Brumwell on Washington in Cambridge, 18 Oct.

At 6:00 P.M. on Friday, 18 October, Stephen Brumwell, author of George Washington: Gentleman Warrior, may speak at the Cambridge estate that was Gen. Washington’s headquarters from July 1775 to April 1776.

Brumwell is a British military historian who lives in the Netherlands. His earlier books include Redcoats, on British soldiers in the French and Indian War; White Devil, about Robert Rogers; and Paths of Glory, about Gen. James Wolfe.

Brumwell’s study of Washington focuses on his military career in the 1750s and how he returned to that work in his forties as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. It emphasizes how Washington looked to British models of both genteel behavior and military organization. Earlier this year Brumwell won the Washington Book Prize from Washington College, the Gilder Lehrman Institute, and Mount Vernon.

I wrote that Brumwell may speak on Friday because that venue, Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, is part of the National Park Service. If the House Republican caucus can agree to fund our federal government again, then Brumwell’s talk and book-signing will go ahead as planned. If not, then the site will remain closed and its staff furloughed. Call 617-876-4491 to confirm that the event will take place as scheduled and to reserve a seat.

Brumwell is also scheduled to speak at Old South Meeting House on the preceding night starting at 6:30. That building is a local non-profit, not affected directly by the national gridlock, so it remains open. Both talks are free.