Emerging revolutionary war symposium. We also thank cspan for coming out here to film this. Hopefully we will be an annual event. Keep your eyes out for next year symposium. To keep up with emerging revolutionary war, we are doing please check out our blog, emerging revolutionary war dot or. Follow us on facebook, on twitter, you can also check out our books, rob and phil wrote a book about i wrote a book about the battles we have a couple of books coming out early this year and keep up with us. Im really glad that we chose alexandria to have our inaugural symposium. Not only is it my hometown but it was also George Washingtons hometown. Alexandria you can go to new york, philadelphia, charleston, everywhere you go there are plaques and monuments and things put up. George washingtons slept here. He spent the day here. George washington spent a couple of hours here. This was his hometown. He spent more time in this town and most others. As they said, he got his suits here, walking streets, were shipping. It is really a great place to have this inaugural symposium in addition to washington literally surveyed the streets that you are walking on when you walk out of this building. There is a lot of revolutionary war stories here. You have the carlile house where young George William carlile with 17 years old and killed in the battle of utah springs. It is also the home of johnson aid to George Washington. An Irish Catholic immigrant. It was also the home of light horse harry levy. He lived here later in life. Hes known as being the father of confederate general robert easily, yet he was a great revolutionary war soldier. He is also being famous for coining the phrase as being the first in line, first in peace, first in the heart of the country. Alexandria in the building we are here, constructed and open in 1839. This was constructed specifically for this purpose. Lectures, discussions, knowledge about important subjects. This is an awesome place to hold the symposium and talk about revolutionary war. Thank you all. Thank you all. Everybody learned a lot today. And each topic is interesting in its own wealth. The symposium is called im going to ask a couple questions. I want to get to you guys involved as well. Feel free to walk over to the microphone and you can stand in line and throw in some questions for all the panelist as well. For our first question, after all these different talks and seeing how the american colonists started this progression from being british to being american, my first question is, how would you all define being british . How would you define being american . How did they view it back then . We have to microphone so dont all jump in there at once. See if you have a good answer for that. Maybe from something from your talks. Or is that too vague a question . Its kind of a big question. It is the one Common Thread that goes through all these different talks. Whether its the smallpox at one point they stop being british and start being american . Is there an actual event that traces to it . Ill just say they accepted being british because that is all they had non, was being british. You were born into it, their parents, grandparents were. They believe that at that time that was the extent of freedom. For them. Freedom lives in the minds and hearts of all men and women. The greatest desire for anything that lives in this world is to be free. It is what extent of freedom is that. When they had king george the third told them that this is the extent of your freedom. Someone became selfconscious. A group became selfconscious that more freedom is obtainable than this. Then it is about having the guts to take that and pitch it and turn it into a movement, a revolution, politically. Ideologically. That is what then turns into a military conflict. It is that military conflict that then secures that ideology. I want to push back on your question. John i think the question its a question we can ask in 2019. I think it is a complicated one, because by asking that question, we are assuming that everybody wants the revolution. Everybody wanted to be american versus british, versus Something Else. I think it is important to take a step back and realize as we know, things were split down and threes. There is a part of the 13 rebelling colonies. Some people did have a political ideology that would float towards patriotism. Some had ideology that floated toward being loyal to the king. Some just wanted to be left out of it all together. Others still, im thinking about enslaved African Americans. Do they want freedom . Absolutely. Do they want freedom individually . Heck yes. Do i care so much about what they, wet avenue to freedom gets me the freedom that i need . We have African Americans scene taking up on his proclamations to be free. Clinton later. Washington after that. I think this idea of winded we want to the americans forces english versus Something Else i think we have to change the question. I am also going to turn that question. For the people that i study. I study loyalists and the smallpox epidemic. For them its not necessarily, when do you become american versus when are you a british subject . Am i unamerican . They realize very quickly that they are having their sense of virginia that is taking away from them based on a political ideology. They come in, like my guy james parker i talked about, desperately trying to integrate into virginia society, but because he is an immigrated scotts merchant, people surrounding him refused to let him take on that sense of American History, that the plant you were so proud of. For him, it was not necessarily when or when im not a british subject, that went on my american . He never found the answer to that. That is why he goes loyalist. At least from my my backcountry virginians, very different perspective. Can i just say i agree with everything . Thanks. One of the things that i grapple with is the identity thing. Are we British American, or when you study the civil war. I am a virginian, a south carolinian. Im born in maryland. What are you . Im an american, or whatever. I think it is interesting that throughout our whole history were trying to figure out what we are. Or what we are not. Grad school, i took a class and it was becoming african in america. Hes African Americans, suddenly theyre not african, theyre not american, they dont know what side there is movement to bring them back to africa, that they dont assimilate their. For me, when it happened . Personally, if i put myself in their shoes, its probably if i pick up a musket and fire at a british soldier, maybe im not as british as i thought. If i am a loyalist, then i am still a British American until the day i die. I think it is a personal thing where you have to delve into each one where you put him in a category that we keep changing our identity. When we do get into the 21st century discussion about identity. I just think it all depends on the person with that persons choice is a family choice or that community more than a general i think it was at concord where there is a man saying, you know, an englishmans home is his castle. And firing into the british, some people still held on to this identity as being english or british. Yet at the same time, now throughout the revolution, coming to grips with i am an american now. But then you also here i am a virginian. How do you identify yourself i think is interesting. You see how different people throughout different stories try to do that. Going back to this process that is happening, do you think the revolution was inevitable . Or do you think along this process, at some point, there was a point where this could not have happened that way. You think of the boston massacre, the boston de party, lexington concord weve become american and become free. Was this inevitable in your opinion . Or, could it have taken a different turn . Any thoughts on that . That is a tough question. Its the type of revolution that it is. It is a Political Revolution more so than any social revolution. The political grievances could usually be settled by, in this case it would have been in parliament, it would have been the king. If you look at the American Civil War and how that becomes a war to preserve the union but then becomes a war to forge a new union. By saying that, i mean ending slavery. And slavery was something that could not be settled in the halls of congress. So the civil war i would say is inevitable. When it comes to the revolution, i do not know. Because we were talking earlier about a lot of the things that the colonists had grievances about were miniscule. Its almost as if they were looking for a way to break away somehow. So if those small grievances were actually settled in parliament and with the king, with the americans have been appeased . Or would we have found Something Else to try and spark a revolution for independence . I do not know. I have a problem with the question. Picking up from your point, i think it is important to remember that the American Revolution or the years leading up to it, none of this happened in a vacuum. The soon to be rebelling 13 colonies, british colonies, were not the only people having these revolutionary conversations. I am thinking about, i think it is john wilcox, whos having a problem with the freedom of the press and parliament. There is a freedom of the press conversation happening in london and parliament at the time there are really incredible conversations about liberty. With a john lock and things like that. If you come to the American Revolutionary museum, we have on display these really gorgeous silver spoons. They are called picture back spoons. The back of these spoons has this engraving that say i want liberty. It is over a picture of a bird fleeing an open cage. The story that we tell in the gallery is if you are thinking that these were made in 1774 or 75, like in boston somewhere. No. They are not. They are made in london in 1770. You see that there are these conversations about liberty. What it means to have freedom and what these freedoms are. The fact that the powderkeg is really lit and blows up in the states of the american colonies, but i think it is much more interesting to ask why it did not happen in and around london . Just a thought. Yeah thats the other question, why did it happen here i guess . Phil spoke about boston. Theres something about why boston. Why answer the boston question or. . I have a little trouble with the term revolution. I feel like americans write that after we win. But is it a revolution in the way of the french revolution or haitian revolution . It is a rebellion. The guys in congress dont want to change the complete rules of the game because they spent their life getting to the top of that game. They just want to figure out who will be controlling certain aspects like money and so forth. In terms of conflict, those questions need to be answered. Who will control the taxes . Who will control the form of government . If you look as soon as the french enter into the war where britain starts pulling troops out of the north american colonies to defend their empire. It shows how we have an elevated sense of how important these 13 colonies are. Is it inevitable . I think yes because these questions need to be answered. You have john wilkes who i think is imprisoned in 1760. His language is picked up by these colonists. These pamphlets. If sam adams or any of them had their ways, we might have had a revolution in 1764 after the stamp act crisis. Maybe we send the troops down the wrong road in lexington and we break the camels back. There are questions, even on the british side, how do we control and empire now . How do we tax colonists . How do we keep the peace . There is an interesting point. Theres 1763, 1783 and 1803. Its all decided in paris and no native american is present during this decision. There is another inevitable conflict coming up. Yes there is that powder kick being started somewhere along the way. It just happened that a bunch of people in boston had been planning and had this is done in place so that when it did happen, they were very well organized. Look how quickly warren and all of them are able to get what happened on april 19th to great bitten. Get the message out that they were defending their homesteads and the british where the aggressors. Same thing happened in the civil war. I mean lincoln debating the southerners to open fire first to show they were the aggressors in the war. What they said. laughs i will stop with my question. Ive questions here. The british actually consider what was happening in their caribbean colonies . What factors since the colonizers usually focus first on the extraction of natural resources. What role the disappointment they got out of north america played in the future of the british colonies . No gold and silver. Im not sure i know how to answer your question. What i want to point out that someone mentioned earlier that George Washington was revered in england after the war. There was no hard feelings. Something that is interesting to think about is the way that cornwall is his defeat at yorks town in the end of the British Empire in north america, how that turns the lens to india. When you hear the phrase the sun does not set on the British Empire, that British Empire is india. All of those complications. It is not the north americans, the 13 rebelling north american colonies. I think that is an interesting way of looking at that question. Sort of what was lost but how does that shift to the other side of the world and what is gained over there . She is right about that to. If you actually look at india, a lot of folks argue but the british had a halfhearted in the American Revolution because india was such a big deal at that point. Should they be focusing more . When you look at cornwallis and the united states, you see him as a bad individual for losing at the battle of your town. But actually cornwallis is revered in england because of india. In fact, a lot of loyalists after the revolutionary war instead of packing up and going to nova scotia or new brunswick, they jump on board with cornwallis and go to india. In fact, quite a lot of them and up staying there for the rest of their lives. The British Empire, they certainly had their sights set on india and no longer the north american colonies. Bringing it back to what was lost or gained. If anyone has ever been to the island of barbados, the only place where washington there is a sign there that says we saved washington before he saved the united states. They invite you to a tour on the tunnels and the british had billed tunnels under the island of barbados to protect it from the french. Big enough that they could actually get cavalry and soldiers to go through these tunnels. You look, even before that, the smuggling in of the rum and Everything Else and the molasses and sugar. Where did that come from . Or the 18th century preservative of salt. So the american colonies, what do we extract . Lumber. Manure. Or to great britain. But these islands in the caribbean are so valuable that when general grant have to detach soldiers to go into the caribbean. The caribbean are important and the fighting that goes on in those places. The first Amphibious Landing in American History is when the colonists try to raid the bahamas to put marines there in 1775. There is a gentleman out here who is giving me probably a dirty look because im stealing his look with the continental marines. About what was gained or lost, there are islands that are very important. If you go today, you can still see a fort that the british built on this island to protect it. That is the same reason why the french pretty much gave up on the french and indian war as well. Was it really worth defending canada or all the overseas possessions that they had . We have another question . Anybody else . I have one last question i want you each to answer. A lot of our focus is on public history and actually going to sites where the fights actually happened. Is there a place you think is the best place to go visit to learn about how we became americans . Early parts of the revolution. Where would be a good place to visit . Like an obvious one . What is an obvious one . Betsy. I travel a lot. And oldie but goody, mount vernon just up the road. Recently they have done a fantastic job of renovations. If you have not seen their new exhibit on the enslaved individuals who lived at mount vernon, it is absolutely phenomenal. That aside like mount vernon is finally starting to engage in that enslaved narrative because i think a lot of time when we talk about emerging American Revolution and becoming american, we always forget about that population as well. It is incredibly important to see what the enslaved people and not vernon were doing during the revolutionary area. If you have not been there to see it, you are in town today. If you are in town tomorrow, i would seriously ask that you go look at that because they have done an absolutely incredible job. I will say that mound vernons new exhibit is just phenomenal. I highly recommend spending some time there. I cannot not plug the American Revolution museum at yorks town. What we try to do a direct town is tell a holistic view of the American Revolution. Really from the viewpoint of the people who viewed it. George washington is an important part of the story but more so through the ordinary people who lived in the extraordinary time of the revolutionary era. Thats on both sides of the atlantic as well. I encourage you to come down to visit us at your town and see our permanent gallery or special exhibition gallery. And exhibiting called forgotten full water, which talks about american African Americans during the revolution in the difficult times they faced. Im a military historian. Military history is kind of shunned a little bit but the ideas are great. Thoughts and plans are great. Or its ana documents are great. A motivate, they decide. But i think if you want to really figure out where these ideas are found you have to go to the hala ground is. The suffering, whether it is the place of valley forge where people froze, or whether it is in boston, walking the liberty trail their, or the hospital grounds of bakr hill sorry, breeds hill, where they really fought. Those are where things are decided. The long fellow washington house, where washington decided while, there are soldiers coming in that are of all types of the senate. First African American troops from rhode island, the backcountry hunters from Daniel Morgans riflemen. Haley. These are the sites. That is where its decided. Everyone wants to be a George Washington or martha washington, or abigail adams. But it takes thousands of men and women to follow these people. To do the suffering that answers that question. Deciding whether we are successful or not. To be noncommittal, any place, any of these hallowed grounds, hes monuments that talk about what would we have done the same thing . It is the question i ask myself every time. Its easier to say that when you are in a car with air conditioning in 90degree weather. And you think it must have stung to have that uniform in wool when somebody was shooting at you. But imagine them being shot at, not being fed, not being paid. What is an american living it out day by day . That is what drove my grad school and continues to drive me. The sacrifices in this hollow ground. Any battlefield. And you dont have to be on a battlefield when you think about sacrifice of the common troops. Just a few blocks from here at the presbytery in church, you can see the two move the unknown revolutionary world were revolutionary war soldiers. Check it out. I will take a lazy approach to this. If you want to learn why the revolutionary war and history is important, step outside. Read it in. Look around. Look at the buildings. See the people who walk around. We are here because of their service and sacrifice and their will to commit to this cause. The ideology, the form of government that they did not know was going to succeed or exist. Here we are. Almost 250 years later. Thats it. I will say on my side. But for places like this were constructed for people to sit around and discuss topics, where to people like to discuss the politics of the day. Is that a tavern. That is a segue right into our next top. They gatsby tavern was constructed after the revolution. But it was in tavern like gets these but it later after the revolution, people like George Washington would frequent places like that. I really hope you all come with us. Walk down past the shop where it used to be. Head over to get species. Wed love to talk to you over ice cold beer. This is selfless promotion, that if you want to know taverns that the Founding Fathers did shrink in, there is a great appendix and one of our books that shows all the winds in boston. Photos were taken the next day. After. Thank you again. To all our panelists. Friday night on American History tv, a look at the American Revolution. Beginning at eight eastern. Military historian Gregory Irwin talks about the challenges that the british army faced in adapting to north american terrain and battle tactics during the revolutionary war. His remarks were an International Conference hosted by the museum of the American Revolution. The military muse ear museum and richardss even foundation. Watch American History tv friday night and over the weekend on cspan three. Next, on American History tv, university of New Hampshire professor elijah ghoul, he delivers an address called making peace in britain, ireland and america. 1770 to 1783. He describes the efforts of several peace commissions to end the revolutionary war. In the events leading up to the 1783 treaty of paris. Good evening all. Welcome to the museum of the American Revolution. In americas founding neighborhood, third and Chestnut Street in philadelphia. We are two blocks from the independence. In the headquarters of the american
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