Weekend at the Museum: Concord Museum and the Shot Heard 'Round the World

On April 19, 1775 colonists and British troops skirmished at the North Bridge.  It was the "shot heard 'round the world."  The momentous events of that day are taught to school children across the United States.  The details of what is known called Patriot's Day seem like dusty national memory until you visit the Concord Museum's new exhibit. The real bits of history are on display in a chronological accounting of events.
 Among the items you can see:

William Diamond's Drum

• Paul Revere's Lantern
• William Diamond’s drum that summoned the Lexington militia to the Common 
•  James Hayward’s powder horn, pierced by the bullet that killed him
• a mirror broken by the British and passed down in a family with a handwritten note until given to a museum. 
  

History is comprised of the actions of ordinary people and viewed through the articles they've left behind. 


An ancillary exhibit of images from my Last Muster Project shows viewers the faces of the men and women who lived in Revolutionary times. Museum visitors were struck by the intensity of the portraits and the life stories of these individuals. Thank you to Carol Haines and Sara Lundberg for their support of this project.

I hope you'll take your children and grandchildren on a field trip to see these exhibits. They are on display until September 21, 2014. 

Revolutionary Perspectives: Association of Personal Historians

I'm off to Valley Forge Pennsylvania on October 21 and 22 to be the keynote speaker at the Association of Personal Historians Conference. It's so exciting to be able to present "The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation" at the event. Eight years of research and writing and the book is almost finished! Kent State University Press is the publisher. It's due out in June of 2010. At APH I'll discuss how this project developed. I'll also be talking with the group about family history and kids in my interactive lecture, "Is my pet frog part of the family?" Hope to see you there!

Lost Pictures: New York Gathering of Last Men of the Revolution

Searching GenealogyBank's database of newspaper, I came across a notice for a reunion of Revolutionary War veterans in the New-Hampshire Patriot and State Gazette for August 28, 1845. In that month, George Washington Park Custis, adopted son (and grandson) of President George Washington visited New York City. There was a reception at the house of Alderman Peters attended by "the friends and companions in arms of the great Washington." At that time, photography was still a relatively novel invention, but it's quite possible that some of the attendees sat for a daguerreotype portrait before their death. The following individuals were at the reunion. Their ages at the time (if known) are in parentheses. Not all were veterans. Some were well-known in New York while others were children of veterans. Major Popham (93) John Battin (93) of New York City Major General Van Buren of Staten Island Judge Miller Judge Lynch Thomas Lyell, Rector of Christ Church William Mandeville George B. Thorp Elisha Whittlesey of Ohio James M. Crane of Virginia Samuel L. Waldo Dr. John W. Francis Isaac T. Hopper Homer Curtis of Mount Vernon, Ohio Jacob Hays Dr. James E. Maney Thomas Morris (born in 1771) Teunis Quick (born in 1767) A.S. Norwood (born 1770) Philip Schuyler Gilbert Smith (born 1772) Sylvanus Miller James Black of Newark, New Jersey W. Vermilye Joseph Weeks Cornelius Bogert R. Cheseborough John W. Mulligan Daniel B. Tallmadge J.M. Matthews A.L. Underhill J.D. Beers Judge Ogden Edwards Geroge F. Hopkins George Coggill These are the only individuals named in the article, but according to the report about two hundred men who had served in the American Revolution came to pay respects to Custis. I've already checked online databases and historical societies collections. If you know of any images of these men, please contact me at photodetective@gmail.com. Thank you for your help!