Date and Time
Saturday May 1, 2021
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM EDT
Location
Virtually held via Zoom.
Fees/Admission
Conference Cost: $60/members and $70/non-members Includes downloadable packet of digital maps & program $10 from every registration donated to Battlefield Preservation
Website
Contact Information
Lark Kennedy
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Description
Welcome to our virtual lecture series focused on the 1777 Philadelphia Campaign. The event will be 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom. Eric Wittenberg will moderate the program with the following speakers & talks:
Michael Harris: 1777 Philadelphia Campaign Overview
Jim Christ: Paoli Massacre
Wade Catts: Cooch's Bridge
Scott Patchan: 2:30 p.m. “Adam Stephen and George Washington: Partners and Rivals from the French and Indian War through the Battle of Germantown”
Gary Ecelbarger: George Washington and the Philadelphia Campaign
*Please note this program has been condensed from a previously advertised 3-day tour to a one-day virtual lecture series.
View the full itinerary here.
GENERAL INFORMATION
· Conference held virtually via Zoom. Registered guests receive the Zoom link to watch the conference prior to the event.
· Speakers will be available LIVE to give their presentations and answer questions
· Each participant will receive a downloadable packet of digital maps & program.
$10 from every registration will be donated to Battlefield Preservation.
· The conference will be recorded and available to view afterward to those registered in advance.
SATURDAY, MAY 1
10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. via Zoom I Break 12 - 1 p.m. I Q&A follows each talk
10 a.m. Overview of 1777 Philadelphia Campaign by Michael Harris
Overview on the of the 1777 Philadelphia campaign including sea voyage, Cooch’s Bridge, Brandywine, Battle of the Clouds, Skirmish at Valley Forge and Paoli, Billingsport, Germantown, Fort Mercer, Fort Mifflin, White Marsh, and Valley Forge.
11 a.m. “Remember Paoli” by Jim Christ
"Remember Paoli", it is the nation's first battle cry and was born of the battle that was fought in Malvern, PA on night of September 20th, 1777. Learn about how British General Charles "No Flint" Grey lead around 2,000 men at night into the Great Valley to surprise over 2,000 of General Anthony Wayne's men and 2,100 Maryland Militia under General William Smallwood. The ninth bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War left Philadelphia open to British occupation, and also left a lasting impact in the local community. In 1817 the second oldest War Memorial was dedicated and is still remembered today with the Malvern Memorial Parade. Let's explore why this battle is called the "Paoli Massacre," as well as common myths such as soldiers being asleep during the attack. General Anthony Wayne would get his reputation back during the Battle of Stony Point, NY in which he used lessons learned from the Paoli Battle to earn a complete victory and international acclaim.
Break 12 - 1 p.m.
1 - 1:30 p.m. Meet & Greet in Breakout Sessions led by Logistics (cameras on please!)
1:30 p.m. “An Opportunity of Annoying Them Greatly” The Battle of Cooch’s Bridge (3 September 1777) - The Opening Engagement of The Philadelphia Campaign and the Invasion of the Upper Delmarva Peninsula by Wade P. Catts, RPA
The opening engagement of the Philadelphia campaign, the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge (or Iron Hill) was a short but spirited engagement between the vanguard of the British army and an American Light Infantry Corps. The presentation integrates historical, topographical, and archaeological studies into a discussion of the battle and its context, using contemporary British, Hessian, and American accounts to reconstruct the course of the engagement, the landscape over which the battle was fought, and the battle’s outcome.
2:30 p.m. “Adam Stephen and George Washington: Partners and Rivals from the French and Indian War through the Battle of Germantown” by Scott Patchan
3:30 p.m. “Analyzing George Washington during the dozen days of the Philadelphia Campaign following Brandywine, September 12-23, 1777: Answers and Obstacles to a New Set of Questions” by Gary Ecelbarger
This presentation offers a unique comparison and contrast of Washington's campaign northeast of Philadelphia, including the Great Valley, to Stonewall Jackson during the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign. In the process a revised understanding of Washington and the Continental army emerges based on new discoveries and old challenges to a series of questions asked in an attempt to flesh out the "why's" in addition to the "what's," "when's" and "where's" of these twelve critical days.
Conference Cost: $60/members and $70/non-members
Includes downloadable packet of digital maps & program
$10 from every registration donated to Battlefield Preservation