 10 books and dozens of essays and articles about 18th and 19th century personalities and events. His most recent work is the two-volume “George Washington’s Momentous Year: Twelve Months that Transformed the Revolution” (2024-25).
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. – FOB Valley Forge: Washington’s Armed Camp on the Schuylkill, with Ricardo Herrera, Ph.D.
George Washington’s decision to take the Main Army into winter quarters at Valley Forge was a compromise that integrated military and political strategic needs. He forged it through collaboration, consensus, trust, listening, and determination. It revealed Washington’s acumen as a strategist and leader in a time of crisis.
Ricardo A. Herrera, Ph.D., is Professor, (retired), U.S. Army War College, and Senior Historian, George Washington Leadership Institute, at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. He is the author most recently of “Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778” (2022).
12:15-1:45 p.m. – Lunch on your own and gallery exploration
During the mid-day break, explore the Museum galleries. Enjoy a bagged lunch prepared by the Museum’s on-site caterer. These Lunch Box orders are $15-17 and are delivered directly to participants in Veterans’ Hall. Orders must be completed no later than Thursday, April 30, 2026. The Museum Café also offers a variety of lunch options that may be purchased on-site.
1:45-2:45 p.m. – “The Guns Roared and the Blood Flowed Abundantly”: The Revolutionary War in the South, 1777–79, with Mark Maloy
Following setbacks in the South in 1776, the British focused largely on the Northern American states between 1777 and 1779. However, several significant battles occurred in the South during this time, largely with the aid of American Loyalists. These actions culminated in a British attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, and a bloody siege of Savannah, Georgia, in 1779.
Mark Maloy has worked for the National Park Service for more than 15 years. He has authored two books on the Revolutionary War: “Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton” (2018) and “To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston” (2023).
2:45-3:30 p.m. – The Origin Story of the French Alliance, with Iris de Rode, Ph.D.
Historians commonly hold that the British surrender at Saratoga in October 1777 led to the military and commercial treaties between France and the new United States. However, as Iris de Rode explains, the origins of the French-American alliance go back to the 1760s on a path to negotiations that would benefit American arms against Great Britain in 1778 during the Revolutionary War.
Iris de Rode, Ph.D., is a historian of the French-American alliance in the American Revolution, focused on General François-Jean de Chastellux and George Washington.
3:45-4:45 p.m. – A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, 1778, with William R. Griffith IV
When British forces at Philadelphia marched out of the city in late June 1778 headed for New York, Washington saw an opportunity to quickly leave his camps at Valley Forge and attack the enemy’s rear guard. William Griffith demonstrates that the American forces emerged from the winter as a better-trained, confident fighting force and to the Redcoats.
William R. Griffith IV is a Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide. He is the author of “The Battle of Lake George: England’s First Triumph in the French and Indian War” (2016), and most recently “A Handsome Flogging: The Battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778” (2020).
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Saturday, May 9
9-11:30 a.m. – History Hike – General Washington’s Alexandria: A Walking Tour
George Washington had many ties to Alexandria, Virginia, since its founding in 1749. Of all his connections to the Potomac River town, Washington’s military career was perhaps his strongest, from the French and Indian War through the American Revolution. Follow museum educator and historian John Maass, Ph.D. on an exploration of many of historic Alexandria’s buildings, sites, streets, and churches with a connection to America’s first commander in chief.
This free two and a half-hour walking tour takes place in Old Town Alexandria beginning at the Market Square located at 300 King Street. Participants provide their own transportation and meet at the northwest corner of King and Fairfax Streets, where the hike will begin and end.
Ability Level: moderate due to terrain. The walking tour will include uneven brick and stone walkways.
Space is limited and advanced registration is required.
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