“Washington’s Artillery” in Washington, 10 July

Today I’m riding the rails to Washington, D.C., where I may end up visiting one of the “Lansdowne” portraits of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart that I’ve been writing about.

But my real mission in the capital is at Anderson House, headquarters of the Society of the Cincinnati. I’ll check out the research library and on Tuesday, 10 July, deliver an illustrated lecture on “Washington’s Artillery: Reengineering the Regiment Between Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights.”

The museum’s description:

Scholar J. L. Bell examines how George Washington rebuilt the Continental artillery after taking command of the American forces around Boston in 1775 and his decision to install an unranked volunteer, Henry Knox, as the regiment’s commander. On July 10, 1775, Gen. George Washington finished his first report to the Continental Congress on the army he had found around Boston. He listed “a Want of Engineers” as his biggest challenge, adding, “I can hardly express the Disappointment.”

We might also subtitle this talk “When Harry Met George.” Harry Knox became one of Washington’s most trusted protégés through his Presidency. Knox was also one of the main drivers behind the formation of the Cincinnati in 1783.

The talk is free and open to the public. It will start at 7:00 P.M. at Anderson House.

Leading up to that event, I’ll share some sources on the American artillery regiment’s performance at the Battle of Bunker Hill and later in the siege of Boston.