Stephenson, president and ceo of the museum of the American Revolution speaking tonight, this talk is entitled among his troops , chords of memory. Scotts broad public history spans nearly 3 decades and has been marked by professional and public acclaim for his creator in the audiences. He developed and elaborated on exhibits, films and interpretive programs were numerous historical sites. Including colonial williamsburg, thesmithsonian , National ParkService George washingtons not vernon, pines History Center and museum of the cherokee indian. From 2007 the team hestopped lebanon of the museum resolutions were both media experiences and mieducational programming as well as overseeing the care and expansion of its rich collection of artifacts. He served as president andceo of the American Revolution. Tonight you will hear from scott about the history and significance of George Washingtons mobile field headquarters that sheltered their first commanderinchief during the revolutionary war again please tomorrow at the old mill see the replica Educational Programs in place. The original tenant now display at the American Revolution rich and try like erfollowing the death of george and Martha Washington with a remarkable cast of characters from robert e lee to a priest with a crazy idea and with that lies in mind im going to turn it over to stop so you can hear the rest ofthe story. You again to the museum and your staff and board for making this happen and thank you to all of you for coming to ofa. [applause] they put this wire over my ear. If i speak like this can you hear me . So id love to start with a show of hands. How many of you visited the museum of the American Revolution already . The rest of you will be tied together for therest of the evening. I know a few of you walked by and i told you to come i hope you came. Excellent. Im going to go on what may seem a rambling journey. Tie all the threads together and ill start by introducing you to historic philadelphias independent historical park and you think of as a big al. This is usually the University Campus of americas founding and its an incredible placeto visit. You have small white in the center,the liberty bell across the street. Benjamin franklins old with the connection to the nantucket. Nantucket works . Christchurch, second street. National constitution. The first bank of the United States, youll see a better picture of that in a moment and anchoring the eastern flank of Independence Historical park, the newest institution in philadelphia the theme of the American Revolution. We celebrated our fifth anniversary so we are really just a popular and you all have been through this ongoing pandemic but we still have 1 million visitors to the Museum Opening in 2017 so its great momentum. Heres our robt ern designed building. We like to have in the corner independence all and if you climb up to that terrace you can see the windows on the utright. Walk onto that terrace you get a beautiful view of the first bank of the united sta. This is the first federally funded building of the constitution completed in 1797 undergoing an extensive reon right now but was owned by the National Parks service during an external shoring up of thebu. And you have an exhibition inside he origin of americas Financial System and the role that are most famous secretary of the treasury, alexander hamilton. Not nearly as impressed important as his predecessor who is a defendant in the front audience so youll excuse me. If you stand on that terrace and you look down ur transported aboua ntury and a cornerback. This is a view you would have seen and can you see the facade of the first bank peekinout there often are the building on our side as close to you as e viewer, that Tall Building was, this is part of the Publishing Industry in philadelphia. The saturday evening post, a lot of the 19th century roots of publishing was found in this neighborhood as was course new york and the erie canal with its banking in the american republic. Some of you with a philadelphia action may remember the old evening bulletin. In 1906, in early august the article published in the philadelphia evening olefin was an interview with mary conslee, the daughter of confederate general robert and e headline was neral re lees daughter used by wash to a confederate home was raised 10,000 i want to take you back now, were going to come back to this moment but this is in a sense the moment of the founding of what became the museum of the american amrevolution in the 20th century but weregoing to zoom all the way back to 1775. For those of you locals in the great commonwealth of massachusetts you willnow depending on whether you live in lexington. Fighting takes place on this hill and about 20,000 new england troops bottle up the british in boston and the rest of the colonies who had come together just across the street from where the museum is for the First Continental Congress , they sent a protest to england, protesting the coercive acts e of the closing of boston sports they come back together right previous appointment in may 1775 in philadelphia and the yankees started shooting war it was not clear what was going to happen, with the middle and southern states, what future states or colonies design this was their common cause or will they disown these hotheaded yankees pipe shooting the british but we all know the decision they made within the first two weeks of june that this was the common cause of america 20 point commanderinchief to take command of the Continental Army with the addition of 10 companies of expert riflemen in pennsylvania maryland and virginia. They appointed a virginian this is the virginian you all know. Hes given his commission in philadelphia continental congressamazingly document will survive in the National Arches was presented to him and he carries it in his pocket as he has north to take command of this new england artie has been circling washington. There were concerns of course because these were keen students, something we wish all our countrymen were as keen duties of history as their reading of history hold down these kinds of colonial rebellions, these armed interactions often lead to the creation of dictatorships. Generals would refuse to disband, generals would take power for themselves so as washington is marching north east approaching new york and the new york provincial council sentence him a congratulatory letter but also one that asks the question and says basically we place this great power and authority in your hands as commanderinchief but when we make up these differences with the British Parliament and this is not a fight for independence yet, its a fight to restore english liberties they say you will rggo back to virginia,wont you . Washington writes an incredible letter back with the line when he says we took the soldier we did not lay aside this is an. The founder of this citizen soldier tradition. So dear to us as americans this was cause that he had to teach to all these men who were servingndhis is a theme i would come back to numerous times. Heres a map of british occupied boston you can see the line and parallelograms and outlines of the entrenchment of support that had built ringing boston. He arrives july 30, 1775 to take command of the army. There isenter amended by general washington himself , occupying the building with Harvard Square and isestablishes this area as his headquarters. One of the things that happens is as is the case in the beginning of every war we assume its going to be over quickly. We know all the civilians in washington dc who rode their carriages out to watch the battle and then were of course first of all horrified and the general had to confront the reality that this would be a protracted conflict. Washington had written to philadelphia not knowing about lexington and concorde so he packed his bags arrived in california. But did bring a uniform along. Kethis was to indicate his willingness is necessary to take up a leadership position , basically advertising is availability should the job, but he did not have his camping equipment and one of the only i think three letters that have survived being washington and Martha Washington because this is in a period when the spouse died it was customary for the widower to burn the correspondenceand martha destroyed all the letters from george gewashington. One of them survived in a desk that belonged to a or at the tutor place in georgetown. And its the letter washington wrote to her telling her he was not going to be coming home to a healthy going to take command of the army. What i love about it because many from the audience have done this. You have to send an apology as well so the was how he had found a beautiful piece of silk he had purchased in the shop and it was sending it tomorrow with ous waves her disappointment. So washington and the summer of 1775 trying to organize the defenses through the winter there trying to figure out how theyre going to protect the british from boston and he realizes it will have to take the field that season. So here he is in thatuniform that he wore. He decides to send his add camp, a philadelphia and named joseph reed back to philadelphia cause this was the best and largest city in british north america. A place that have produced goods in a place where imported goods have not been prevented by the british navy and a fabulous quote with the theme of the evening, he sends a note in october 1775 back to philadelphia and says i need you to get together all i can equipment. These are all the things hes takes to the field the following year and writes the beginning of march to ask how its going this is a quote from that letter. He says i cannot take the field without equipment and after i had once got into a tent i shall not soon quit. He did not know this was going to be an eight year conflict. With the exception of these two visits after yorktown in mount vernon it remained a tented field for the entire period. What we know because of the surviving records is that washington had camps made just two blocks from where the museum is located on chestnut street. There was a man by the name of pocket field who had a shop there edwith the original receipt had survived. He purchased two main taps, one of those a sleeping and office camp, thats the original tent on display and the replica you seen on the mill. It was also slightly larger tent. Its like the top image here was a large ovalshaped tent with an open room on the outside for dinners,meetings. Those met washington in new york during the 1776 campaign and this along with the baggage tent and the tent of his commanderinchiefs guard, his predecessors of the secret service and security detail, that was washingtons mobile field headquarters during the revolutionary war and thats acting as his only ride that space. Think about the images you seen other commanderinchiefs. You all know the photograph of john f. Kennedy during the cuban whistle crisis where hes standing in the file at the resolute desk with his glow. Another picture of george w. Bush after 9 11 again sitting at that resolute desk thinking about what that oval office means to commanderinchief. Its not too much of a stretch to think about this tent as the first ovaloffice. Thats where the most crucial elements of the war take place. It mattered not just to him to have a place that more importantly it mattered to the men he wasleading. So this was an image done by the great illustratorhoward cpyle. Showing washington and his tent and what you see early on is washington consciously trying to create a model for what the general in a republic would be like. Not a monarchy. He does not go his commission to a proper but rather the people who have given him this authority what does it mean to be a republican generally . People begin to know the significance of him remaining in the field even during the winter, during inclement weather time anywhere near the army for months and months. Heres a quote from george we can from middlebrook in new jersey. This is the spring of 1777. Our good old general also spreads his tent and lives amongst us. Those tents that washington received in 1776 he uses all the way through the year. They remain in the field late into the fall. The following year 1977 the british concept to take philadelphia so the Philadelphia Campaign and that campaign stretches far into the fall and it was a practice of knowing the Winter Quarters because the grass at your animal eats which is your transportation of course dies so its hard to stay in the field and continue fighting through the late fall but in 1777 washington doesnt march into valley forge until december 19 and this of cour ige that you all know very well, its impossible to find a book about the revolutionary war doesnt have an image. This is a painting in our collection by a philadelphia and called the march to valley forge and thesare washingtons orders s to his army two days before they marched into valley forge and he says he himself must share haship and partake of every inconvenie promising his army im not staying in a cushy hotel, im gointo stay on the campus in washington stays in that camp till january of 1777 weight waiting for the man who built valley forge before he goes in and takes it himself so this is something that again starts to now catch the attention of people because no one is more fascinated by whats going on in america and whats going to go on and the french. And this is really important. We like that declaration of independence not so much for the second paragraph and the idea of equality. Thats the charter about the principles it can be founded on but its primarily a diplomatic document and most importantly the french. They are paying attention and i love this image. This is the first engraved image done in france in 1980. Its inspired by a portrait by charles kiel but the french artist as expanded them and look at how much symbolism just from what ive talked about already. In his tent in the field theres an encampment off in al the distance. Hes got all his camp equipment and hes holding in his hand a sheaf of papers that includes the declaration of independence and treaty between france and the United States and hes standing on peshredded papers that are all conciliatory on builds from parliament, offers of pardons from the king. So this is absolutely a propaganda piece as much as anything but the title of this is translatesasically as general washington does not present a threat to the republic. And everyone in france is fascinated, what is this guy going to do. Is he going to become the new king george of america or Something Else . John trumbull from connecticut who had served as a to camp to washington painted this portrait on the right about the same time, 1780. He traveled to england during the war but one of the important things to note if you see in the background theres certainly in dialogue with one another is the inclusion of the figure who represents william leads who is washingtons enslaved valet. Waington purchased william and his younger brother frank in 1768 and they serve in the household in mount Vernon William lee has washingtons valet through the entire revolutionary war. Lived in that camp wi washington and the other other inbints of washingtons tent and hes so worn out by his service, had such falls from horses that he was basically crippled by the revolutionary war. Now you want to talk a little bit about symbols and the republic in general. On the left you see rolled up the original written, see that over washingtons shoulder . When washington goes to new england, one of the first frustrations is that nobody knows who he is that theyre supposed to pay some kind of deference to him. The new englanders very democratic and many of these officers over their positions to being voted in by their man and its one of the things an n aristocratic summoner sees is youll see the kernel of a new england regiment t shaving his own men orplaying cards with them. Washington wants to pose more of a traditional military discipline, thinking the professional is going to be put so he adopts a system of colored ribbons, these are literally wide silk ribbons with a beautiful you see it on the lefthand side. Almost like a watermark made by crunching these engraved s steel plates and its a form thats very recognizable in europeans at the time. So this original written as survived because he later gives it to Charles Wilson peel a painter who had more life savings for washington than any othernopainter in the period. Heres another full painting from 1779. Washington at the battle of princeton. Another george here on the left, king george also painted the same year in 1775 with a full array of military might behind him. This is to georges trying to be peacocks and show themselves off but you can see how somebody whos really out what this george of virginia is thinking about the future is he addressing the king with that ribbon . He saw french officers note by about 1779 washington leave that ribbon aside and there are portraits that appealed to him cause he becomes basically shot at producing these paintings because everyonewants a portrait of George Washington. They originally had the written and paintedover it. You can see over the centuries a little bit of a adow so hes very consciously like an even plainer dress. This is a wonderful portrait. Its sad psent at Harvard University when it was d donated and it had the tradition it could never be outside of think thought so will never be able t to get it as many of you know. But theres all the things ive been talking about. Theres liwashington, the republican general in the tented field in front of a marquee tent. For those of you who came up to see the replica tent and some oare asking about the furnishings you can see hithe holding table behind him and its based on the design of that replica table and aga