The History Behind the Shirley-Eustis House, Roxbury, 28 April

On Wednesday, 28 April, the Shirley-Eustis House Association will host a talk by Donald C. Carleton, Jr., on “The Architecture of Victory: Governor Shirley, the Taking of Louisbourg, and a Grand House in Roxbury.”

In 1745, during King George’s War, Massachusetts governor William Shirley led the effort to raise a New England army, sail to Nova Scotia, and attack the French fort at Louisbourg. The success of this expedition made Shirley a star within the British Empire. Thirty years later, as conflict within that empire heated up, Massachusetts Whigs looked back on this victory for confidence that they could stand up against a professional army, even their own king’s.

Carleton’s talk is scheduled to begin at 4:30 P.M. (after the association’s annual business meeting for members only). Light refreshments follow. Admission for nonmembers is $15.

(Photo of the Shirley-Eustis House’s garden gazebo by Tim Sackton, via Flickr under a Creative Commons license.)