Watch 2022 Conference on Collecting the Revolutionary War Talks

The 2022 Conference on Collecting the Revolutionary War brought historians, museum professionals, and collectors together to discuss how ideas about Revolutionary-era military objects have influenced collecting and public history over the past 250 years. With topics in material culture ranging from family and national treasures to battlefield archaeology, the 2022 Conference on Collecting the Revolutionary War explored the first generation of collectors in the 1770s, early institutional collections founded in the 1800s, and more recent discoveries about these wartime artifacts and their influence on historical interpretation in collections, exhibitions, and digital initiatives today. 

Watch any of the conferences talks and sessions below!

Day 1 Speakers - Opening Reception & Keynote Lecture

Welcome
Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, Museum of the American Revolution, President & CEO
Begins at 0:00

“A Powder Horn in the Family: The Gershom Prince Powder Horn”
Denise Dennis, President & CEO, Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust
Begins at 13:00

Keynote Lecture
“Revealing the Culture of Conflict: Engraved Powder Horns from the French and Indian War and the American Revolution”
Philip Zea, President & CEO Emeritus, Historic Deerfield
Begins at 30:00

Day 2 Speakers - The Beginnings of Revolutionary War Collecting

Framing Remarks
"'The companion of my sore fatigues': Collecting and Preservation Among Soldiers and Other Combatants of the Revolutionary War"
Dr. Philip Mead, Chief Historian and Curator, Museum of the American Revolution
Begins at 10:05

Session 1 - The Things They Carried
“Recent Acquisitions at the Museum of the American Revolution”
Matthew Skic, Curator of Exhibitions, Museum of the American Revolution
Begins at 1:17:35

“British Cartridge Boxes and Pouches: A Case Study Exemplifying the Relevance of Military Material Culture Nomenclature in the American War for Independence”
Eric H. Schnitzer, Author of Don Troiani’s Campaign to Saratoga-1777
Begins at 1:37:35

“Carrying the Mat of War”
Michael Galban, Historic Site Manager & Curator, Seneca Art & Culture Center, Ganondagan State Historic Site
Begins at 2:23:12

Session 2 - The Politics of Collecting in the Early Republic
“Domesticating Revolution: Patriot Women and Children, Military Men, and the Material Culture of Bringing Battle Home”
Dr. Zara Anishanslin, Associate Professor of History and Art History, University of Delaware
Begins at 4:12:24

“Mr. Peale's Corporation: Museum Building in the Early United States”
Dr. Whitney Martinko, Associate Professor of History, Villanova University
Begins at 5:00:25

Session 3 - Collecting and Museum Building in the 19th Century
“The Sacred Collection: Relics of the Revolution at the Concord Museum”
David F. Wood, Curator, The Concord Museum
Begins at 6:27:40

“Souvenirs of the Revolution: The DAR and Its Museum”
Heidi Campbell-Shoaf, Museum Director and Chief Curator, DAR Museum
Begins at 7:15:50

Session 4 - Collecting the Revolutionary War
Artifact Flash Talks Presented by the Young Friends of the Museum
Adam McNeil, Rutgers University - Dinah Archer's Petition
David Niescior, The Old Barracks Museum - Bearskin Knapsack Carried by Elisha Gross, 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment
Samantha Snyder, George Washington's Mount Vernon - Elizabeth Powel by Joseph Wright
Neal Hurst, Colonial Williamsburg - Linen Hunting Shirt
Andrew Outten, Society of the Cincinnati - German Military Jaeger Rifle
Clare McCabe, Museum of the American Revolution - Infant Shoes
Begins at 8:25:10

Day 3 Speakers - Collecting Opportunities & Challenges Today

"Declarations of Desire: Museums, Collectors, Markets, and America’s Founding Document"
Seth Kaller, President, Seth Kaller, Inc.
Begins at 11:55

Session 5 - Delicate Decisions: The Challenge of Interpreting Revolutionary War Textiles
“Pattern Pieces: Clothing the American Revolution at Historic Deerfield”
David E. (Ned) Lazaro , Curator of Textiles, Historic Deerfield Foundation
Begins at 1:24:35

“Allies Undressed: Discovering the Clothing of the French Army in the Revolutionary Era”
Dr. Matthew Keagle, Curator, Fort Ticonderoga
Begins at 2:09:20

Session 6 - Honor and Inclusion: New Stories About Old Things
“Art and the Art of War: The Revolutionary War Collections of the Society of the Cincinnati”
Emily Parsons, Deputy Director and Curator, The Society of the Cincinnati
Begins at 4:04:15

"Yaktrax, Scuba Flippers, and Jewelry for a Horse’s Foot: Object-Centered Learning and the Revolutionary War"
Adrienne Whaley , Director of Education & Community Engagement, Museum of the American Revolution
Begins at 4:57:00

Session 7 - Mapping Then and Now
“'And, indeed what is the history of a country without maps?': The Legacy of Sebastian Bauman’s Plan of the Investment of Gloucester and York"
Katie McKinney, Margaret Beck Pritchard Associate Curator of Maps & Prints, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Begins at 6:21:50

“With Pick & Shovel: Relics of the Revolution from New York City”
Erik Goldstein, Senior Curator of Mechanical Arts & Numismatics, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Begins at 7:16:50

Closing Remarks
Dr. Philip C. Mead
Begins at 8:00:50