- “General Gage and the Guns of the Boston Train,” American Revolution Round Table of Mount Vernon, Alexandria, September 2016.
- “The Road to Concord and the Guns of the Boston Train,” Anderson House Museum and Library, Washington, D.C., August 2016.
- “How the British Empire Lost New England Seven Months Before the War,” Pioneer Valley History Camp, Holyoke, July 2016.
- “The Road to Concord: How Massachusetts Moved toward War in 1774-75,” Isaac Winslow House, Marshfield, July 2016.
- Rededication of the “Adams” Cannon, Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, June 2016.
- “Four Stolen Cannon and the Start of the Revolutionary War,” American Revolution in the Mohawk Valley Conference, Johnstown, N.Y., June 2016.
- Dedication of Cannon Statue, Dorchester Heights Monument, South Boston, June 2016.
- Road to Concord Book Launch, Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, June 2016.
- “The False Lessons of the Stamp Act Crisis,” History Camp, Boston, March 2016.
- “The End of Tory Row,” Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters, Cambridge, March 2016.
- “The End of British Rule in Massachusetts,” American Revolution Conference, Williamsburg, Va., March 2016.
- “When Washington Changed His Mind: The Question of African-American Soldiers in the Continental Army,” Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2015.
- “How Would-Be Assassin Samuel Dyer Nearly Triggered the Revolutionary War,” History Camp, Boston, March 2015.
- “The Breakdown of Royal Rule in Massachusetts, September 1774,” Salisbury Mansion, Worcester, part of celebration of the Worcester Revolution of 1774, September 2014. Society for Colonial Wars, Boston, October 2014.
- “The Women of Washington’s Headquarters,” Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2014.
- “The Boston Bankruptcy That Led to the American Revolution,” History Camp, Cambridge, March 2014.
- “How Google Books Changed My Life, and You Can, Too!” History Camp, Cambridge, March 2014.
- “Reporting the Battle of Lexington,” Lexington Historical Society, February 2014.
- “Boston’s Pre-Revolutionary Newspaper Wars,” Boston Public Library, Local & Family History Series, November 2013.
- “Thomas Kempton’s Engraved Powder Horn,” Anderson House, Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., May 2013.
- “George Washington, Crisis Manager: The Shaky Start-Up of the Continental Army Headquarters,” Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2013.
- “Penelope Royall, Cuba Vassall, and the Families of Tory Row,” Royall House and Slave Quarters, Medford, November 2012.
- “The Powder Alarm,” Sudbury Minutemen, Longfellow’s Wayside Inn, Sudbury, November 2012.
- “Washington’s Artillery: Remaking the Regiment Between Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights,” Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2012; Anderson House, Society of the Cincinnati, Washington, D.C., July 2012.
- “Reading a Powderhorn: How the Siege of Boston Looked Through One Soldier’s Eyes”/“Ephraim Moors’s Powder Horn,” Concord Museum, Concord, Mass., June 2012; Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, June 2013.
- “Washington’s First Spy Ring,” Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2011; Massachusetts Sons of the American Revolution, Boston, January 2012; Friends of Minute Man National Park, Lincoln, March 2013; Rhode Island Sons of the American Revolution/Daughters of the American Revolution, June 2014.
- “The Guns of the Boston Train”/“What Did the British Hope to Find in Concord on April 19th?”, for New Hampshire Sons of the American Revolution, South Manchester, September 2010; Bunker Hill Monument Association, Charlestown, June 2011; Lincoln Minute Men, April 2012; State Library of Massachusetts, September 2013.
- “Lost Holiday: How Colonial Boston Celebrated the Fifth of November,” Boston Public Library, November 2010.
- “The Lost and Legendary Riders of April 19th,” for Paul Revere Memorial Association and Old South Meeting House, Boston, September 2010; Beverly Public Library, April 2011.
- “The Guns of the Boston Train” and “The True Story of the ‘Pitcairn Pistols’,” Barrett Homestead, Save Our Heritage, Concord, July 2010.
- “Cambridge: Birthplace of the American Navy?”, Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2010.
- “Paul Revere and Plan B,” keynote address of Paul Revere’s Ride Commemoration, Boston National Historical Park, Charlestown, April 2009.
- “Why John Vassall Left His House,” Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, March 2009.
- “Gossiping about the Gores: One Family Divided,” Old South Meeting House, Boston, January 2009.
- “The Powder Alarm and the End of British Government in Massachusetts,” Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement, Longfellow National Historic Site, Cambridge, April 2008.
- “How Did Cannons Come to Concord?”, Minute Man National Historic Park, Lexington, September 2005.
- “In Their Own Words: Skirmish on Lexington Green,” Minute Man National Historic Park, Lexington, March 2005.
Scholarly Papers
- “The Competitive Environment of Boston’s Pre-Revolutionary Schools,” Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, Historic Deerfield, June 2015.
- “Wemms et al.: The British Soldiers at the Boston Massacre,” Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, Historic Deerfield, June 2012.
- “Marital Infidelity and Espionage in the Siege of Boston,” Boston Area Early American History Seminar series, Massachusetts Historical Society, February 2012.
- “Classes, Forms, and Divisions in Boston’s Pre-Revolutionary Schools,” annual meeting of the History of Education Society, Cambridge, November 2010.
- “Listening to the Old Lady in the Kitchen: How Grandmothers’ Tales Became Legends for a Nation,” Heroism, Nationalism & Human Rights Conference, University of Connecticut, Storrs, February 2006.
- “‘Latin School Gentlemen’ in Revolutionary Times: The Culture of Boston’s South Latin School under the Lovells,” annual conference of the New England Popular Culture Association, New London, N.H., November 2002; in revised form at annual conference of the New England Historical Association, Salem, October 2008.
- “Behold, the Guns Were Gone!: Four Brass Cannons and the Start of the American Revolution,” Boston Area Early American History Seminar series, Massachusetts Historical Society, July 2001.
Panel Discussions & the Like
- Panelist, Family Day Program on Stamp Act Comics, Massachusetts Historical Society, April 2015.
- Moderator, T. H. Breen’s talk on “Duel Over Dinner: President Washington’s Clash with Governor Hancock Over State Sovereignty,” at Cambridge Forum, First Parish, Cambridge, January 2015.
- Moderator, “History Comics” panel, Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, October 2014.
- Panelist, “Diaries in Historical Research,” at Plymouth Public Library, May 2014.
- Narrator and co-scripter, Boston Massacre reenactment, at Old State House, Boston, March 2011-2015.
- Panelist, “Becoming a Published Author,” at History Camp, Cambridge, March 2014.
- Moderator, Nathaniel Philbrick’s talk on “Bunker Hill and the Crisis of Leadership in Revolutionary America” at Cambridge Forum, First Parish, Cambridge, December 2013.
- Panelist, “Reporting the American Revolution,” with Todd Andrlik of Rag Linen and Prof. Robert J. Allison of Suffolk University, Old State House, December 2012.
- Moderator, Ted Widmer’s talk on “A Test Case for America: Washington, Longfellow and the Jewish Community at Newport” at Cambridge Forum, First Parish, Cambridge, December 2012.
- Moderator, debate between Paul O’Shaughnessey, representing His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot, and Thomas Coots, representing Col. Thomas Gardner’s regiment of Middlesex County militia, Bunker Hill Monument Association annual meeting, Bunker Hill Museum, June 2012.
- Moderator, “Where Did It Begin?” panel in series “A Nation Born: The Battles of Lexington and Concord” for the Massachusetts Historical Society and Old South Meeting House, Boston, March 2011.
- Panelist, “A Knock at the Door: Three Centuries of Governmental Search and Seizure,” Old State House, Boston, November 2009.
- Panelist, “Blogging History: Explorations in a New Medium,” Organization of American Historians annual meeting, Seattle, March 2009.
Teacher Workshops
- “Visualizing the American Revolution” overview, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library, July 2015.
- “The Controversies of Bunker Hill,” Bunker Hill Museum, Charlestown, August 2013; July 2015; July 2016.
- “Perspectives on the Boston Massacre,” Massachusetts Historical Society, July 2015.
- “Gen. Washington Builds an Army,” Bunker Hill Museum, Charlestown, August 2012.
- “Ladies of Tory Row” and “The Women of Washington’s Headquarters,” Boston National Historical Park and Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters, August 2011.
- “The Siege of Boston,” Massachusetts Historical Society and Longfellow House–Washington’s Headquarters, July 2011.
- “Using Graphic Novels to Teach the American Revolution,” Old South Meeting House, July 2008.
- “The Killing of Christopher Seider,” Paul Revere House, May 2004.
- “The American Revolution in Children’s Literature,” Paul Revere House, March 2002.
- “Unsung Heroes of the Revolution” Old South Meeting House, March 2001.
Presentations for Students
- “Investigating Crispus Attucks,” for A.P. U.S. History classes.
- “Making History Comics: The Stamp Act,” hands-on workshops at Massachusetts Historical Society, Shirley-Eustis House, Bostonian Society.
Walking Tours
- “The Powder Alarm and the End of Tory Row.”
- “The Women of Tory Row.”
- “George Washington’s Army.”
- “Children of the Revolution: Boys & Girls in Cambridge during the Siege of Boston.”