gentlemen and welcome to the headquarters of the society of the cincinnati and home of the american revolution institute. a member of the society in the cincinnati and the vice chairman of its history committee, it does me great honor to introduce to you this evening speaker, rachel and gold. ins angle is a phd candidate history at lehigh university. america'station, first band of brothers, friendship and, rotary within the continental army during the revolutionary era explores the real-life experiences of men who fought in the army by uncovering the significance of personal connections they developed throughout the conflict and their ability to sustain these ions into the years of the early republic. her research has been supported by several institutions, including the mcneil center for early american studies at the university of pennsylvania, the gibson institute for 18th century studies, and the david .ibrary she was awarded a society of in 20nati scholars grant to support one week of study. she is the amanda and greg gregory fellow at the national library for the study of george washington at mount vernon. the topic of miss angle's dissertation and the subject of her lecture this evening hearkens perfectly to the third a mutable founding principle of the society of the cincinnati which are states that the society was founded "to render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the officers of the continental army and navy." it is this cordial affection that was the basis of the founding of the society of the cincinnati, an organization commonly known among its members as our one society of friends. as members, we are living, breathing representatives of our long gone patriot forbears and her membership serves to perpetuate and render permanent not only their memories, but also and perhaps more importantly, their friendships. i and the great, great, great great grand nephew of a man named nathan dorsey. he was a surgeon in the continental navy for the entirety of the revolutionary war. ance a pow, he became original member of the society of the cincinnati and served as the society's assistant secretary-general from 1799-1802. sixth meant to represent him in the society since his death, and i have had the honor and privilege of doing so since 2004. i spent countless hours researching his life and try to get to know him, and as part of that process to a variety of sources i have been able to re-create his circle of friends from his time in service. ae of those friends was marine captain joseph harding, with whom dorsey served on the continental frigate confederacy from november 1778 until she was captured in april 1781. like an dorsey, captain hardy also became a member of the society of the cincinnati. marinetely for us captain hardy kept a daily diary during his time on the confederacy. the story ofls what life was like for the officers and men on board the ship. the most entertaining aspect of the diary to me anyway is hardy's daily recounts of time spent on short when the confederacy was docked at. places along the eastern seaboard a harvard's, and seaports of caribbean islands. and hislls us that he fellow officers went to dinner parties and attended masked parade bawls, the theater, and the symphony among other entertainments. often times it was his good friend dr. nathan dorsey, the ship surgeon, who accompanied hardy on these enjoyable excursions. a particular adventure that has always caught my attention was one that occurred on december 9, 1780 while the confederacy was docked at new castle, delaware. tells isary, hardy that while they were there, he and his friend dr. dorsey left the ship late in the afternoon and "spent the evening very agreeably with a number of female acquaintances and continued a sure all-night." that then goes on to note the two young officers both in their mid-20's did not return to the ship until 10:00 the next morning. to me, it sure sounds like those two friends had a great night out. haves and gentlemen, i been told that we will probably hear a few more stories like this from this angle. as you are, i am truly looking for to what she has to tell us so without further ado please join me and walking her to the podium. -- incoming hurt welcoming her to the podium. [applause] >> thank you for that wonderful introduction and story. before i begin, i would like to thank some of the staff members of the society of the cincinnati who have warmly welcomed me here today and during two separate research trips, so thank you to catherine harris, alan clark, and michelle silverman. after the american victory at yorktown in 1781, colonel walter stewart of pennsylvania wrote to a fellow officer, general anthony wayne, about the progress of politics and congress under the recently established articles of confederation. he complained that "our legislature have done nothing. they have now adjourned until february and god knows what they will do on their meeting." stewart concluded his letter by praising wayne's position within the army writing "be assured the army is the place for sociability, friendship, and happiness." providing another perspective six-day kids after the american revolution ended, a private remembered "the soldiers each in his particular circle of acquaintance were as strict a band of brotherhood as masons." so what did these are mark still some about life as a member of the continental army? i will argue that their comments can tell us a great deal. that theassessment continental army was a place of happiness undoubtedly reflected the mood of the army after the victory against the british. however, his other remarks that the army was a place of sociability and friendship provide insight into the atmosphere cultivated by officers and soldiers throughout the american revolution. environment was conducive to the development of intimate bonds among men, which soldiers also recognized. even after so many years, martin's recollection of the tightknit community fostered by soldiers remain clear. my talk here tonight is organized into three parts. the first part of my talk will focus on the social experience of officers during the war. in the second part of the talk, i will consider the parallel experiences of soldiers. within the crucible of war and the environment of the continental army, relationships forged among men were fundamental to the development of a social community within the american military. as i will argue, there was notable and significant differences that emerged over the course of the revolutionary war separating officers from their men. this created the space in which men cultivated bonds with one another, most especially based on a figurative line that distinguished soldiers from members of washington's officer corps. this shape to not only their experience during the war as i will argue, and in the final part of my talk i will briefly offer examples to highlight how these relationships affected the postwar lives of veterans of the great revolution. the lasting friendships fostered among men in the continental army provided interesting perspective to spur further discussion about what the american revolution meant to the sacrifices enabled victory against the british. to start, i want to take you to the beginning of the revolutionary war. imagine the outbreak of fighting at the battles of lexington and concord in april 1775. to the men who have turned out to confront the british army, their participation in these would have been a start break from their everyday lives. you know, were not soldiers. it were ordinary farmers and young boys. though a number of these men may have had military training is a member of the local militia or have fought beside the british in the seven years war. would have been in entirely new experience and would require it a mental and psychological transition from their lives as civilians to their lives as soldiers. this would continue to hold true for the majority of the men who served in the continental army throughout the war, and what challenge george washington and other high-ranking officers to devise strategies and practices to accommodate the relative inexperience of men. please yourself within the space these men and habited, leaving behind their former lives, we can begin to recover the emotion -- such as excitement, trepidation and courage -- they might have experienced, and the process they underwent as they weather transition from civilian to brother, officers and comrades in arms. from the start of the war, soldiers and officers adjusted to their new environment within the military. through this transformation, men begin to form new acquaintances s this wasp friendship an trickle to their new lives and helped to shape american military culture. living with men of a variety of ages, social and regional backgrounds, many members of the army first experienced together out to interact with a diverse group of individuals of the same sex. not only with this -- was this distinctive because this was their first experience of a same-sex environment, but also the war itself accelerated emotions such as war, friendship and competition among them. removing these individuals from their homes and families, there was opportunity and the -- and the necessity to create relationships between the men. building these interdependent relationships, they develop patters and rituals that developed what it meant to be a man in the army. the shape these relationships took diverted for these two groups of men. throughout the war, essentially two different communities of men and merge. by officers and other military leaders, such as military doctors and chaplains. the other by enlisted men and noncommissioned officers. separatingrical line the two different communities overlapped at times. while in other instances, the boundaries between officers and soldiers was distinct and made visibly apparent in the arrangements of in kampmann and living quarters. ment and living quarters. was an organic process based on the backgrounds of the individuals who compose the two groups in the duties tied to their particular rank in the army. together a motley crew of farmers and skilled tradesmen, young and old, educated and unschooled, black and white, and trying to get these diverse groups of men to work together was a persistent issue that washington and other military leaders would face. once the continental army was officially established in congress in june of 1775. this engraved men illustrates the scene of washington's appointment as commander in chief of the newly created army. part of establishing a sense of order and discipline within the army required a greater degree of separation between officers and men. of the american revolution, the men who gathered to fight against the british redcoats at lexington and concord were much more likely to recognize the men who fought beside them. as members of their local communities, or even neighbors. moreover, the compunction of new englanders who insist upon the integrity of contract, as well is to choose their own officers, facilitated a certain degree of intimacy and familiarity among the earliest volunteers. the shape the early american army as neighbors fought alongside each other under the direction of community leaders turned officers. this image is of a document that i found here at the library of ,he society of the cincinnati during my research. it reinforces the idea that soldiers would have likely fought with other members of their community during the earliest years of the war. enlistment list and includes information about the dates men and listed, as well as their place of abode at the time they entered the army. among the list of 13 men, nine of the majority were from salem. the level of comfort achieved between some members of the army eroded the authority of military leadership. washington to this, thought to curve the informal interaction between officers and soldiers. on theton pondered situation as he wrote to patrick henry in october 1770 six. about the attempts to establish a sense of permanent seat to the continental army by increasing the length of enlistment. ,nstead of short-term terms washington advise congress to support long-term commitments for men to serve three years or until the end of the war. he presented henry with an argument in favor of this change, explaining, one circumstance in this business to be guarded against. that is a soldier and officer being to nearly on a little but. -- a little. the person commanded yields but a reluctant obedience to those he conceived army to his superiors. the degrees of rank are transferred from civil life into the departments of the army. the true criteria to judge by his to consider whether the candidate for office has a just pretension to the character of a gentleman a proper sense of armor, and some repetition collude. following british military tradition, washington reinforced the notion in his comments that an officer in the continental army should be a gentleman. from british colonies supported by a monarchy to a fletching country established upon the ideals of societyanism, american underwent a transition. individuals try to work out what this meant in terms of their own personal reputations and positions in the broader social continue toat structure relationships between men and women, slave and free, rich and poor and among men themselves. theommander-in-chief of continental army, washington understood the ambiguities of rank and reputation during this period of transition and how it affected the structure of the army. social rank also followed them as they entered, but he was determined to ensure that the such ates deserve distinction of military rank. he insisted that in order to establish officers as gentlemen, it was necessary that they should be separated from their men. their claim to status of gentlemen and impart to separate themselves from their men, officers within the continental army increasingly associated themselves with other officers. friendships were sentimentality, gentility and civility. these friendships provided the opportunity to connect with one another through practices that champion the ideals of emotional refinement, duty, and honor, and supported their quest to solidify the reputation as gentlemen. it promoted a particular model of behavior. as well as interaction with their fellow brother officer. component an integral to being an elite gentlemen, "having refined manners that it also may be insensitive to beauty and elegance. it involves personal restraint and managing one's a motion. ." " to these behavioral standards would sentimentality. sentimentality was the ability to maintain a high level of sensibility or promotional susceptibility, first emerged in europe, especially england in the late 17th century. for officers, their connection to their brother officer represented in intimate human connection that was fundamentally sentimental. emotion reserved for those of an elevated social status. officers first in the standard to thise society clung emotional sensibility and utilized it as a foundation for their model of sentimental friendship. within the army, sentimentality became a distinct marker of a friendship cultivated by them. officers praised men who exhibited a keen awareness of and high incidence of emotion. as general mills annual green did describing the chaplain of his regiment, who he described as "perfectly well acquainted with the human heart, and knew how to address himself accordingly." the ability to connect with others emotionally, and he conveyed his belief in the importance of sensibility is expressed or sentimentality. another expert patient distinguish in the social interactions of officers from soldiers was a public display of affection between men, embedded that in the model of sentimental friendship. the ability to articulate and demonstrate emotional feelings was integral to officers conception of friendship, and their identity as gentlemen. frequent separation between officers during the war created the opportunity to prove their .riendship in such a matter the values associated with genteel culture, in court -- encouraged sentimental affection. letters evolved into an appropriate means through which to express a motion between members of the same sex and became a marker of cultural refinement. officers of the continental army relied upon correspondence to sustain their sentimental friendship. as e from douglas illustrates in a letter he wrote. douglas emphatically stated that "my inclinations are withciently embraced clarity. any opportunity of expressing the gratitude showed because of your friendship of declaring the sincerity of mine." letter suggests, officers who supported sentimental friendship expected their friends to demonstrate their emotional connection through correspondence. washington himself championed this exchange of emotion in his own letter. the incident that tested his leadership as commander, he wrote, "the sentiments of affection and is soment, which conspicuously in all your letters to me, are pleasing and honorable. i think myself happy in being linked with you and bond a strict friendship. " this emotional connection continued beyond their lives. officers often exchange heartfelt tribute to their deceased brother. one fascinating example that i found here, these tributes extended outside the social community of officers. included as a series of letters from captain jonathon burch to collectionithin the of the society of cincinnati, here is a letter of his fellow officers following his death in 1776. the men wrote to jonathan's wife priscilla, to confirm -- inform her of her husband's death and reassure her that his loss was felt particularly among his brother officers. which you can read about here. these sorts of over-the-top emotional expressions were typically only used by officers. soldiers really reflected -- rarely reflected upon relationships they cultivated in the army. consequently, these exchanges allowed officers to not only reaffirmed the sentimental bond they shared, but also to demonstrate their ability to demonstrate how they felt. a fundamental expectation of their friendship. as gentlemen, officers not only set themselves apart emotionally, but they also crafted numerous opportunities through which to reinforce that they inhabited a social world apart from their men. this conscious decision to separate themselves spatially, instilled the army with a sense of hierarchy and rank and allowed them to lay claim of their status as gentlemen. in addition to their superior rank. this engraving of washington and presents a visual representation of the sorts of elevated social atmosphere they inhabited throughout the revolutionary war. upholds continue to lively social schedules while in army, through the organizations are formal dinners or outings through which they were able to enjoy the company of the fellow officer. this social atmosphere was very different from what soldiers experienced. as one scholar imaginatively described, "there was a surreal quality to a wartime army camp, in which the enlisted men were treated after dark to their cold, overcrowded hut, while only a few hundred yards away officers reveled in a society, attending parties, enjoying formal dinners and delighting involvement that lasted into the night." several soldiers noted these differences. the general aquatic in his memoirs that, "officers were in the habit of going into the country after night, frolicking." them fireman to officers created in military camp highlights the type of refined social events. -- events they staged as gentlemen. as a corporal, a noncommissioned officer, john would have been able to provide an interesting perspective on the different worlds of officers and men. lumped with in listed men on the ed men onld -- enlist the battlefield and off. those wishing to rise through paid attention to the lifestyle of officers and offer great insight as outsiders into this dialyzed elite community of gentlemen, crafted by officers of the continental army. ,he sorts of celebrations filled with dinner and dancing, he the opportunity to socialize with officers, but also civilian men and women. in a letter to his brother, the first lieutenant told about the social dances involving officers, officers wives and local women. surrounding themselves with minimum women of respectable toute, it allowed officers facilitate the connection to claim the reputation of gentlemen. gatherings of social facilitated partnerships not only within the army but also beyond its bound. it was within the space that officers were able to begin in visioning the possibility of establishing a life beyond the army publicly and personally. the socialization enabled them to consider how they might generate a livelihood after they left the army, who they might marry or begin a family with. by comparison, these opportunities to socialize beyond the bounds of the military were limited for enlisted men. and rank apart by duty to remain in their own social world, centered around military pment when not on the battlefield. there were told to resume their thes as civilians after war. together the social events and gatherings supported by continental officers provided them the opportunity to further develop their friendship with one another, as well as with civilian social equals. theirractice facilitated ability to further highlight their social distance from the rowdy soldiers. within the settings these gentleman officers found toiliarity allowing them achieve intimacy. the social activity of officer served as a vehicle through which they upheld the model of sentimental friendship. of sociald them a way difference in the military. turning to the second part of my talk, i will tell about the social communities among soldiers. in contrast to officers, the relationships between soldiers cited a source of intimacy between individuals as they faced similar hardships throughout the course of the war. evidence of these friendships formed between officers remains much more visible because the writings have been published and they likely had better opportunities to record their everyday duties. nevertheless, the outlines of the social community and friendship among soldiers and register traces left behind in their diaries, journals, as well as their actions and behaviors witness by others. by examining these relationships enlisted men,mong we begin to see how soldiers, along with noncommissioned officers, forged relationships among themselves that championed and supported their own articulation of manhood and emotions that would set themselves apart from their officers. engraving of two continental soldiers that obsess picture the daily life these men would have experience. a fundamental opendoc of soldiers relationships and camaraderie with a sense of empathy. the shared emotions cemented them in a community of men and integral part of their experience being in the army. war and their social background, soldiers exhibited a different set of emotions , whens one another compared to sentimentality that characterize officers. most soldiers were removed from the world of sentimentality that sustained officers friendship. was reinforced by the beliefs of their superiors, including alexander hamilton, who maintains that, "officers be made a sentiment and the near soldiers approach to machine, the better." ofsall just were not devoid sentiment, they generally do not have the same world of scent ability or conception of masculinity as officers. their officers take a different form. builtofficers often across distance, soldiers worked on building networks through proximity and did not rely upon the superficial expressions of sentimentality. instead, soldiers demonstrated their empathy towards a select group of individuals within their inner circle of friends. soldiers created a sense of camaraderie and brotherhood that was foundational to them brotherhood based on human concerns that solidified the network. these were not friendships in a formal manner recognized to many officers, but defined by more strong sensuality that was adapted to the army that many soldiers experience. terms of enlistment expired at different links of time. to give you a better sense of what these relationships meant to soldiers, i want you to place yourself a year and a half into the war. , the final 1776 month of this year, the continental army faced desperate times. though it may have seen that the war went well with the declaration of independence from great britain in july, the military campaigns of the year had not gone well. wound., a brutal winter general washington knew another crisis was imminent, as his army might not be together by january. he explained to robert morris that the continental troops are all at liberty. terms of enlistment for many men were set to expire. this critical moment, scholars typically credit the personal appeal washington made to his men, as critical to their decision to reenlist. the first appeal made by washington did not rouse a single soldier to recommit. washington tried again imploring his grave fellows to remember that, "your country is at stake, your wives, your houses and all that you hold dear." we have to decide our destiny. historians conclude that it was the sentiments that washington expressed that provoked soldiers to extend their term of service at a crucial point in the war. an account written by a sergeant anthe army provides alternative. as he describes, after washington's second petition, the soldier spoke the force of appeal. however, it was not until one said to another, i will remain, if you will, that men stepped forward and agree to new terms of enlistment. for the soldiers, their commitment was not to washington or the revolutionary cause, but to each other. giving all the core and aggravated conditions that soldiers and counted -- encountered during their terms of service, men would choose to reenlist in the continental army. the reality that many of these men have cultivated deep connections to each other. it compelled them to consider remaining in the army. anderson wrote inut the same turning point december 1776. he acknowledged that prospects were weakened men who faced these decisions. anderson also observes that as gloomy of the times were, that very evening, 22 men of our old regiment, and mostly our old company came to enlistment me for three years or during the war. is not explicit evidence to understand what motivated men to reenlist as these critical moments of war, there are clues that can guide us to a better understanding as to why they might have. anderson wrote that the men who try to reenlist with him had a prior relationship with the captain and with each other. as he noted, many of the men were from the same regiment and the majority from the same company. during the revolutionary war, those regiments in companies fluctuated and varied widely. they were both integral to the experience of soldiers. and companies have the effect of making the army much more personal to each individual soldier. the closest bonds and friendships that developed among men can often be traced back to members of the same company, or regimen. it required men to live and work together on a daily basis and to complete their duty as prescribed by their officers, but also the challenges men face on and off the battlefield. it was within the space that many soldiers forged a bond among their mates. it was mend a they shared sleeping quarters and meals with. the close relationship can be recognized as a form of friendship, told upon a sense of empathy and duty to one another. described in these general orders, from the men under the command of general alexander to beall, messes were arranged in groups of six men and they would share a tent. were assignedties around this arrangement as it out ofered, "one man each tenths of a company would complete the role of duty and would rotate through the six members of the mess." moreover, when a man was out of leave some were to " of their comrades, take care of their close, cook their meals and prevent either from being stolen, as well as to leave sufficient room for each men in every 10." tent." they not only relied on these group of men to clean their close, but also the essential function of providing them with meals. while officers have servants and slave who perform this task for them, soldiers had to rely upon each other to turn that rations me was -- they received into meals. the closest of the relationships been mess mates would have heightened by the intimacy of living quarters. living together can tell you a lot about a person. i am confident they would have agreed. we should not be surprised by the remarks of an army surgeon who noted that he witnessed another soldier walked more than one mile within the assistance of a method -- messed me -- mess mate. close and intimate relationships that help sustain them through the trial of war. significant of this relationship becomes even more obvious when looking at the pension application of revolutionary war soldiers. in the application for a pension after the war, he explained how he switched places while information with this mess mate when he was ill. another revolutionary war soldier, thomas curtis, testified on behalf of his former mess mate to help them obtain a pension. firmso broke a private north carolina and testified about his service and his pension application about the unforgettable moment when two of his mess mates were killed during in ambush by british foot soldiers. for someone who had testified oft he, "recollects, but few the officers, or volunteers also nevertheless able to recall the two mess mates ever killed by name, john mccoy and john russell." they recovered the intimate connection and demonstrated the intimacy that could develop among enlisted men. for the soldiers, their interaction with their mess by a recharacterize sentient meat rally, which encourage them to try to alleviate the hardship of their fellow comrade and help to facilitate a deeper connection of friendship overtime. lasting inove to be the memory of many veterans. they had their mutual experience within the army. these men bonded together because of their shared hardships. they described the foundations of soldiers relationships that alone in misery." scene from the thing graber of the winter >> not alone in misery. there were a number in the same circumstances. engraving, it er helps to remind us of the the ring experienced by revolutionary war soldiers. experience of warfare molded these men who were removed from enteredmilies and often the army at a young and young age.ble in fact, several soldiers described such a feeling of and hment from their lives friends back hem. newge ewing, a soldier from jersey, addressed, "were i to describe the hardships and we underwent from this time, until the fourth of but those whorson us would credit my relation. therefore i choose to pass it over in silence rather than who would see this work should think me guilty of hyperbole. ewing they believed they could only relate to other soldiers based on their similar both within camp life on the battlefield. a surgeon echoed the same feeling, saying quietly habitation, eir families in s and peace, have but very faint idea endure when they are in camp. many crafted new relationships among com raids, it was entirely unfathomable for those outside the army. the hardships oldiers formed strong attachments to each other. experience was shaped within the army as well as their interactions with their superiors. samuel smith, a revolutionary that a wrote in 1779, group of solders worked together to draft a letter of grievances present to their commanding officer with the hope he would it to the general. their superior officer refused along and instead soldier o punish the who delivered the letter. he subjected him to a sentenced him nd to be hung in. response to this harsh fellow nt smith and his to ades formulate add plan rescue their friend. recalling the tense emotions soldier fixed ry his bayonet on his gun to rescue condemned to was be hung. moreover, he wrote that he along ith his fellow soldiers were determined to rescue the of anyr who was innocent crime on behalf of his fellow soldiers. man to determined to a or rescue our brother. the willingness of smith and the to sacrifice themselves highlighted the particular kind of bond the soldiers shared. one men were committed to another to the point of death and viewed each other as members broader community of comrades in arms. as the war drew to a close in reality began to set in served in mean had the continental army. this reality teamed particularly we mean had diers, spent the formative years of their lives in the army showing any efforts to establish their independence as men, finding even starting families. celebrated oldiers the end of the war others expressed disappointment about in the army. life a private who served in the army over eight years, thomas foster, these sentiments of his fellow comrades noting that impending peace in camp is rejoiced at by many but look sober about it. they faced a harsh reality. they had received little if any in recent months or even a rs and they had spent significant portion of their army interrupting a period of economic advancement. s the news of peace finally arrived in camp several months later, opinions remained unchanged. enlisted men continued to express mixed opinions about the of war. as foster recounted the proclamation of peace, it was joy of some great as well as the grief of others. a ther soldier echoed such sentiment writing, "i confess after all that my anticipation happiness i should experience upon such a day as realized."ot as these sentiments seem to community soldiers foraged together was an integral experience in the army and the prospect of leading it behind was difficult to imagine. soldiers f these disillusioned by the prospect of peace it was likely hard to outside the army. what would they do with their lives? this band become of of brothers? and more importantly what did of sacrifice ears amount to tracing the post war clear that thees answer to these questions often differed for soldiers and officers. while many officers successfully capitalized upon their connections made during the war power and ons of leadership within the newly formed government, soldiers resume o struggle to their pre-war lives and faltered economically. this 19th century engraving reminds us of the emotional bond washington and other members of his officer corps. of the g the end revolution, officers collectively worked to commemorate both the service to established country and the friendships they had cultivated throughout war. group ort these goals, a of former revolutionary officers joined together to create the cincinnati in 1783. an institution familiar to you establishment enables us to be gathered here today in this space. of this ial purpose formal association was publicized as, "to commemorate and to continue the mutual friendships which commenced under the pressures of common danger." the statement of its stablishment also further reinforced that officers of the american army constituted into a friends.f the creation of the society of backlash meant harsh for many americans who felt it portrayed the ideals of the and believed this organization would instill an aristocracy into the government of the united states. washington sought to curb this negative reaction. instead reinforced the notion that society was primarily purpose of the supporting the continuation of friendships. controversy, the effort to establish the society cincinnati represented a significant action on the part of veterans officers to not only commemorate their service but also the friendships between during officers nurtured the war. by contrast, soldiers do not veterans ignificant organizations in the years following the end of the revolution. help from ith little the newly formed u.s. government, soldiers were left to devise es strategies to survive in post war american society. significant monetary assistance for these soldiers from the american government did not over 25 years ll after the war, when the first ederal pension act was passed in 1818. but this was limited to the few their ld establish economic need. this missed opportunity by nlisted men nevertheless is revealing in that it demonstrates they had diverse war ities for their post lives that did not converge into any sustained communal efforts lobby for veterans issues. so while the community of oldiers was integral into helping men transition from civilians to soldiers, this failed toon the whole aid men's entry into american society. diminishever, does not the close knit relationships formed among soldiers during the war. in fact, when pension legislation was finally passed 1832 that was more universally applied to any man ho had served in the army or navy for at least six months or longer these intimate reemerge.hips would as former comrades came forward to testify on each other's obtain fascial reward for the great sacrifices and united states. overall, in the years following the end of the revolution, the fostered elationship and developed among members of the continental army remains in the minds of both officers and soldiers. or these men, their relationships with their fellow comrades in arms and brother fficers fundamentally shaped their experience within the military. and would continue to resonate as in their memories individuals sought to realize -- the promises offered by the revolution. thank you. mra [applause] >> so now i would be happy to that you haveions but we ask that you wait until microphone to ask. ask. teacher of history american history i would just like to take this time to american e all those history teachers who teach this day after ay after 30 students in the classroom students, at the end of the day they have taught 150 engage them ing to and keep them interested, and activities.n i think it's really important for us to commemorate all of aree teachers out there who teaching this day after day, and xciting the students, and just engaging them and having them at mount vernon and having them go to these battlefields. archives and just being excited about history, because history is so my goodness, i mean, we could learn so much about ourselves today from the ast, and we can use it for the future. .o thank you chlt >> thank you for your talk. the oyed how you drew distinction between the relationships of the officers nd the relationships of the enlisted soldiers. the other group i'm wondering about were the women or camp followers. come across any references into thousand those amongst hips were themselves and then how they related to the officers and to enlisted? >> there is great work done by holly mares on camp followers army. "belonging to the i tried to stay away from that extent.rtain it doesn't mean i'm not looking at them entirely but i don't come across them often. men, they did not ave the same sort of resources officers would, and so the other a t of this formula is that lot of these men were young so they did not bring their wives they were not yet married. nd they wouldn't have had the resources to support them. to say, there were at times camp followers, washington talks about them all the time. what i'm most interested in trying to really uncover is the officers' wives because these really the individuals who are kind of reinforcing the between officers, so we like henry als knox's wife, one of the of the l organizers social events especially during winter encampment. comes forhington also all the winter encampments throughout the american evolution, and so these, i hink, are really the most interesting kind of relationships. relationships. did you r research, encounter any differences in the between teractions officers, say, in the continental army versus enlisted men in the same way? >> right. question.great i'll say it's honestly very hard the of times to tell difference because i think a lot of the people do want to pay to that difference but i think what you see is that a of the times, these lines blurred between militia and soldiers.al and so one of the things that i've discovered especially in the pension records is that militia -- men who had served in the militia in the continental army and so, i think this kind of stark difference that we draw two, and a lot of it goes to washington's comments, he talks about the militia as group of men who really aren't great fighters and they are the first to run from the field. really true, and i think washington even himself understands that that's not true. using this, kind of exaggerated language to say think it's a stark difference between militia and he army, it's somewhat exaggerated, and i think, you an see, it kind of affects the relationships men would make because militia service was sually closer to home and for shorter amounts of time. that doesn't mean that men who army, though, who three years for actually stayed for the entire enlistment. it though it may seem like was a big contrast, i think not difference. so yeah, they worked alongside each other. hey lived alongside each other a lot of this time but militia will often go home during winter ncampments where as the continental army will stay, and that's an important part of is living innship, encampments.ing >> my question is a bit of an extension of that, which is been looking into the british army, and, for who spent a ral -- lot of time with the officers in his core that were actually he was a bastard child and so forth. so he hung out with them. was there sort of a social aspect to some of the amaraderie among officers on the american side or was that not possible because of royalty,we didn't have obviously? >> no. it's definitely possible, and recorded efinitely you nces of it, where, know, they kind of forgot that they were enemies, and they would come together for dinner. i can't think of a specific instance but i can draw your andre kindo the john f episode, and so at john andre's execution, the american officers are crying their eyes account, ding to the and so they could really kind of ympathize with them and some scholars have argued that fficers, regardless of their nationality or of their loyalty, really in what was considered a con-fraternity of elevated e of their status as officers within an army. british, french, or american. you.- thank >> when cincinnati was established, they were also an group as a sense but were they only advocating for well-being of the officers. did they focus at all on the enlisted men? > my understanding is their efforts were focused on officers, and officers' families in particular. their wives and children. is kind of their fundamental focus and i've not trying ome across them o kind of extend that effort ranks. the did that work? [inaudible] ow did washington relate to them? did he want themming to back and after?ves >> okay. 6,000 to 7,000 t african-american solders who fought in the revolutionary army depended on the state that you were enlisted in, an her or not you were in integrated unit or segregated unit. has an infamous did that was all black that some really important work on whatattlefield, and -- but you really kind of find, in my come across, i've if these african-american more rs were a lot integrated into their units than we may have guessed. of if they were in kind segregated units. so there is great work by with a who just came out new book that looks at the african-american pension files finds there is really interesting. so part of the pension process to find kind of other comrades or just individuals who will testify to your service in the army. so, in the case of african-american soldiers, a lot the people coming in front of these courts and their to testify to service are the white officers. kind of really shows, race did not necessarily as role as it did maybe in larger american society kind of provides this space where race is somewhat blurred. to say that african-americans as soldiers in he army were typically regulated to the menial jobs so they would be cooks. be weren't -- they would cooks, they would launder men's clothing. charge of taking men's -- excrement in camp. digging the holes, they were typically kind of pushed to the tasks that not everybody wanted to do, but when push came to shove, they were next to their white counterparts. -- >> [inaudible] [inaudible] i think we have to remember that -- most of 4,000 42,000 sailors -- and --00 with [inaudible] presentation our the se -- don't forget french. >> no, the french were not only they were with the merican army and the most obvious example is lafayette. he's with washington for most of the war though he returns to for a certain period of time and comes back. but washington is eager and willing to work with the french forces and they were integral to for a certain at yorktown nd to the overall american victory during the war. .army -- thank you chlt >> so you left us all hanging, story intended with the about the fellow who was complaining, was going to be executed, and his comrades were to execute him. outcome? the >> he -- it was samuel l. smith his name was and he along with his other comrades aved this soldier, who was basically going to be hung. uncommon, in a section that i cut out for the length, i about little bit more punishment as well. so there is a bunch of different punishments all typically are corporal for hments, reserved enlisted men. he officers would have kind of more symbolic, or they would be kind of kicked out of the army, as soldiers would be flogged. running the f gauntlet. and so one of the military about how maybe running the gauntlet wasn't the itst punishment because what involved was kind of two rows of soldiers and on either side they soldier as he ran through. soldier that as a they liked, they maybe wouldn't be so severe with the punishment. o there were other ways in really showed of their affection and connection other.h >> i have a question. >> go ahead. >> actually fantastic and enlightning on a number of different levels. o you notice any difference geographically, in terms of how he officers enjoyed entertainment. did the southerners dance more? i'm just curious, because within there tends to be an argument about that from time to time. across a not come difference among officers. where i have come across a difference is among soldiers, so soldiers, especially from new england, are particularly, you don't want to hang out with the virginians. and they talk about what they are wearing. they are wearing these weird hunting shirts and fur on their head. i don't know what the heck they there is this kind of famous, now made famous by the new american revolution philadelphia, there is this between owfall fight virginians, that washington through folklore had to step in nd separate the two different sides. with -- it a lot more enlisted men geographically but necessarily with the officers. officers. >> this is really a comment for audience as well as yourself. 'm a historian of the american revolution. american revolution was a 30 or event.r as an old scholar i would recommend to you, who is going to be a star in he field, that you stop referring to the revolutionary war as the revolution, and call it was. revolutionary war. .hank you chlt >> rachael, thank you very much. this was absolutely fantastic. you, everybody, i really appreciate it. mra[applause] >> you're watching american tv.tory all weekend, every weekend, on c-span 3. o join the conversation, like c-span cebook at history. [captions copy right national cable satellite corp 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] clip from a recent program. >> that was the watershed event public television. up to that point, the stations nd the public was generally divided over whether you even on public more news affairs on television beyond what was already there on commercial television. nixon administration particularly didn't think there was a need for any more news on broadcasting but the watergate hearings changed it ything, and the reason changed, was because, there were several individuals who had the make some really tough decisions, and one of them not to necessarily broadcast it gavel to gavel. any of the stations would not broadcast it live because they had educational tv on during the somebody, and i was part of the mix, the somebodies, said why don't we run them at night. repeat them at night. big deal.as a big, it was a big decision, and the people who were running pbs were nervous about it so they said let's poll the stations. so we did poll the stations, but we polled the stations in a very clever way. we polled the stations with a question that was kind of a way, do you want to be patriotic or do you jerk?to be a [laughter] won.nd we still barely and -- but, as mcneil said at and i quote him almost verbatim, the option, it was time and pbs didn't have that much to run at night. it riginal programs to run at night anyhow, so he said, all didn't ld run if they run the hearings would be, how he put it? people talking, mating, and occasionally english speaking people mating animals talking. [laughter] not replace with it the hearings? when i said 3:00 a.m., the hearings weren't going on until :00 a.m., that was the repeat every night. we would do it live all day but had maybe half the it, but atroadcasting story,and it was the old you know, the big stations wouldn't take us but then they word got outse the and suddenly it became a big and the big deal was, that it proved beyond a shadow of a was a role forre news and public affairs on of ic broadcasting because those hearings and after that came the news hour and everything else. > you can watch this and other american history programs on our ebsite where all our video is archived. that's c-span..org/history. historiane civil war, wilson green describes union life and rn side's career and argues that his reputation is undeserved. that his s contemporaries used him as a scapegoat. 90-minute talk is part of a symposium called generals we at some ofe, looking the more controversial military