Come early and enjoy dinner at MaGerks before our meeting!!
Live Meeting at MaGerks Fort Washington – 582 S. Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington, PA 19034
We recommend that you get here before 6:30pm to order your food and drinks before the lecture. Bring $1 or $5 cash for our used book raffle and you could win a Revolutionary War book!! Program begins around 7:15pm, Lecture around 7:30pm.
We welcome back Larry Kidder. He’ll be speaking to us about his 2024 book, Defending Fort Stanwix: A Story of the New York Frontier in the American Revolution.
In Defending Fort Stanwix, William L. Kidder tells the dramatic story of “the fort that never surrendered” and the crucial role it played in the American War for Independence.After a series of military defeats over the winter of 1776–1777, British military leaders developed a bold plan to gain control of the Hudson River and divide New England from the rest of the colonies. Three armies would converge on Albany: one under Lieutenant General John Burgoyne moving south from Quebec, one under General William Howe moving north from New York City, and a third under Lieutenant Colonel Barrimore St. Leger cutting east from Lake Ontario along the Mohawk River. Fort Stanwix lay directly on the path of St. Leger’s force, making it a key defensive position for the Continental Army. By delaying St. Leger’s troops and forcing a retreat, the garrison’s stand at Fort Stanwix contributed to Burgoyne’s surrender at the Battles of Saratoga a month later, a major turning point in the course of the war.
Kidder offers an engaging account of life in and around the fort in the months leading up to the siege, detailing the lives of soldiers and their families, civilians, and the Haudenosaunee peoples with a focus on both the mundane aspects of military life and the courageous actions that earned distinction. Defending Fort Stanwix relates the stories of local men and women, both white and Indian, who helped with the fort’s defense before, during, and after the siege and showcases an exciting, overlooked story of bravery and cooperation on New York’s frontier during the American Revolution.
Book Purchase: To purchase this book go to https://www.amazon.com/dp/150177753X
About Larry Kidder:
William L. Kidder taught history for more than three decades at the Hun School of Princeton and is a historian, interpreter, and draft horse teamster at the Howell Living History Farm in Hopewell, New Jersey. He is the author of Crossroads of the Revolution, Ten Crucial Days, and Revolutionary Princeton.