More August Revolutionary Events in Boston

In conjunction with the reenacted encampment of the British army on Boston Common on this upcoming weekend, 15-16 August, two nearby institutions are offering their own Revolution-themed events.

For the entire month of August, the Boston Athenaeum (half a block from the northernmost corner of the Common) is hosting an exhibition of Revolutionary War-era books, manuscripts, and other artifacts from its collections. This display will be free and open to the public during normal opening hours; ask at the desk where to go.

While on the first floor, visitors should also be able to view the Athenaeum’s plaster busts by Jean-Antoine Houdon of Benjamin Franklin and the Marquis de Lafayette, and a cast of Houdon’s life-size sculpture of George Washington.

Also on Beacon Hill, the Museum of African American History offers walking tours on “Black Bostonians of the Revolutionary War Era” every Friday in August from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Its announcement says:

Come and learn about Revolutionary War era leaders such as Prince Hall and Colonel George Middleton and how they and other early African-American activists in Boston laid the foundation for the Abolition Movement and the early struggles for equal rights.

All tours begin and end in front of the museum.