Meet the Revolution

Nearly a dozen members of the Ladies Association of Revolutionary America joined the Museum to interpret the lives and work of various women who lived in the city of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War. Learn more about how the war affected women in the city at home, at work, and in the political sphere.

Joel Anderson is a public historian focusing on the Southern experience during the American Revolution. Joel’s specific interests include military-industrial history, historical trade work, logistics, military horsemanship, and the material culture of the common soldier. Joel works as part of the Museum’s First Oval Office Project and has previously worked for institutions including Colonial Williamsburg, Fort Ticonderoga, Middleton Place, and Walnut Grove Plantation. Joel’s residency with the Museum highlighted the experiences of multiple Revolutionary and Loyalist soldiers during the pivotal years of the Revolutionary War's Southern Campaign. The varied perspectives, whether from saber-wielding dragoons atop the back of galloping horses, infantrymen endlessly trudging with muskets through sweltering heat, half-frozen mud, and rain-swollen rivers, or militiamen skulking the Appalachian piedmont in search of vengeance and honor, provide a unique opportunity for us to consider the meanings of the American Revolution and take action today, as a result. 

Sydney Marenburg is an economic historian with an interest in the intersections of class, gender, and race in the United States. Sydney has conducted original research into industrial soap production in the 18th century, as well as the position of servants and immigrants to the American colonies. Sydney has worked with institutions such as Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and the United States National Archive, and joined the Museum recently to discuss 18th-century soapmaking as well as gender roles in the Revolutionary era.

Living historian Daniel Sieh has joined the Museum to help explore the lives of Asians in the United States in the 18th century and as part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Through documents, activities, and objects, Daniel unpacked how global trade connected the lives of Asian sailors, soldiers, traders, and enslaved people as they navigated American society as strangers from a distant land.

Clare McCabe is a PhD candidate in Temple University's history department. Her research interests include Early American health and healing, gender and women's history, and Philadelphia history. She also previously worked as a museum educator at the Museum of the American Revolution, where she loved connecting with guests over history. Clare discussed the role of women and camp followers during the Revolution.

Historian Leslie Bramlett interpreted the remarkable life of Hannah Archer Till — an enslaved woman of African descent who was leased by her slaveholder to cook for General George Washington from 1777-1778 during his time at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and who then continued to work as a free servant in his headquarters throughout the war. Bramlett vividly illustrated Till’s story by highlighting the stark differences between cooking for Washington and his staff versus the meals prepared for common soldiers. Bramlett also delved into the work, responsibilities, and tools used by other camp followers during the period.

Interpreter Hannah Wallace has explored the various roles and responsibilities that women of African descent had to face during the Revolutionary era and has unpacked the lives of three generations of women from the Forten family, including Charlotte Vandine Forten. Through documents, handling objects, and graphics, Wallace shared stories that connect Charlotte, her daughters Margaretta, Sarah, Louisa, and Harriet, and her granddaughter Charlotte L. Forten, who travelled to South Carolina during the Civil War to teach recently freed people.

Costumed living history interpreter Hayden Conley joined the Museum throughout Summer 2023 to talk about everyday life of common soldiers in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Daryian Kelton presented the story of Polydore Redman, a man of African descent who went on to become a drummer in the 5th Pennsylvania (Continental) Battalion. Redman's story begins at the dawn of the American Revolution in 1775 when the war was still new and many Americans were advocating for a broad definition of liberty. Kelton shared Redman's pursuit of liberty and how it differed from those he served alongside as the war proceeded.

Living history interpreters Kehala Smith (Tuscarora Nation, Turtle Clan) and Jordan Smith (Mohawk, Bear Clan), who shared stories about their culture, costuming, and traditions and engaged guests in conversation about the past, present, and future of their people over Indigenous Peoples Weekend in 2022 and 2023. They also demonstrated and display culturally meaningful objects and materials, including woven baskets, slippery elm bark, and wampum belts.

Ever wonder what life was like in an 18th-century schoolroom? Kalela Williams joined us to discuss the work of Elenore “Helena” Harris, an African American schoolteacher in Revolutionary Philadelphia. Harris had the unique perspective of having taught white children in both England and Philadelphia. With a focus on the children of the Revolution, Williams gave insight into how young people worked and played during times of war and peace. Williams also discussed the work of writer and poet Phillis Wheatley and her lasting impact.  

In Summer 2021, Noah Lewis portrayed a Revolutionary soldier of African descent, Edward “Ned” Hector. Museum guests met Hector in the 1820s as a respected resident of Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, as he fought to gain a pension for service in the war. Lewis also discussed the skills and innovations of African American teamsters as well as everyday life in the 18th and early 19th centuries. 

In Summer 2021, historical interpreter Brenda Parker explored the skills and innovations of both free and enslaved women of African descent. Through the exploration of various textiles, Parker discussed block printing, hand-dyeing, mudcloth, and other traditions brought to America from Africa. She also discussed various waxes and soaps as well as soap-making techniques used in the Revolutionary era. 

In Summer 2021 and July 2019 at the Museum, Cheyney McKnight, founder of Not Your Momma's History, told stories about Quansheba, a woman of African descent who lived as an enslaved and then free woman on the site of the Museum during the Revolutionary War. She has also discussed African American women’s headwraps and spiritual practices, and she held workshops on African adornments, storytelling, foodways, and medicine. 

In May and August 2019 at the Museum, historical interpreter Joel Cook discussed the opportunities that people of African descent had at sea as privateers and in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War.

In June 2019 at the Museum, Nastassia Parker portrayed Ona Judge, an enslaved woman who ran away from George and Martha Washington’s household in Philadelphia. The 20-minute performance is available to watch online.