Old Quarrels, New Politics: JM Varnum’s Congressional and Legal Careers
Varnum Continental Members! Sign up now for our first member dinner of the season on Monday, September 9 starting at 5:30 PM. Our speaker will be local historian and author Robert A. Geake.
[MAY. 13 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Alan Hoffman on “Marquis de Lafayette: 1776-1783 and 1824-1825 – His American Experience”
An appropriate speaker as this year we’re marking the 100th anniversary of Lafayette’s triumphant return to America in 1824.
“[His lecture] offers a lively, day-to-day account of a European’s experience of the United States in the fiftieth year of independence. As he relates the details of what he saw and heard, his encounters and conversations with people of all kinds, the enthusiasm of the great crowds that welcomed Lafayette, the reader gains a sense of how close Americans still felt to their Revolution and how proud they were of what they had done.”
—Edmund S. Morgan, Sterling Professor of History, Emeritus, Yale University
Speaking Event and Open House a Big Success for Varnum House Museum
Sunday, April 21 was an amazing day for the Varnum House Museum! In addition to a wildly successful museum open house (the tours never stopped), we also hosted a speaking event with Dr. Robert A. Selig on military burial practices during the American Revolutionary War. It was a fascinating talk and we got great feedback from the attendees!
[VARNUM HOUSE] Dr. Robert A. Selig Speaks on Military Burial Practices during the American Revolution
On Sunday, April 21 at 1:30 PM at the Varnum House Museum, Dr. Robert A. Selig lectures on “The Culture of Death: Military Burial Practices during the American War of Independence”. This speaking event will be held in tandem with a Varnum House Museum open house from 11 AM to 3 PM.
[APR. 8 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Don Hagist on “Sober, Industrious Women: Wives of British Soldiers in the American Revolution”
An estimated 50,000 British soldiers served in America during the American Revolutionary War. Almost one-eighth of them were married to women who lived with them in garrisons and traveled with them on campaigns. Often disparaged as mere camp followers, these women were in reality an integral part of the military organization, employed by the army as washer women, nurses and sutlers. This talk will present the roles and activities of British army wives, showcasing their essential service and the hardships they faced during eight years of war in America.
[MAR. 11 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Christian McBurney on “Machine Guns in Narragansett Bay: The Coast Guard’s War on Rumrunners”
oin author and historian Christian McBurney as he explores the use of excessive force in Narragansett Bay and other Rhode Island waters against crews that were mostly made up of local fishermen (many from immigrant families) trying to earn extra dollars and fulfill a strong demand for bootleg liquor. East Greenwich was a favorite port for rumrunners.
[DEC. 11 MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Robert A. Geake on “Facing Known and Unknown Enemies: A Scourge of Ailments for the Army”
Robert A. Geake’s talk will focus on the most fatal of those American Revolutionary War battles, that against life-threatening injury, illness, and starvation. He will recount the history of those personal battles through written accounts and documents from those who struggled to save those soldiers as best they could, given a colonial surgeons limitations.
[FREE LECTURE] “German Soldiers in Rhode Island, 1776 to 1779” by Dr. Friederike Baer
The Battle of Rhode Island Association (BoRIA) Lecture Series (sponsored by BankNewport) continues with our partners, the Varnum Continentals, on Thursday, December 7 at 6:00 PM at the Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main St, East Greenwich, RI. This program features author and historian Dr. Friederike Baer and her lecture: “‘I cannot call it a Conquest – the Rebels ran away like Villains’: German Soldiers in Rhode Island, 1776 to 1779”.
[MAY 8 VARNUM MEMBER MEETING] Speaker Greg Banner on “El Salvador: US participation in a Central American Civil War
In 1991, Greg Banner (a US Army Major at the time) was assigned as an advisor in El Salvador. The US had established an advisory team approximately 10 years prior to help that country fight a communist insurgency. Major Banner spent 15 months as the team leader for one of the several district teams living with and helping Salvadoran units fight their war. This presentation will provide some background to the war and then an overview of one soldier’s experiences there, up to and including the peace treaty which was signed at the end of his tour.
[APR. 10 DINNER MEETING] Speaker Blake Ruehrwein on Monuments Officers of the 21st Century
Join us on Monday, April 10 to hear about a new generation of the famed World War II Monuments Officers who are dedicated to protecting the world’s cultural heritage in areas of conflict.