History Camp Boston 2026 Weekend
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History Camp Boston 2026—Speakers and Sessions, with Links to Full Session Videos
Updated as of September 15, 2026: Thanks to the generous underwriting of Margo Burns, we recorded nearly every session and are in the process of uploading the recordings so that you can stream them. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to know when new videos have been posted.
1776: Independence and After
Why did the American colonies declare Independence in 1776? What were the challenges, and what potential opportunities did they see? How did their thinking change from trying to preserve their long-cherished charter rights, to announcing their arrival as an independent entity, equal among the powers of the earth to all other nations?
Robert J. Allison, PhD, a professor of history at Suffolk University, also teaches in the Harvard Extension School. He has written a series of short books about the American Revolution, on the histories of Boston and of Cape Cod, as well as longer works on the Barbary Wars and Naval hero Stephen Decatur. He edited an edition of The Interesting Narrative of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Allison created two classes for The Teaching Company’s series “The Great Courses,” on colonial America (“Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies” and “The Age of Benjamin Franklin”) drawn from his teaching which has covered all phases of American history, though his primary focus is the American Revolution and the early American republic. He is president of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts (colonialsociety.org), a scholarly organization which publishes primary documents on early American history, a life-trustee of the USS Constitution Museum, and as chair of Revolution 250, Allison hosts its weekly podcast, (buzzsprout.com/1336051) a series of conversations on the Revolution with historians, museum curators, and re-enactors.
A Conversation with Nina Zannieri, Executive Director, Paul Revere Memorial Association on Four Decades of Historic Education and Preservation in Boston, and the Challenges Ahead
With her 40 years of experience as the Executive Director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association in Boston, few people have the perspective that Nina does on the way in which Boston and Boston historic sites and organizations carry out their mission of historic education and preservation, including the challenges faced and the changes that have taken place over the last four decades. When Nina announced in May that she would be retiring, I immediately knew that she should be our guest for a conversation at History Camp Boston 2026. Please bring your questions. — Lee Wright, Founder, History Camp and The Pursuit of History
Nina Zannieri, MA, Executive Director, Paul Revere Memorial Association. Since 1986, Nina Zannieri has been the Executive Director of the Paul Revere Memorial Association in Boston, Massachusetts, which owns and operates a now fully accessible complex of three historic buildings that includes the Paul Revere House. Ms. Zannieri has held leadership positions in several national and regional professional museum organizations including American Alliance of Museum, New England Museum Association, and the American Association for State and Local History. In 2015 she received a NEMA Lifetime Achievement Award. She currently sits on the board of the Freedom Trail Foundation, Seamans Port and Aid Society, Harvard University Museum Studies Advisory Board, and is a member of the Boston Green Ribbon Commission Cultural Organization Working Group Leadership team. She received her BA in history from Boston College and her MA in Anthropology/Museum Studies from Brown University.
Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Making of an American Icon
Amelia Earhart did not become Amelia Earhart by accident. In this talk, Laurie Gwen Shapiro shares the story behind The Aviator and the Showman, her new biography of Earhart and publisher-promoter George Palmer Putnam, tracing how a record-setting pilot, a gifted publicist, and a hungry American media culture together created one of the 20th century’s most enduring legends. Drawing on deep archival research, Shapiro looks past the familiar disappearance story to explore Earhart’s ambition, marriage, fame, and the machinery that turned a complicated woman into an icon.
Laurie Gwen Shapiro is the author of The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage That Made an American Icon, published by Viking. She is also the author of The Stowaway and has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications. A journalist, filmmaker, and historian, she is currently at work on a biography of Albert Einstein in America.
Broken Promises on the Road Revolution in Natick, 1650–1783
Founded as a Puritan Mission in 1651, Natick and its Indigenous residents endured a painful pattern of dispossession of rights, lands, and liberties in the century leading up to the American Revolution. And yet, more than forty Indigenous and Black men with ties to Natick enlisted to fight for the Patriot cause. Learn about the histories these soldiers carried with them into battle and how a community that lived through broken promises refused to be limited by them.
Niki Lefebvre, PhD, has been the Executive Director of the Natick Historical Society since 2018. In 2020, she was named a Rising Star by the Massachusetts History Alliance. She has spoken about Natick history to countless school, university, and public groups, as well as on regional media, including WCVB News and Chronicle. She holds an MA in Public History from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a PhD in American Studies from Boston University.
Civil War Monuments, from Obelisks to “Parade Rest” to American Renaissance
The Civil War monument is an iconic element of hundreds of Massachusetts’s town landscapes. From a shared anguish — sons and fathers killed on distant battlefields, and never to return — they give us a range of answers to the question of what those soldiers fought for. They also hold a mirror up to the nation we were becoming in the generation after Appomattox. We can see in these monuments a new America emerging, one reflected in an evolving architectural language of mourning and commemoration. This talk will relocate our Civil War monuments from the ubiquitous background of the town common to symbols of our American destiny.
A. Michael Ruderman is a noted speaker and presenter on topics of Colonial and local history. He provided the research to substantiate the “First Map of the American Revolution,” published in American Heritage magazine. He most recently appeared at History Camp in 2025 telling the story of the Battle of Menotomy, where Royal forces fought for their lives through an enraged countryside.
Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency
Conspiracy theories have been part of American life from the beginning. The land of the free and the home of the brave has also been the den of false rumors and conspiratorial claims about one’s political enemies — not merely by rank-and-file Americans but also by our most powerful and consequential elected leaders. Sadly, the Commander in Chief of the United States has acted rather as a Conspirator in Chief. This talk will focus on presidents from the past who circulated falsehoods designed to undermine their opponents and enhance their own power, not just on the campaign trail but also during their tenure in office. The talk will conclude with a discussion of those presidents who shunned conspiracy mongering and embraced the “better angels of our nature.”
Stephen Knott, PhD, is the Thomas & Mabel Guy Professor of American History & Government at Ashland University, and an Emeritus Professor of National Security Affairs at the United States Naval War College. Prior to accepting his position at the Naval War College, Knott was Co-Chair of the Presidential Oral History Program at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. He is the author or co-author of eleven books dealing with the American presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy.
Dr. Joseph Warren—“Act Worthy of Yourselves”
The person who dispatched Paul Revere on that famous ride was also a citizen whose life and example has shaped the American experience in important ways. The impact and legacy of early Revolutionary War figure Dr. Joseph Warren is earning renewed attention from directions as disparate as Ken Burns’s documentary The American Revolution and Communist Chinese censors. In a reprise of a popular American Semi-quincentennial talk from last summer’s History Camp, Sam Forman, Warren’s biographer, will describe a compelling example of situational leadership at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Captivating and influential to both friends and enemies, Warren led in many roles effectively and simultaneously — Patriot leader, writer, and orator; Masonic grand master; and physician.
Dr. Samuel A. Forman, MD, MBA, MPH, (illfatedfrontier.com, DrJosephWarren.com, @DrSamForman) is an historian and Harvard faculty member. He is educated in the history of the American Revolution as well as the practice of medicine. Throughout successful careers as a physician, military officer, and businessman, he has published and lectured on historical topics that inform current issues. Sam is the author of the award-winning biography Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty and Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril and Possibilities in the Early American West. Dr. Forman is a founding board member of The Pursuit of History and is a regular presenter at History Camp Boston.
Dr. Joseph Warren and an American Rebellion
He lit the spark that ignited a revolution, and then he paid for it with his life. In 1755, fourteen-year-old Joseph Warren left his family’s farm in Roxbury, Massachusetts, and walked into destiny when he entered Harvard. Brilliant and passionate, he became one of the most influential — and tragically overlooked — figures of the American Revolution. As a respected Boston physician, Warren healed the sick and challenged the British Empire, but as a leader of the Sons of Liberty and the radical resistance to English rule, he stood at the center of a growing storm. He authored the Suffolk Resolves, a declaration that proclaimed colonial defiance and laid the philosophical groundwork for the Declaration of Independence. When the First Continental Congress adopted the Resolves, Warren’s words became the voice of a nation not yet born. On the night of April 18, 1775, with British troops preparing to march on Lexington and Concord to seize rebel arms, a decision had to be made — one normally entrusted to a committee. The responsibility fell to Warren alone. In a moment that changed the world, he dispatched Paul Revere and William Dawes on their legendary rides, setting in motion the events that ignited the American Revolutionary War. As President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and the Committee of Safety, Warren believed that all people were entitled to liberty, property, and happiness. He died for those beliefs on the battlefield of Bunker Hill, becoming one of the Revolution’s earliest and most noble martyrs.
Salina B. Baker (instagram.com/salinabbaker, facebook.com/SalinaBakerAuthor, salinabbaker.com, salina.beth.baker@gmail.com) is an author, presenter, and historian of the American Revolution. In 2023, she published a biographical novel about Major General Nathanael Greene titled The Line of Splendor, A Novel of Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution. Her latest work is a biographical novel about Dr. Joseph Warren titled Act Worthy of Yourselves: A Novel of Dr. Joseph Warren and an American Rebellion due to publish in July 2026. She has done presentations at Washington Crossing Historic Park, the General Nathanael Greene Homestead, Cowpens National Battlefield, Ninety-Six National Park, Camden Revolutionary War Visitor Center, and Sons of the American Revolution / Daughters of the American Revolution chapters. Salina serves as secretary and social media director for the Board of Directors of the Dr. Joseph Warren Foundation, an organization dedicated to the life & legacy of Founding Father, Dr. Joseph Warren. Salina holds a degree in Computer Science and lives in Austin with her husband John.
Fake Portraits of Illustrious Leaders in Boston
The Massachusetts Capitol features a portrait gallery of colonial governors, all faithfully copied in the early 20th century from original portraits held by individuals and institutions — but many of the originals are fake. They are legitimately old paintings of unknown sitters by unknown artists being passed off as famous American people by famous American artists like Blackburn, Feke, and Smibert. Find out how Boston art dealer Frank W. Bayley and others pulled off their crimes and how to spot portraits with fake credentials.
Margo Burns, AB, MA, is a Project Manager and Associate Editor of Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt (salemwitchhunt.org, published in 2009 by the Cambridge University Press), the definitive comprehensive record of legal documents pertaining to the Salem witchcraft trials, organized in chronological order. She is currently working on a book about William Stoughton, the Chief Magistrate of those trials, and has been studying early American painting.
Famous Women, Forgotten Women: Stories from American History
American history is filled with extraordinary women who shaped the nation — yet many rarely appear in textbooks. In this presentation, audiences will hear riveting, rarely told stories about both well-known and lesser-known women. Among those featured are Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks, as well as figures such as Ellen Craft, Jo Ann Robinson, Mamie Phipps Clark, Elizabeth Peratrovich, and Virginia Hall. All of them helped shape America. In this intriguing and interactive session, you’ll learn how they did it and the impact they had.
Alan Fishel, Esq., (learningplunge.org, fishel@learningplunge.org) is the President of LearningPlunge, a nonprofit organization he started in 2012 to engage students and adults in U.S. history and geography. The nonprofit develops educational games and organizes tournaments and trivia nights for schools and adults. Alan researched and created content for HistoryPlunge (developed in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery) and Women’s HistoryPlunge, a new game with over 650 women that LearningPlunge developed in collaboration with the National Women’s History Museum. In addition to his work with LearningPlunge, Alan practiced law for nearly 40 years where he was a sought-after presenter on legal issues and led training sessions for other lawyers and businesspeople.
Robin Hayutin, Esq., (learningplunge.org, hayutin@learningplunge.org) is the Executive Director of the nonprofit LearningPlunge and is a lead researcher and writer behind its educational games, including HistoryPlunge and Women’s HistoryPlunge. With Alan, she spent thousands of hours researching and writing content for Women’s HistoryPlunge, which highlights the lives and accomplishments of more than 650 women who helped shape American history. Robin also produces daily historical content for LearningPlunge’s social media platforms. A former litigator, Robin later served as Director of Legal Education at a national bar association.
Frederick Douglass on the Massachusetts’s Antislavery Circuit, 1840–1860
In 1838, newly self-emancipated Frederick Douglass arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts, with his bride Anna Murray Douglass, seeking nothing more than the safety of freedom. Instead, he found a calling that would reshape American history. This presentation follows Douglass across Massachusetts — from his first public address to a mixed-race audience on Nantucket to the radical “One Hundred Conventions” tour sponsored by the Massachusetts Antislavery Society and his continued commitment to the commonwealth even after his break from that organization. Through examining his experiences speaking at more than 140 different cities and towns, we examine how his experiences in the Bay State served as a primary laboratory for Douglass’s activism, his groundbreaking publications, and his unwavering pursuit of justice for all.
Anne F. Mattina, PhD, (masshumanities.org/following-in-douglass-footsteps) is Professor Emerita in the Department of Communication at Stonehill College, where she served as Department Chair from 2013 to 2021. A specialist in rhetoric and political communication, her research focuses on 19th-century American social movements and 20th-century gender and politics. In 2023, she was awarded a research fellowship by Mass Humanities to contribute to that organization’s Reading Frederick Douglass Together initiative. Her work included exploring the great abolitionist orator’s time in Massachusetts from 1838–1864. She represented Mass Humanities during Douglass Week in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2024 and at the African American Meeting House in Boston, 2025. Dr. Mattina is a Distinguished Teaching Fellow of the Eastern Communication Association. She is a dedicated community leader, currently serving as President of the Hopkinton, Massachusetts Historical Society and as a member of the Metrowest Commission on the Status of Women for the commonwealth of Massachusetts. She holds a PhD from The Ohio State University.
From the Triangle Fire to Today: Women, Work, and the Fight for Safety and Dignity
In March 1911, a fire raced through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, killing 146 garment workers—most of them young immigrant women. The sight of locked doors, broken fire escapes, and desperate workers leaping from upper floors horrified the nation and changed the course of labor history. This talk explores how the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire sparked new conversations about safety, workers’ rights, and the role of women in shaping reform. Attendees will meet the women who turned tragedy into action—including Frances Perkins, who witnessed the fire and went on to become the first woman in a U.S. Cabinet post, and Clara Lemlich, the fiery labor organizer whose words helped ignite the strikes that paved the way for change. More than a century later, the echoes of that day still shape the way we work—from modern fire codes and workplace safety standards to the continuing debates over fair wages and workers’ voices. Using images and first-hand accounts, she will connect the past to the present and uncover how a disaster in a New York factory continues to influence every workplace in America today.
Alycia Asai, MA, (civicsandcoffee.com) holds a master’s degree in United States history, with research interests in women, labor, and the evolution of the social safety net in America. Her writing has appeared in Nursing Clio and Inside History Magazine. She is the lead researcher, writer, and producer of Civics & Coffee: A History Podcast, which explores the people, moments, and stories of America’s past—usually in the time it takes to enjoy your morning cup of coffee. She is currently researching a book that examines the evolution of welfare policy in the United States—from AFDC to the Affordable Care Act—and the women on the front lines who worked to implement these sweeping federal changes in their local communities.
George Boutwell: Fighting to Redeem America’s Promise
George Boutwell (1818–1905) is the most consequential public figure Americans have never heard of. As the youngest-ever governor of Massachusetts, Boutwell fought for equality and civil rights for all Americans from before the Civil War through the end of Reconstruction. He helped write the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, led the impeachment of Andrew Johnson while in Congress, raised funds for the Union Army while Lincoln’s Commissioner of Revenue, helped establish the Modern American economy as Grant’s Secretary of the Treasury, and investigated white supremacist violence in Mississippi as a U.S. Senator. George Boutwell fought to “redeem America’s promise” of equal rights and equal opportunity, and even took on Teddy Roosevelt, opposing America’s annexation of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War as President of the Anti-Imperialist League, alongside Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, and others.
Jeffrey Boutwell, PhD, (jeffreyboutwell.com, boutwell@alum.mit.edu) is retired from a 30-year-career on nuclear weapons arms control and the author of the biography of family member George S. Boutwell titled BOUTWELL: Radical Republican and Champion of Democracy, published by WW Norton in 2025. Jeffrey grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, received his PhD from MIT, and worked for many years at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His biography makes extensive use for the first time of George Boutwell’s papers held at the Governor Boutwell House in Groton, Massachusetts. He is a lively and engaged presenter, having given more than 50 book talks around the country in 2025–2026.
How English Witch-Hunting Manuals Guided New England’s Witch Trials, 1647–1697
Witchcraft belief in colonial New England was primarily imported from England by the colonists and refreshed through transatlantic trade and communication networks. Ministers and judges in New England consulted English legal and theological works for advice on the practical matters of operating a witchcraft prosecution, as well as for spiritual revelations on how witches operated. Drawing on the texts themselves, we trace how early continental demonologies influenced English theories of witchcraft and how English books and pamphlets in turn influenced the methods used in New England’s witch hunts. Then we present some of the many ways we can know the New England witch trials featured beliefs and methods popularized by English writing, reviewing techniques for identifying and convicting witches. In this talk, we’ll cover the Malleus Maleficarum, King James’s Demonology, and works by William Perkins, Richard Bernard, and other English authors, comparing them to themes prevalent in New England books of the colonial period.
Josh Hutchinson descends from people accused of witchcraft and people who accused others of witchcraft. He is the co-host of three history podcasts with Sarah Jack: The Thing About Witch Hunts, The Thing About the Salem Witch Trials, and Salem Witch Trials Daily. He is also a co-founder of the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, the team lead of the Massachusetts Witch-Hunt Justice Project, and a co-founder of End Witch Hunts, America’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness of the continuation of violence related to witchcraft accusations.
Sarah Jack (endwitchhunts.org) is a documented descendant of victims of witch trials held in Salem, Boston, and Hartford, including Rebecca Nurse, Mary Easty, Mary Hale, and Winifred Benham. She co-hosts three history podcasts with Josh Hutchinson: The Thing About Witch Hunts, The Thing About Salem, and Salem Witch Trials Daily. She co-founded the Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, and is the Founding Executive Director of End Witch Hunts, a nonprofit bridging witchcraft accusation history and its living consequences.
How King Philip’s War led to the Revolutionary War
While the nation commemorates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, this year also marks 350 years since King Philip’s War (1675–1676) — a pivotal but often overlooked conflict fought right here in New England. Often called “America’s first war,” King Philip’s War was one of the most devastating conflicts in colonial history, reshaping the relationship between Indigenous peoples and English settlers and leaving lasting political and cultural effects on the region. This presentation by Dr. David Weed, historian for the Sowams Heritage Area Project (sowams.org), will shed light on the causes, key events, and lasting legacy of the war, connecting it to the growing spirit of independence that would emerge a century later.
David Weed, PsyD, (drweed@cox.net, SowamsEarlyHistory.org, KPW350.org) a retired clinical psychologist living in Warren, Rhode Island, became interested in the history of the 17th century in and around his community. In 2020 he launched the Sowams Heritage Area Project which is working to create a new National Heritage Area encompassing nine communities between Bristol and Providence, Rhode Island, and nearby Massachusetts to highlight the unique history of this area. Based on Sowams, the homeland of the Massasoit Ousamequin who welcomed the Pilgrims in 1621, the project highlights five historic themes.
David Weed, PsyD, (drweed@cox.net, SowamsEarlyHistory.org, KPW350.org) a retired clinical psychologist living in Warren, Rhode Island, became interested in the history of the 17th century in and around his community. In 2020 he launched the Sowams Heritage Area Project which is working to create a new National Heritage Area encompassing nine communities between Bristol and Providence, Rhode Island, and nearby Massachusetts to highlight the unique history of this area. Based on Sowams, the homeland of the Massasoit Ousamequin who welcomed the Pilgrims in 1621, the project highlights five historic themes.
“I Am Not A Cautious Man”: The Most Important Founding Father You’ve Never Heard Of
As our first and only disabled Founding Father, Gouverneur Morris of New York didn’t let the loss of a leg slow him down. He was an ardent Federalist, a passionate and outspoken Abolitionist, and a scandalous ladies man. A signer of the Articles of Confederation and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, the peg-legged Founder spoke more than anyone else at the convention and played a vital role in the creation of the final document, including writing the Preamble. He succeeded Thomas Jefferson as the U.S. Minister to France and was a witness to the Reign of Terror. After returning from France, he would serve as a Senator, chair the Commission for the Erie Canal, and help design the street grid of Manhattan. A political ally and close friend of Alexander Hamilton, he would deliver the eulogy at his funeral and secure financial stability for his widow and young children. A confirmed bachelor until his fifties, Gouverneur would surprise everyone by marrying the daughter of a wealthy Virginia planter and cousin to Thomas Jefferson; a woman who had once been tried for murder with Patrick Henry and John Marshall acting as her defense attorneys! In this session, we will explore the many accomplishments of a man whose ideas were ahead of their time and discuss the reasons he is not more well-known today.
Rebecca Flynt is an author and storyteller with a passion for early American history. Her first novel, American Harlot, was published in 2024 and tells the story of the first major political scandal in American history from the point of view of the woman involved. Flynt enjoys speaking about the founding period and the early years of America at various educational, social, and civic organizations in her area and was a guest on an episode of historian Clay Jenkinson’s podcast Listening to America (formerly The Thomas Jefferson Hour), along with Dr. Linsey Chervinsky, entitled “Ten Things about Gouverneur Morris.” Her second novel, Upon Leaving Bizarre, tells the scandalous story of Nancy Randolph, who would go on to become the wife of Gouverneur Morris.
Is He Really Buried There? Searching for the Graves of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
What started out as a quirky hobby soon became an obsession. During a road trip with friends to Boston, in a cemetery with the graves of three signers of the Declaration, a project was born: Traveling to and photographing the graves of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. As the search continued, more questions arose. A number of Declaration signers were not interred in their original burial locations or perhaps in unmarked graves. Hear some of the unusual stories of signers who were moved from their original burial places and whether all 56 were found.
Jennifer Epstein Rudnick knew she wanted a career in history after being inspired by her fifth-grade teacher. She grew up in northwestern Connecticut and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College. She has worked for the National Park Service at several sites, and for more than 25 years, has been on the National Mall in Washington, DC, hoping to inspire the next generation of historians like her teacher did for her. She lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and enjoys reading, traveling, baseball, and spending time with her niece and nephew.
Living Historian: Britain’s Glider Pilot Regiment
Join living historian Kevin Getz for a presentation on the creation and history of the British Airborne’s Glider Pilot Regiment. From its inception to the baby steps of Operation Husky, the success of Operation Tonga and Mallard during Overlord, the disaster at Arnhem, finally culminating in the success of Operation Varsity, the crossing into Germany. Getz will be in a kit which includes a kilt in order to better tell the story of Captain James G. Ogilvie, who was a glider pilot and flew into Arnhem wearing his Gordon Highland kilt.
Kevin Getz has been a living historian for nearly 30 years, Former 2IC of the 9th Parachute Battalion (an actual parachute battalion that landed during Normandy and assaulted the Merville Battery), co-podcaster of the Ham & Jam — the British Airborne Podcast, appearance on the World War 2 TV YouTube Channel to discuss the history of the Horsa glider, 33-year veteran of the Indiana State Police.
Maine Women and the Great Gathering of 10,000 in 1854
As early as the 1830s, rural Maine women committed themselves to the cause of abolition, a risky and radical stance. For some, kith and kin to a Black family, it was personal; for others, it was a moral responsibility. They were living in rugged locations, with still demanding work to establish their families, yet they committed themselves to this radical cause of freedom for Black enslaved. This presentation focuses on the Great Gathering of 10,000 in 1854, also identifying what informed them, and the many substantive local and national actions they accomplished to make a difference. Granger believes their work, particularly this huge gathering of 10,000, speaks to the power of rural women to do far more than take care of home and hearth. They organized, communicated with each other over time and across great distances, shared their economic worth with others for the cause, and understood that to be engaged meant being politically informed and active. It speaks of their compassion and their savvy chops all in support of their moral opposition to slavery.
Judith C. Granger, MEd, is a genealogist, a citizen historian, and a storyteller. My PhD work led me to the power of story. I am intrigued by voice, by what is lost, unheard and invisible, and I continue to lift up the names of people lost to time. Since retiring, I have focused my research on the lives of two Black self-emancipating families who joined their kith and kin to settle wilderness Maine. I present their evolving stories at genealogical and historical societies from Bar Harbor to Boston, and Kittery to Concord. Discovering their lives in community has led me to new findings, including the actions of hundreds of rural white women involved in the anti-slavery society movement. I have come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of their struggles, their accomplishments, and the importance and power of belonging. The telling of true stories, set in the context of time and place, gives us history, and, in this case, a sense of the possibilities of what we are capable of today.
Mapping Boston’s Literary History: From Colonial Printing Presses to Confessional Poets
Boston has an incredibly rich literary history, yet many people walk past sites every day where authors of the past lived, wrote, gathered, and published without realizing the literary history right in front of them. Did you know that Louisa May Alcott published her first novel while living on Pinckney Street in Beacon Hill? The first printing press in the Colonies was located in Harvard Square? Jewish Book Month was founded by an immigrant librarian at the West End library? A home on Charles St. hosted literary greats of 19th-century literature? And the center of American publishing was once located in what today is a Chipotle? In this session, Kent will walk attendees through the highlights of Boston’s literary past, from Colonial printing presses to 20th-century poets. As we go, we’ll place each location on a map of Boston and Cambridge, building a visual of how individuals shaped American literary culture and showing that literary history is all around us today.
Jessica A. Kent, MA, (LiteraryBoston.com) is the founder and director of Literary Boston, a cultural initiative that promotes the Boston literary community, past and present, through website resources, social media, a weekly newsletter, literature classes, literary salons, and literary history walking tours. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and a Master’s in Literature from Harvard University, where her thesis on Moby-Dick and Calvinism won the Director’s Prize. Her short fiction has appeared in the North American Review, the Emerson Review, and elsewhere, and received the Leah Lovenheim Award for Short Fiction. She recently completed GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator program and is currently working on a novel about paramedics in 1970s Boston. Other past literary roles include library assistant, bookseller, literary magazine founder, literary marketing consultant, and interim director of the Boston Book Festival.
Note: Jessica will also be hosting walking tours of the Boston area on Sunday, August 9, 2026. You can reserve your spot when registering for History Camp, space is limited!
Martians! What the War of the Worlds Broadcast Tells Us about American Society on the Eve of WWII
The 1938 Orson Welles radio production of H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds has gone down in history for causing a panic about a Martian invasion. Were people back then really so gullible? Or were there close connections between that story and the state of the world on the brink of another world war? We’ll explore the details of this amazing historical moment and the strong reaction it provoked and listen to some clips from the actual broadcast together.
Lori Rogers-Stokes, PhD, is an independent scholar, public historian, and contributing editor for New England’s Hidden Histories, a digital history project from the Congregational Library and Archives. She is the author of Gathered into a Church: Indigenous-English Congregationalism in Woodland New England, and Records of Trial from Thomas Shepard’s Church in Cambridge, 1638–49: Heroic Souls. But along with studying the history of Woodland, New England, Lori has also spent many years analyzing U.S. history through the lens of mid-century horror radio broadcasts from the 1930s–1980s.
Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the following session was cancelled.
Much More than Taxation: Mercantilism and the Coming of the Revolution
While many motives compelled colonists to resist British efforts to impose greater control over the colonies, taxes and commercial restrictions became the flashpoints of overt colonial resistance. So great, in fact, was colonial opposition to those forms of British control that many observers, past and present, interpreted colonial motives as merely a tax revolt; this is best illustrated in the oft-repeated colonial slogan: “No taxation without representation.” While the divide between Britain and its American subjects over who would control the colonies was the bedrock issue, their insistence on taxation and commercial restrictions was, for Britain, a “live or die” matter. Why was Britain so intransigent on these points even though they sparked the worst colonial resistance? To understand Britain’s “knee-jerk” insistence you must understand contemporary European attitudes shaped by the predominant economic theory of the day: Mercantilism.
Steven C. Call, PhD, earned his bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1981 and graduated from pilot training in 1983. In 1991 he obtained his Master’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln majoring in military history. From there, he taught for three years at the Air Force Academy. He then earned his PhD in 1997 from Ohio State University, where he specialized in military history, European history, and American history. Steve retired from the Air Force in 2001 after twenty years and began his career as a college professor at SUNY Broome Community College in Binghamton, New York. At Broome, Steve primarily taught courses in European, American, world, and military history. His greatest expertise lies in pre-modern and modern (1500 to the present) American, European, and military history, as well as Western intellectual and cultural history. He is particularly interested in how Europe’s history, wars, and ideas intersect to shape its culture and society. Steve’s first book, Danger Close: Tactical Air Controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq, stems from his Air Force career and examines America’s use of air power in the wars in those countries. His second book is Selling Air Power: Military Aviation and American Popular Culture after World War II. Steve retired from Broome in 2024 and now works as an independent historian. Steve lives in Upstate New York.
Nathanael Greene: Savior of the Continental Army
Nathanael Greene was the strategist of the American Revolution and his role in the War for Independence was second only to General George Washington. Born and reared a Quaker, with no military experience, he was promoted from private to brigadier general literally overnight. Greene quickly became Washington’s confidant and close friend. He was chosen by the Commander in Chief to lead the Continental Army should Washington be killed, injured, or taken captive. It was Brigadier General Nathanael Greene who petitioned Congress for a Declaration of Independence. It was Major General Greene who saved the army from being decimated at the Battle of Brandywine. It was Quartermaster General Greene who pulled the Continental Army from the throes of certain death at Valley Forge. It was Commander Greene who was given the desperate task of leading the Southern Department of the Continental Army after other commanders had failed. It was Greene who drove British General Cornwallis to surrender at Yorktown. Unable to participate or witness the victorious battle, he was forced to immediately return south with his troops and subdue the remaining British forces. Greene led his troops in battle and laid siege for a year after the victory at Yorktown. His persistence finally forced the British to evacuate the South. Greene’s persistence with Congress that the Army be properly supplied and that foreign officers be appropriately appointed generated antagonism from certain political figures. He was denied monetary support for the Southern forces during the last year of their service and forced into debt to personally cover the expenses. Three years after the official end of the war, Nathanael Greene was dead at the age of forty-four. His premature death was not only a result of the intense hardships of the War, but the hardships and cruelty inflicted on him by members of the United States Congress.
Janet Uhlar (janetuhlar@comcast.net) imparts accurate history through biographical-fiction for those unlikely to read a work of non-fiction and those wanting to bring history to life. Her research on Joseph Warren and Nathanael Greene began in 1985, culminating in her book and screenplay Liberty’s Martyr, and the book Freedom’s Cost. Janet teaches “The American Revolution: A Different Perspective” at the Cape Cod Community College. She has been interviewed three times by Dr. Bob Allison for the Rev250 Boston podcast and has been published in the Journal of the American Revolution and The Encampment. Janet presents lectures extensively including at the Adams and Bunker Hill National Historical Parks; The Battle of Rhode Island Association; Rhode Island Historical Association; and Friends of Valley Forge. Her keynote address on Greene to the General Society of the Sons of the Revolution, which emphasized his forgotten role in saving the Continental Army at Valley Forge, inspired the creation and placement of a statue at the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge. Janet supervised the Joseph Warren Sash DNA Project, is pursuing a second DNA project pertaining to Warren, and imminently anticipates a co-authored article’s publication which answers the question of Warren’s great enigma. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Nathanael Greene Homestead, and on the advisory board of the Mulberry Grove Foundation (General Greene’s home in Savannah, Georgia). She continues to research, publish, and lecture on overlooked aspects of Warren and Greene’s lives and refutations, supported with documentation, false narrative in contemporary writings. She is beginning her research for a book on the Quincy family’s impact on the American Revolution.
Only a Dozen Loyalists in Marblehead?!
The invaluable service of Marblehead’s many Patriots in the American Revolution is well documented, and rightly so. In the mid-1700s, Marblehead, Massachusetts, was the sixth most populous metropolis in British North America, second only to Boston. In 1775 the town suffered a dramatic economic and social decline, largely due to its ardent and gritty residents’ long years of service on behalf of independence. From this thriving international Atlantic seaport, approximately 1,400 men and boys from nearly 950 families served on land and at sea during the American Revolution.
Less well known is the story of Marblehead’s Loyalists. Of those roughly 950 families, only about a dozen heads of households can be identified as Loyalists during and after 1775, and all left town. Ten years later and after the war, however, half had returned.
In this illustrated talk, architectural and social historian Judy Anderson of Marblehead Architecture Heritage will share some of their stories and showcase their homes. Some still stand, including one now located in Washington, DC. Others are gone, but each has a compelling story to tell.
Judy Anderson (MarbleheadArchitecture@gmail.com) is an architectural, cultural, and social historian who has spoken about Marblehead for more than 30 years through illustrated presentations, public programs, and public walking tours. After a ten-year career in art museums in Los Angeles followed by grad school and a year at the MFA Boston, she became the first year-round staff person and administrative director at the Marblehead Museum (formerly Historical Society). For a decade there, she was privileged to serve as the only specifically designated curator of its exceptional Colonel Jeremiah Lee Mansion, writing grants for and managing preservation projects, then (once she became independent) writing a book about the Mansion’s superlative original 1760s English hand-painted wall murals on paper. She enjoys relating aspects of Marblehead’s compelling history during the colonial and early national periods (some familiar, much of it not) and its fascinating social history (especially women, children, and the human aspects of historical figures), along with its sophisticated 18th-century furniture craftsmanship and patronage, its surprising portraiture (which features two dozen portraits of Marbleheaders by John Singleton Copley), and its remarkable early architecture (which includes around 300 houses surviving of the 519 that stood in 1765). She has spoken at a few dozen museums and cultural organizations up and down the Atlantic seaboard and elsewhere and has brought the superlative Lee Mansion and Marblehead to prominent symposia, including the Charleston [South Carolina] Art and Antiques Forum, the Colonial Williamsburg Antiques Forum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Oxen and the Revolution: How Four Hooves and a Set of Horns Helped Forge a Nation (1775–1781)
March 17, 1776. Cannons roar from atop Dorchester Heights, a tall, windy hill overlooking Boston Harbor. These cannons are from Fort Ticonderoga, over 200 miles away. Colonel Henry Knox has just accomplished one of the greatest logistical feats in military history: moving 59 cannons from upstate New York to Boston Harbor in only four months, through ice, snow and mud. Further, these animals worked tirelessly following an army for over 400 miles to win the single most important battle of the war: Yorktown. It was oxen who carved a path through the American War of Independence, keeping the armies clothed, fed, and armed. Learn about oxen themselves; the terminology, anatomy, and science behind these amazing animals; and follow them from the very beginning at Lexington to the final act at Yorktown.
Owen Laurenzo has always been interested in the American and French Revolutionary Wars, as well as animal husbandry and training. He has two pairs of oxen, who he raised and trained almost entirely on his own. He has been involved with 4H for eight years and has been re-enacting since 2023. He and his father work closely with Fort Ticonderoga and followed the 250th anniversary celebrations of Henry Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery this winter. Their oxen pulled the cannon at nine events starting in Fort Ticonderoga, New York, all the way though to Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts. They strive to be historically accurate using the same methods and tools that were used during the late 1700s and navigating the harsh temperatures of winter. It was invaluable to experience a fraction of the challenges that were faced during the original Knox Train Event.
Park Street: A Mirror of Boston for Centuries
Park Street has overlooked Boston Common, the country’s oldest public park, for almost four centuries. This illustrated talk will show how Park Street changed to echo the people and architecture of each era. The Granary, Almshouse, Workhouse, and Bridewell (jail) of the early period became private homes and Park Street Church in the 19th century and transformed again for our time.
Rose A. Doherty is a board member The Pursuit of History, Honorary Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, member of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, and enthusiastic tour leader for the Friends of the Public Garden and Gibbs in Back Bay. Rose was academic dean and later chair of the board of trustees of Gibbs College. She is the author of Katharine Gibbs: Beyond White Gloves, the first book-length study of the world-famous institution.
Paul Revere: Messenger Boy Turned Industrial Entrepreneur
Almost everyone knows about Paul Revere’s midnight ride, but less discussed is Revere’s role during the Revolution as a man always on the go. The American revolutionaries sent Paul from Massachusetts to New York, to Philadelphia, to New Hampshire, to Hartford, back to Philadelphia, and so on. At one point, apparently because Paul had a head for machines, he was asked to visit a gunpowder mill in Pennsylvania and then replicate it on the Neponset River in Massachusetts. He did it, and that success sparked something. When his church needed a new bell, Revere decided he should be a bell maker. When the USS Constitution needed copper sheathing, he decided to open a copper rolling mill. Paul Revere never won a major battle, or election to high office. But his revolutionary experience transformed him from a small-time silversmith to an industrial entrepreneur.
John Morton, PhD, is the Executive Director of the Paul Revere Museum of Discovery and Innovation (MoDI, paulreveremuseum.org) in Canton, Massachusetts. Before becoming director of the MoDI, John was a visiting professor at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and at Boston College. Before becoming a professor he worked at the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington, Massachusetts; at the Astors’s Beechwood Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island; and at the Central Park Zoo. He studied history at Boston College, UMass Amherst, and the University of Vermont. His published research focuses on New England and Atlantic Canada in the years after the American Revolution, and he serves as a councilor on the Middle Atlantic and New England Council for Canadian Studies.
Politics & Public Health, 1918: The Great War Meets the Great Influenza
America was founded on the principle of liberty, yet, as citizens, we are sometimes called upon to sacrifice for the government. Public Health mandates individual behaviors to benefit the population. In 1918 the United States prepared to enter World War I (the War to End All Wars) just as history’s most devastating influenza pandemic began its spread. How did Americans respond? What priorities did the government have? We will explore culture, mandates and details of what played out to put both government and public health into perspective.
Dr. B. Dale Magee, MD, (nehms.org) is a retired physician whose career has included public health and public policy as well as clinical practice. He has maintained a career long interest in the history of medicine and in 2025 began the New England History of Medicine Society with the aim of providing interesting content for both clinicians and the interested public. (You are welcome to join!) He has served as Commissioner of Public Health for the City of Worcester, chair of the Worcester Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force, Chair of the Massachusetts Medical Society’s health policy committee and president of both the Massachusetts and Worcester Medical Societies. He was also elected to four terms on the Shrewsbury School Committee, bringing a physician’s perspective to the school system.
Printing Revolution: Declaration Edition
This presentation will take a look at both the development of the printing press, printing technologies, and what was being printed considered “revolutionary,” with an emphasis on the legal and publication battles fought for the ideas of Freedom of the Press and Free Speech as it unfolded between the American Colonies and England, culminating with the printing of the Declaration of Independence.
Andy Volpe is an artist, printer, and living history presenter based in Worcester, Massachusetts. In addition to studying intaglio/copperplate printing from 1450–1800, he works with the Museum of Printing (museumofprinting.org) in Haverhill, Massachusetts, giving presentations, tours and demonstrations, and with the Printing Office of Edes & Gill (edesandgill.org) in Boston where he replicates engravings of Paul Revere. He can also be found giving arms and armor presentations at the Worcester Art Museum.
Quaker Girl Takes Washington’s Center Stage: The Influence of Dolley Madison
Stroll through the social and political swirl of post-Revolution America! Your escort will be Dolley Madison, the Quaker child who transformed herself into one of America’s most powerful First Ladies. Discover how this patriot used her charm, wit, and resourcefulness to unite our country and influence it socially and politically. The centerpiece of Washington’s high society and icon of graciousness, Dolley leveraged the social norms for women to reform Washington politicians, introduce women into the politics of the day, and earn the respect of the military and civilian populations. Come learn the extraordinary story behind the life of a first lady you know by name and find out about some of the ways she sculpted America’s evolution.
Janet Parnes (women-history.com, LadiesTell@gmail.com) has been whisking overlooked American heroines out of History’s dusty archives and bringing them to life for 20 years. Her portrayals transport audiences into the Colonial, Federalist, Victorian, and World-War eras. Through her company, Historical Portrayals by Lady J, Millis (women-history.com), Janet brings to life ladies that include “Presidentress” Dolley Madison, Massachusetts Revolutionary War heroine Deborah Sampson, the force behind FDR’s New Deal, Miss Frances Perkins, as well as other influential foremothers. Janet has performed at History Camp Boston, the Massachusetts State House, and John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum as well as museums, libraries, senior centers, schools, and historical societies across New England. Janet’s media appearances include the Boston Globe, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Metro West Daily News, Patriot Ledger, and Calling History podcast.
Race & Brutality in the Neutral Ground: Colonel Christopher Greene and the 1st Rhode Island Regiment at Pines Bridge, May 14, 1781
In the wake of the battles around New York City in 1776, the British army assumed the role of an occupying force in the city, while the troops of the Continental Army’s Highland department and supporting militia established a series of posts along the Hudson River line. Between these two forces sat the Neutral Ground. The first part of this session, conducted by Ben Powers, explores the Neutral Ground of Westchester County, New York and the conduct of partisan warfare between Patriot forces and Loyalist irregulars during the American Revolution. The Neutral Ground was contested terrain, with both armies vying for supplies, forage and support among the region’s farms and inhabitants. Partisan troops thrived in this environment, scouting and raiding in support of regular forces. Among the most active of these bands were the Loyalist irregulars operating under the command of James DeLancey, known colloquially as “Cowboys”, due to their propensity for stealing livestock. By 1781, De Lancey’s men had developed a reputation as particularly effective and brutal marauders, which culminated in their attack on Continental Army positions at a place known as Pine’s Bridge.
The second part of this session, led by Bjorn Bruckshaw, focuses on Colonel Christopher Greene, cousin of the more famous General Nathaniel Greene, and his role leading the Continental troops at Pine’s Bridge. Greene began his military career during the siege of Boston, and saw subsequent combat during the assault on Quebec, in the Philadelphia Campaign, and at the Battle of Rhode Island. Greene ultimately commanded the First Rhode Island Regiment, an integrated infantry unit with a high percentage of African American and Native American troops, who earned an enviable reputation for combat effectiveness. By May 1781, Greene and the First Rhode Island Regiment were serving as a screening force for crossings of the Croton River in the highlands of New York.
In that role, they detained a suspected loyalist who was affronted at being guarded by African American soldiers. Partially in revenge for this perceived slight, DeLancey’s Loyalist staged a raid on Greene’s headquarters, infamous for its violence, during which Greene lost his life. This session addresses the tactical aspects of the engagement, Colonel Greene’s final moments, and how the battle is commemorated today.
Together, these presentations reveal a lesser-known aspect of the American Revolution and highlight how the people experienced the war at the small unit level, divorced from the conflict’s larger, better-known campaigns.
Ben Powers, MA, (@TheCommandersVoiceAATW), resides in Texas with his wife, K.C., and four children, Arthur, Michaela, Emma, and Jordan. Ben is a retired Army officer, author, YouTuber, and President of the Board of Directors of the American Veterans Archaeological Recovery Project (americanveteransarchaeology.org/saratoga-battlefield).
Bjorn Bruckshaw (@RogueIsland) is an independent historian of the American Revolution and host of the YouTube Channel Rogue Island. As a combat infantryman and Purple Heart recipient, he brings an understanding of terrain, tactics and the psychology of combat to his analysis of battles and campaigns. Bjorn has written for the Journal of the American Revolution and the Emerging Revolutionary War Blog and has participated in field work at Saratoga’s Barber Wheatfield. He resides in New Hampshire with his daughter Grace.
Reconstructing the Spoken Word of the 18th Century through the Adams Letters and Language
The letters between John and Abigail Adams survive as one of the most comprehensive records of day-to-day life as well as political events during the Revolution and Early Federal period. But while there have been many different scholarly examinations of the Adams’s lives, we may be tempted to view their correspondence as passive, static documents to be studied in silence and isolation. At the time they were written, however, reading letters was a communal act. The entire household gathered around, listening eagerly to all the news and gossip from their loved one. Indeed, during the time of the American Revolution, much news and information would have been received orally, whether it was listening to a personal letter, hearing a broadside in the local tavern, or engaging in a conversation on the street. What would it have been like to listen in on one of those moments? Without audio recordings how could we possibly even know? Join Abigail Adams interpreter Sarah Walsh and historical dialect coach Christopher S. Davis in a live recording session of “Adams Letters and Language: A Revolutionary, Elocutionary Podcast”. They will present the evidence for our understanding of historical speech; explore the artistic elements that go into this work; and discuss how reconstructing the voices of the past can help us more deeply connect to our forebears. Part presentation, part discussion this session promises to be a unique experience as we lift the words of John and Abigail’s letters off the page and into your ears.
Sarah Walsh (@pins.abigail) is a librarian and educator who became involved in living history thanks to theater. In 2015, she took on the role of Abigail Adams in the first fully staged production of 1776 that had a cast of only women and nonbinary actors. A year later, Walsh was invited to portray Abigail with an 18th century re-enactment group and launched into studying Abigail’s life and letters in earnest. Having learned machine sewing from her mother at age 10, she is now using historical clothing construction techniques and skills to create a wardrobe spanning the years of Abigail’s life.
Christopher S. Davis (@voicingthepast) has more than 12 years of experience as a dialect coach, in addition to being an actor and historical interpreter. He specializes in speech and accent coaching for historical performers, focusing his efforts on spoken English in the era from about 1500 up to the early-1900s. Christopher is a member of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and the American Dialect Society, and he is pursuing certification in Knight-Thompson Speechwork. Christopher also researches and interprets civilian New England life during the 1770s and has a particular passion for the Boston Tea Party.
Remembering 1918: Stories from an Epidemic
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Growing up, Patricia Fanning heard only one story about her grandmother: that she had died in the 1918 influenza epidemic at the age of 38, leaving behind a husband and five small children. Years later, casting about for a dissertation topic, she was inspired by this tale to research that epidemic in Norwood, Massachusetts. While the academic, archival, and newspaper research was enlightening, it was the interviews with survivors and others who had family stories about the outbreak and its aftermath that illuminated the experience of the epidemic and gave shape and significance to her study. As it turned out, Norwood made an excellent case study of how and why a community responds to an epidemic as it does, and Fanning’s work was subsequently published in Influenza and Inequality: One Town’s Tragic Response to the Great Epidemic of 1918. But it’s the people, their memories, and their willingness to share their family stories that haunt the imagination. This session will focus on those conversations and the rewards of gathering, at long last, forgotten or ignored accounts of this tragic episode.
Patricia J. Fanning, PhD, (pfanning@bridgew.edu) is a public historian and Professor of Sociology Emeritus at Bridgewater State University. A lifelong resident of Norwood, Massachusetts, she is a long-time member and former president of the Norwood Historical Society. She has written extensively on the life, times, and associates of F. Holland Day (1864–1933), a pioneer pictorial photographer, whose home is the current headquarters of the Society, and on various aspects of Norwood’s history. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of and enthusiasm for local history with public school students and the general public.
Revolutionary Revelation: Identifying Revolutionary War KIAs using Forensic Genealogy
In 2022, fourteen soldiers from the Battle of Camden on August 16th, 1780, were exhumed from the battlefield and reburied with full military honors. The archaeology offered many clues about how these soldiers lived and died, but not their names. Groundbreaking DNA science and expert genealogy have unlocked many tantalizing DNA clues about their identities… and maybe even their names.
Stacey Ferguson (historiccamden.org, stacey@historiccamden.org, Facebook: Historic Camden Foundation) is the Deputy Director and Battlefield Manager for the Historic Camden Foundation in Camden, South Carolina. She is also an Archaeological Field Technician with American Veterans Archaeological Recovery, participating in conflict archaeology projects at Revolutionary War sites. Stacey is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, with a 24-year career in aircraft maintenance. She has appeared on shows on PBS, CBS, and NBC and will be featured in an upcoming episode of Secrets of the Dead on PBS, airing Fall 2026. She shares her passion for history with the public on topics such as Nathanael Greene and the Southern Campaign, the Battle of Camden, and Camden Burials.
Revolutionary Spin: How PR Shaped the American Revolution
As America marks its 250th anniversary, much has been written about the battles, personalities, and politics that gave birth to a nation. In Revolutionary Spin, communications strategist Julie Hall looks at the Revolution through a different lens: public relations. She argues that the American Revolution was perhaps the greatest PR campaign ever waged—a masterclass in shaping public opinion, creating powerful symbols, mobilizing supporters, and turning ideas into action. Drawing on her 30-year career advising global companies, organizations, and causes, Hall explores how the revolutionaries used many of the same communications strategies we recognize today—and how storytelling helped turn a rebellion into a revolution.
Hall will also bring history off the page with two extraordinary original artifacts on loan for History Camp that recently arrived in Boston via the Tall Ship Eagle and were on display in The Boston Globe: A July 22, 1776 edition of the Boston Gazette, which helps illuminate her chapter on the Declaration of Independence as “the greatest global press release ever written,” and an original letter written by John Hancock. Attendees are invited to see these remarkable pieces firsthand and consider the Revolution not simply as history, but as a communications campaign unfolding in real time.
Julie Hall is a communications strategist whose 30-year career in public relations has included advising CEOs and telling stories for some of the world’s best-known brands, including Coca-Cola, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, Hasbro, Crayola, and leading healthcare and life sciences companies. An American history major in college specializing in Colonial America, Hall lives in the shadow of the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where she serves as President of the Charlestown Historical Society (charlestownhistoricalsociety.org).
Hall is the founder of Bunker Hill 250 (bh250.org) and creator of the Brothers of the Battle of Bunker Hill Descendants Program (charlestownhistoricalsociety.org/about-us), which brought together descendants and uncovered family stories and ephemera connected to those who fought in the battle. That work was recently featured by GBH in its “Revolutionary Roadshow,” showcasing artifacts and family treasures from the descendants program. She is also a board member of the Dr. Joseph Warren Foundation and a member of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, Massachusetts Historical Society, and Boston Athenaeum, and serves on several nonprofit boards.
Revolutionary Spin brings Hall’s two lifelong passions together—American history and the art and science of public relations—to tell the story of the Revolution through a lens unlike any other.
Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the following session was cancelled.
Samuel Parris: Villain, Victim, or…? Yet Another Question Raised by the Salem Witch Trials
Generations of commentators have delighted in depicting the Rev. Samuel Parris as an archvillain, their (sometimes creative) scorn possibly exceeding even the grief of the bereaved families of the women wrongly found guilty and hanged in 1692. What exactly did Parris do during the witch trials–and not do? What was the situation in the Village that resulted in such an avoidable tragedy? And how did Parris spend the rest of his life both before and after the Salem witch trials?
Marilynne K. Roach, (marilynnekroach.com) independent researcher, writer, and illustrator, has delved into the 1692 trials for nearly half a century and still finds new information cropping up in unexpected places. Roach was one of the sub-editors contributing to the definitive Records of the Salem Witch-Hunt, a member of the Gallows Hill Group that verified Proctor’s Ledge as the true location of the 1692 hangings (hailed by Archaeology Magazine as one of the top ten discoveries of 2016), and has authored several articles and books about the Salem Witch Trials including The Salem Witch Trials: a Day-by-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege and Six Women of Salem.
Saving the Revolution: From New York to Princeton, 1776
In the spring of 1776, Congress tasked General George Washington and the newly-created Continental Army with defending New York City against an impending British Invasion. Washington commanded the largest field army he would ever lead during the war, some 25,000 Continentals, provincial troops, and militiamen. In July 1776, over 30,000 British soldiers and German auxiliaries landed on Staten Island. Over the summer, British forces bested the rebellious Americans time after time and pursued them across the Jerseys, into Pennsylvania. The Revolution seemed doomed. On Christmas Day, 1776, the Continentals and Pennsylvania militia struck back. Over the course of ten days, they reversed the course of the Revolution by through victories at Trenton (twice!) and Princeton. They ignited the Forage Wars in New Jersey and forced General Sir William Howe to give up all that his army had taken in New Jersey. Over the course of ten days, Washington and the army saved the Revolution. This talk foregrounds History Camp’s November excursion to Trenton.
Ricardo A. Herrera, PhD, began his career as an armor and cavalry officer in the U.S. Army. He is Senior Historian, George Washington Leadership Institute, George Washington Presidential Library, and Professor Emeritus, U.S. Army War College. An award-winning historian, Rick Herrera is the author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778; For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775–1861; and of numerous articles and essays. His forthcoming book is the tentatively titled, A Most Uncommon Soldier: The Life, Letters, and Journal of Edward Ashley Bowen Phelps, 1814–1893, an edited collection to be published by the University Press of Kansas. A graduate of Marquette University (PhD, 1998) and the University of California, Los Angeles (BA, 1984), Herrera has taught at Mount Union College and Texas Lutheran University.
Searching for Zickery Prince: A Journey through the Archives
In this session, Melissa M. Cybulski will share her journey through archives, databases, and libraries looking for details of the life of Zickery Prince, a man enslaved in 18th Century Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and Simsbury, Connecticut. Zickery’s life can be traced for more than 40 years, through seven owners, two states, and ultimately a Revolutionary War hospital in Fishkill, New York, where he died during his service in the Continental Army.
Melissa M. Cybulski is Vice-President of the Longmeadow Historical Society in Western Massachusetts (longmeadowhistoricalsociety.org). She is a local historian, museum guide at the Emily Dickinson Museum, and consultant for Historic New England’s Witness Stones program. The subject of this presentation, Zickery Prince, will be memorialized with a Witness Stone this year. Melissa presented on the topic of Johnny Appleseed’s Revolutionary Childhood at History Camp 2025.
Seventeenth-Century English Immigrant Motivation and the Making of New England Institutions
This presentation reframes the Great Migration (1620–1640) by showing that religion was only one motivation. Many migrants also left England out of Duty — a belief that the King, gentry, and aristocracy were corrupting the state — and out of a desire for Justice — reacting to Crown‑controlled courts and uneven legal protections. These concerns shaped how settlers imagined a fairer society in New England. While early colonists could be autocratic, they also attempted to build systems that were more equitable than what they had known in England. To understand New England governance, law, and religion, we must look back at English political tensions that later erupted in the Civil War, the Commonwealth, and the republican experiments of the 1650s. The Migration didn’t cause these conflicts, but the same forces that pushed people to New England also influenced England’s own political evolution. Using Neighbor History examples from New England and Hampton, New Hampshire, this talk explores how Faith, Duty, and Justice shaped both the immigrant experience and the development of local institutions.
John Cass (neighborhistory.substack.com) has been a family historian since the 1980s, researching history in the UK, the west coast, and New England. He has presented at previous Boston History camps and at Historical Society Meetings.
Shays’s Rebellion: Reclaiming the Revolution
Shays’s Rebellion presents an uncomfortable chapter in our history. How do we account for an armed insurrection against the state in the cradle of the American Revolution? We will take a new look at this tumultuous period by focusing on the experiences of three men from Williamsburg, Massachusetts. All three were made prisoners of debt just before the Rebellion while Williamsburg lay at the epicenter of the troubles. The picture we get of the alarming situation in the 1780s offers some surprising answers to questions that go to the heart of who we are as a nation.
Tom Goldscheider, MA, (tomgoldscheider.net) earned his Masters degree in History at UMass Amherst with a concentration in the Colonial Period. He is a public historian who has published and lectured on Shays’s Rebellion and labor unions in Greenfield. He co-produced a radio special that broadcasts on NPR stations across the country. He is the Education Coordinator at the David Ruggles Center for History and Education.
Sleuthing the “Crime of the Century,” the 1910 Bombing of the Los Angeles Times: A Bomb Detective’s Perspective
In the late afternoon of September 30, 1910, James Barnabus (JB) McNamara left his downtown Los Angeles hotel on a mission to plant bombs. It was supposed to be just another night of bombings. Carrying a suitcase holding three time-delay bombs, or “infernal devices,” he walked through downtown streets to the Los Angeles Times, and his one of the bombs in Ink Alley, and set the timer for 1am. He then hid identical bombs outside the homes of Los Angeles Times publisher General Harrison Gray Otis, and Felix Zeehandelaar, a close ally of General Otis. The bombings were part of a years-long, nationwide campaign of industrial sabotage and terror, spearheaded by radical and conspiratorial elements within the national labor movement. Their goal was to wage war on union-resistant Los Angeles. Confident that the three bombs would explode long after he had left the city, he boarded an evening train to San Francisco. Shortly after 1am, October 1, 1910, with his train traveling north, a powerful explosion, and inferno which ripped through the Los Angeles Times building, destroying much of the building, killing twenty-one employees, and causing scores of injuries. Thanks to some determined, and often fractured investigative work, a year-long nationwide manhunt resulted in the arrest, trial and conviction of dozens of bombing co-conspirators — including senior executives within the labor movement. In this presentation, Mike Digby, a 43-year veteran bomb detective, will discuss the so-called National Dynamite Plot from its origins to its demise, focusing on the bombers, the conspirators, the bombs, and the investigators, examining why this case became known as “The Trial of the Century.”
Michael Digby retired after seven years in the U.S. Army, followed by a 44-year law enforcement career in Los Angeles where he spent the majority of his time as a detective, FBI certified bomb technician, and instructor in the disciplines of bombs, bombers, and bombings. A native of Manchester, Massachusetts, Mike has used the events of the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times in his training of bomb detectives and technicians.
Stopping to Witness History: How Micro-Monuments Inspire Human Connection
What does it mean to remember someone history forgot? Physical markers — plaques, monuments, and public art installations — offer powerful opportunities to reconnect communities with the past. The staff of Stopping Stones (stoppingstones.org), a national public art and education initiative, share their experience creating commemorations at sites of enslavement, labor, and worship across the country. In this session, they explore how honoring forgotten lives in stone and steel can restore the humanity of enslaved Americans and open unexpected pathways to racial healing today.
Mikayla Harden, MA, holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Delaware and is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Delaware, where her research focuses on the lives of enslaved Black children in 18th-century New York. Before joining Historic New England, she served as a leadership consultant with a Black maternal health organization, where she advanced equity-driven initiatives.
Pat Wilson Pheanious, JD, MSSW, a Connecticut native, social worker and attorney, has served as Commissioner of Social Services and as a State Representative (2018–2021). In 2017, research by the founder of the Witness Stones Project uncovered five generations of her enslaved ancestors, reshaping her life and inspiring her leadership. She became the Project’s founding Board Chair in 2019 and Executive Director in 2024. Pat now leads the Stopping Stone’s national effort to engage communities in recovering history and honoring enslaved people, like her own ancestors, who built America and fought for its freedom before securing their own.
Liz Lightfoot is a Connecticut resident who serves as School and Youth Program Manager at Stopping Stones. She came to Historic New England from the Witness Stones Project, where, as operations manager, she worked with schools and community groups to restore the history and honor the humanity of enslaved individuals who helped build their communities. At Stopping Stones, she continues to use the Witness Stones Project’s award-winning curriculum to help others engage in deep explorations of historical records with a goal of remembering and celebrating individuals their community had forgotten. A journalist-turned-educator, Liz has spent her career working for news organizations, schools, and non-profits. The Witness Stones curriculum speaks to her two greatest interests: bringing to light unknown or no longer remembered stories and engaging students in meaningful, hands-on learning that enables them to see the world, and their role in it, in new ways. Liz has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard in English and American Literature and a masters in Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Stories of the Signatures
Two hundred fifty years ago this month (and one month after they voted to declare independence), members of the Continental Congress put their signatures on a handwritten copy of their Declaration. That document then went into the files, and few Americans saw it for years. Today we can all picture the Declaration of Independence and its signatures, though the original has faded to illegibility. This talk explores selected stories about those signatures. Who at the Congress was among the first to sign yet his signature doesn’t appear today? Who helped draft the Declaration but never signed it? Which man was the last to sign, and how do we know? Which anecdotes about the signing are legends, and which did the Signers tell themselves? Plus, the handprint that mysteriously appeared on the document.
J. L. Bell (boston1775.blogspot.com) is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War, the National Park Service report “Gen. George Washington’s Home and Headquarters — Cambridge, Massachusetts,” and numerous articles. He maintains the Boston 1775 website, offering daily postings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about Revolutionary New England.
Telling Complex & Hard Histories: Interpreting Slavery at Small Historic Sites
How do small historic sites responsibly interpret histories of enslavement — especially when records are limited and the stories are difficult to tell/interpret? Join moderator Jake Sconyers, host of the Hub History podcast, for a panel discussion featuring leaders from Old North Church, King’s Chapel, and the Shirley-Eustis House. Panelists will share how they are uncovering overlooked histories, translating difficult and often painful narratives for public audiences, and building meaningful community engagement. This session will explore both the challenges and opportunities of this work — from archival gaps to public interpretation — and offer practical insights for public history professionals and engaged community members alike. At a moment when institutions are being called to reckon more honestly with the past, this conversation highlights how small sites are playing a critical role in reshaping how we understand our nation’s history.
Nikki Stewart currently serves as the Executive Director of Old North Illuminated (oldnorth.com/about-old-north-illuminated), the nonprofit organization that manages research, interpretation, and preservation at Old North Church Historic Site in Boston’s North End. Since joining the organization in 2020, Stewart has led a transformation in how the site shares history with the public. She has launched major initiatives that broaden historical narratives, including Sparking Revolutions and Illuminating the Unseen, which explore the experiences of Black and Indigenous congregants and challenge simplified interpretations of America’s founding. These efforts earned ONI an Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) in September 2024.
Roeshana Moore-Evans is the Director of the Living Memorial at King’s Chapel (memorial.kings-chapel.org), where she leads public memory, community partnership, and reparative justice efforts in response to the church’s historic ties to enslavement. Since joining in 2025, Moore-Evans has guided the development of a comprehensive framework for repair by advancing initiatives that integrate historical research, public engagement, and institutional accountability. She has led the activation of Unbound: A Memorial to Enslaved Persons at King’s Chapel, expanding its role as both a site of reflection and a catalyst for dialogue, education, and community-based healing. Through her leadership, the Living Memorial is emerging as a model for how historic institutions can engage truthfully with the past while building meaningful pathways toward repair.
Suzy Buchanan is the Executive Director of the Shirley-Eustis House Association (shirleyeustishouse.org) which preserves and interprets the 1747 country seat of Royal Governor William Shirley in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Suzy has spearheaded a reorientation of SEH’s interpretation to focus on various modern legacies of the British colonial period that are manifested in the house’s architecture and its history. Suzy also led the efforts to rescue the former stable of the estate from demolition and its subsequent designation as the first City of Boston Landmark so recognized due to its association with the history of chattel slavery.
The “Industrial Beehive” Takes Shape: Ideas, Innovation, and Enterprise in the Connecticut River Valley 1820–1970
This talk explores 150 years of innovative and collaborative precision manufacturing in the Connecticut River Valley. Springfield was at the approximate center of a prosperous 200-mile industrial corridor between Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Windsor, Vermont. The region benefited from a 1794 decision by Congress to locate a federal armory there. The Armory diffused numerous production techniques to firms that served global markets for tools, fixtures, machinery, molds, rifles, carriages, rail cars, and even built the machines for Henry Ford’s Model T assembly line and Rolls-Royce automobiles. Similar to how Silicon Valley firms worked together in the 1960s and 1970s, acting as a magnet for skills and inventiveness, the 1830s and 1840s collaborations led to the rapid development of metalworking and machinery building. The Armory served as the “Stanford University of the region,” a clearinghouse for new ideas. Thus, the river valley enjoyed a comparative technological advantage through the 1960s and 1970s. This History Camp talk discusses the region’s history based on extensive archival research and first-hand experience.
Robert Forrant, PhD, has been on the University of Massachusetts Lowell history faculty since 1994, teaching labor history and immigration history. Prior to 1994, he worked for nearly 15 years as a machinist and union business agent in Springfield, Massachusetts. His newest book, Where Are the Workers: Interpreting Labor and Working-Class History at Museums and Historic Sites, was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2022. A former member of the Lawrence History Center Board of Directors, in early 2024, he published “‘No Avenging Gibet’: The 1860 Pemberton Mill Collapse” in The New England Quarterly.
The Making of Abolition Acre! A Black Freedom Trail in Boston
Boston is renowned as the cradle of the American Revolution. But it was also the birthplace of another social and political movement that changed America — the movement to end slavery. Last fall, Beacon Hill Scholars (BHS), an all-volunteer Boston nonprofit, launched Abolition Acre! A Black Freedom Trail in Boston. It’s a self-guided tour of 10 downtown abolitionist sites with audio narration available through the website: beaconhillscholars.org. BHS works to uplift the history of the dynamic Black community that existed on Boston’s Beacon Hill in the 19th century and was home to several prominent leaders of the emerging abolitionist movement. As a session participant, you will learn why and how Abolition Acre! was created; sample the trail experience virtually through an audio-visual presentation; and have the opportunity to discuss the practical challenges of creating a walking trail of historic sites.
Peter Snoad is the volunteer Project Coordinator at Beacon Hill Scholars (BHS). He’s a history buff, former journalist, and award-winning playwright. For 23 years before he retired, Peter directed the grantmaking program of a social justice foundation based in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Peter is a co-founder of The David Walker Memorial Project, a BHS initiative focused on the influential Black abolitionist David Walker. Walker is a central character in Peter’s stage play, Raising David Walker, that premiered at Hibernian Hall in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood when he was Visiting Playwright there. Peter is passionate about helping people discover the unvarnished truth about slavery and the genocide against Indigenous peoples in the U.S., the defining role of slavery as the foundation of the national economy, and the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of those who fought to end it.
Christle Rawlins-Jackson is President of Beacon Hill Scholars, an all-volunteer organization working to preserve and uplift the history of the 19th-century Black abolitionists who lived and owned businesses in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. Christle is a fiber and multimedia artist, poet, photographer, and independent researcher. She currently works at the Community Church of Boston as the Communications and Publications Manager. She has exhibited her story quilts and performed her poetry throughout New England. She is a co-founder and vice president of Sisters In Stitches Joined By The Cloth, a quilt guild dedicated to upholding the tradition of African American quilt-making and educating the general public about the rich history of people of color and fabric. Christle earned a BFA, with a concentration in Design and Art History, at UMass Dartmouth. Her work is greatly influenced and inspired by time spent living in Ghana, West Africa where she worked as the Director of Communication at the African University College of Communications, and by her over 30-year odyssey researching her family’s history in New England and Nova Scotia.
Mikayla Harden, MA, volunteers with Beacon Hill Scholars as its Social Media Coordinator. In her professional capacity, she is Assistant Program Director and Researcher of the Stopping Stones Project at Historic New England. Stopping Stones is a public art initiative that honors enslaved Americans by placing permanent markers where they lived and worked. The program encourages dialogue about the history of slavery, racial injustice, and the legacies that shape New England today. Mikayla holds degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Delaware and is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Delaware, where her research focuses on the lives of enslaved Black children in 18th-century New York. Before joining Historic New England, she served as a leadership consultant with a Black maternal health organization, where she advanced equity-driven initiatives.
“The Marines Have Landed…” The Continental Marines and the Birth of the U.S. Marine Corps
The Continental Navy and the Continental Marines forced Britain to look at the American Revolution as something far more serious than a localized rebellion of 13 colonies. Through the landings at New Providence in the Bahamas, Whitehall in Scotland, Whitehaven in England, and constant raids on British shipping, the British government had to accept that this was a global conflict. This presentation will focus on the earliest days of the Continental Marines and show that even in their first actions, the groundwork was laid for their illustrious 250-year history, making them the world’s finest fighting force. Together we will look at their operations, arms, material culture, and contributions to the American War for Independence and how they helped George Washington secure victory during the 10 Crucial Days.
Richard Tucker, MMH, is a Marine Corps veteran, lifelong reenactor of various eras, and accredited historian. Richard holds a BA in U.S. History from Keene State College, and an MA in Military History from Norwich University. He has done historical programming on the Continental Marines for the Tun Tavern Legacy Foundation (USMC 250th) and portrayed Continental Marine Lieutenant James Warren Jr. with the Plymouth Marine Corps League and Celebrate Mercy Otis Warren Society. He is the commanding officer of Baker Company, 21st Marine Regiment (WW2 reenacted) and the NCOIC of the Grenadier Company of His Majesty’s 47th Regiment of Foot (reenacted). He has published several short stories on various topics of the American Revolution and is currently editing his first novel.
The Pursuit of History for America’s 250th
The Pursuit of History is the only organization in the country with a series of programs that covers the entire span of the conflict, from the rebellion in 1774 on through to the Treaty of Paris in 1783. We began the series in 2024 and at History Camp last year announced the entire slate of programs and locations through 2033. In this program we’ll explain the idea behind doing this, how the format of these programs is different than any others we know of, and the key events we’ll cover as we continue through the series of programs. We’ll also describe our plans for The Pursuit of History: The Road to Independence in Philadelphia (September 18–20) and The Pursuit of History: The British Empire Strikes Back in Trenton (November 6–8). The Philadelphia program is similar to what we did in April. The Trenton program will cover the military and political actions after the signing of the Declaration on through the crossing of the Delaware and the attack on Trenton. And we’ll look ahead to The Pursuit of History: The Challenges of Independence in Quincy in Spring 2027 and beyond.
John Bell is the program director for the series and he has asked Rick Herrera to join us in Trenton to cover the military actions, which were numerous.
Ricardo A. Herrera, PhD, began his career as an armor and cavalry officer in the U.S. Army. He is Senior Historian, George Washington Leadership Institute, George Washington Presidential Library, and Professor Emeritus, U.S. Army War College. An award-winning historian, Rick Herrera is the author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778; For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775–1861; and of numerous articles and essays. His forthcoming book is the tentatively titled, A Most Uncommon Soldier: The Life, Letters, and Journal of Edward Ashley Bowen Phelps, 1814–1893, an edited collection to be published by the University Press of Kansas. A graduate of Marquette University (PhD, 1998) and the University of California, Los Angeles (BA, 1984), Herrera has taught at Mount Union College and Texas Lutheran University.
The Trial of Lizzie Borden: Whacks and Hacks
This case presents one of America’s most notorious and enduring murder mysteries. When Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally hacked to death in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892, the arrest of the couple’s younger daughter Lizzie turned the case into international news and her murder trial into a spectacle unparalleled in American history. Reporters flocked to the scene. Well-known columnists took up conspicuous seats in the courtroom. The defendant was relentlessly scrutinized for signs of guilt or innocence. Everyone — rich and poor, suffragists and social conservatives, legal scholars, and laypeople — had an opinion about Lizzie Borden’s guilt or innocence. Was she a cold-blooded murderess or an unjustly persecuted lady? Did she, or didn’t she?
An essential piece of American mythology, the popular fascination with the Borden murders has endured for well over a century. Told and retold in every conceivable genre, the murders have secured a place in the American pantheon of mythic horror. The trial of Lizzie Borden offers a window into America in the Gilded Age.
Justice Dennis J. Curran (Retired) (judgedenniscurran.com) is a graduate of Boston Latin School, the University of Pennsylvania (BA and MA), and the University of Virginia Law School. He served as a Massachusetts trial judge for 15 years. He has received four statewide awards for judicial excellence. He is a popular and engaging lecturer who was recently featured on a history panel broadcast on C-SPAN 2, and has lectured extensively before historical and educational groups, public libraries, senior groups, attorneys, and fellow judges. He has had a lifelong passion for history. He was elected a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a member of the Board of Advisors of the nationally-respected Lincoln Forum, and has been contracted to give enrichment lectures for luxury cruise lines internationally. Justice Curran’s present passion is teaching. He has served as a Professor of the Practice at Tufts University, taught law at the Roger Williams School of Law, and annually teaches at Brown University’s summer program.
The True Story of The Woman Hobo: Separating Fact from Fiction in a 1908 Travelogue
In 1908, a pair of newlyweds find themselves unemployed, ill and living in a vermin-infested flophouse in Chicago, where they had fled after the San Francisco earthquake. The young bride trades their last belongings for a green tandem bicycle and persuades her husband to ride 2,000 miles back to their hometown in sunny California. She keeps a journal about their trip and the people who help (or hinder) them along the way. In 1917, The Adventures of a Woman Hobo by Ethel Lynn was published by George H. Doran Company. It is an engaging, amusing and sometimes heart-wrenching memoir about the couple’s cross-country trip by tandem bicycle, horse-drawn wagon, and train boxcar. Evidence suggests that it is also largely fabricated. Join historian and writer Heather Cole as she shares both highlights from Ethel Lynn’s book and her own adventures uncovering the truth behind the fascinating story of “The Woman Hobo.”
Heather Cole, MA, (heatherscole.com, heatherscole@rocketmail.com) is a writer and historian living in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She is author of several local history books and runs Rock Street Press, a small publishing company that specializes in family history and biography. Her day job is as editor and director of media relations for Bridgewater College in Virginia.
The United States Navy in the American Gilded Age (1878–1898): From Rotting Relic to Herald of Empire
Lately, much has been made of the American “Gilded Age.” Without doubt, it was a time of impressive personal wealth generation, technological and industrial experimentation, and sweeping social change. Most standards of society, and national power, experienced an unprecedented rate of evolution, and the American military was generally not immune to rapid shifts in technical and tactical capability and priority. Dependent as it was upon technological innovation, in fewer than twenty years the United States Navy transformed itself from a coastal defense force of laughable global concern to a far-ranging maritime force able to impose American political will on maritime empires that had sustained European influence around the world for four centuries. This presentation intends to clearly illuminate the specific character of Gilded Age politics and technology that re-engineered the United States Navy from a bygone relic of the American Civil War into the first herald of the American empire without which the modern character and form of our nation would be unrecognizable today.
Steve Parode, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Retired), BA, MA, retired from the United States Navy as a Rear Admiral in 2020. His career focused upon technical intelligence and defense acquisition, and by a happy coincidence, he was the last Flag Officer of the United States Navy to have served aboard the last commissioned Battleship of the United States Navy, USS Wisconsin (BB-64). In fact, he was the last Line Officer to transfer control of that storied ship to her temporary keepers at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1991. As his children are too eager to describe, Steve also features in the museum dedicated to that Last Battleship in Norfolk, Virginia. After Steve enjoyed the privilege of uniformed service for more than 34 years, he re-joined the Navy as a civilian executive in 2022 and remains in the service of the Chief of Naval Operations. A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles and Georgetown University, and a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, Steve has always had a deep interest in the relationship of American (and global) history to the present American condition, and he is eager to share his perspective on the role of maritime power in creating and sustaining the global vision of our United States.
The Unknown Musician — An Inquiry into the Origin of “Taps”
In July 1862, after the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign, Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield and bugler Oliver W. Norton collaborated to transform an existing bugle call into what became “Taps,” which was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1891. The story of the origin of the famous bugle call “Taps” is fully described by the historian Jari Villanueva on his website TapsBugler (tapsbugler.com). However, there is no contemporaneous account of the development of “Taps.”
It is not mentioned in either of Butterfield’s or Norton’s memoirs, and the story as related by Villanueva came about after an exchange of letters from Butterfield and Norton with the editor of the Century magazine, which had attributed the origin of the call to a different source — in August 1898, 36 years after the event. These discrepancies and the long interval between the events and its now-accepted description create an opportunity to tell a slightly different story, with a new character who may have contributed materially and significantly to the development of “Taps”: a third participant, an Unknown Musician.
Tom Mannle, Jr.; BS; MPA; Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired); is a retired Army officer, an expert in the human capital requirements of new technology, a healthcare consultant specializing in market analysis and planning for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and an avid family genealogist.
Timothy A. Wray; BS; MA; MMAS; JD; Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired); is a USMA graduate with an MA in history, he taught military history at West Point and did a one-year fellowship at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs. Upon retiring, he obtained a JD and was a government attorney until his “second retirement” in 2019.
Thirty Days hath September… Except When it Doesn’t
We all know the old mnemonic device: thirty days hath September, April, June, and November, but what if September suddenly had only nineteen days? That’s exactly what Boston experienced in 1752, when the town went to bed on September 2nd and woke up on the 14th. It sounds like something that would have a supernatural explanation, like a mass alien abduction, or maybe something contaminated the water supply to make the entire town go into a brief coma, but the real explanation is more pedestrian. Almost two centuries after most of Europe switched to a new calendar system, the British Empire was following suit, including overseas colonies like Massachusetts. How did Bostonians adapt to the change? Were they as confused as I would be if my calendar suddenly changed? Is there any truth to the rumor that Bostonians rioted, demanding their 11 days back? How did the generation that lived through the change remember key dates like their birthdays after the switch?
Jake Sconyers (jake@HUBhistory.com) hosts the HUB History podcast (HUBhistory.com, @HUBhistory.com on Bluesky), a show about Boston history that goes far beyond the Freedom Trail. With more than 350 episodes, HUB History celebrates its tenth anniversary this October. Jake has also been a Back Bay tour guide in Boston, a docent at Roxbury’s Shirley-Eustis House, and producer of a new podcast series from Queer History Boston.
Transformation of the Charlestown Territory in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1629 to 1800
In 1629, Puritans arrived in the Mishawum Peninsula, named it Charlestown, and declared it the first capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1640, they claimed 78 square miles of territory beyond the peninsula (now 11 towns west and north of Boston), which had been home to Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years. Puritans transformed the territory into a cultivated landscape that mirrored English society. They privatized land and marked woodlots with stone walls, giving the largest lots to wealthy men. They used timber from the woodlots to fuel the brickmaking, shipbuilding, and rum-distilling industries, and used local quarried stone for building foundations, walls, and roadbeds. Enslaved labor, acquired through transatlantic trade, supported these activities and markets. Today the Charlestown woodlots are preserved in the Middlesex Fells Reservation just north of Boston, but beyond the park’s trails and wooded vistas lie deeper stories of Indigenous communities and colonial transformation.
Alison Simcox, BA, BS, MS, PhD, is an Environmental Scientist and Writer. She worked at the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for more than 30 years protecting water and air resources. In 1998, she was the second woman to receive a doctorate in Engineering from Tufts University. She is on the Board of Directors of the Saugus River Watershed Council and is a member of Friends of the Middlesex Fells. She is the co-author with Douglas Heath of six books and two trail guides of local history in the Boston area.
Douglas Heath, BS, MS, is a Hydrogeologist and History Researcher. A U.S. Navy veteran, he worked for 30 years at the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency protecting water supplies in New England. He is a Certified Interpretive Guide for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and leads history walks for Friends of the Middlesex Fells. He is also Vice President of the Saugus River Watershed Council. He is the co-author with Alison Simcox of six books and two trail guides of local history in the Boston area.
Transforming Dark Tourism Sites Into Cultural Hubs Through the Lens of Medfield State Hospital
Weaving between the condemned buildings of Medfield State Hospital, visitors traverse the same paths those who lived with mental illness once did in the late 19th century. The staff and patients of the psychiatric facility have long departed the expansive campus leaving behind only memories and condemned brick buildings. Under a new historic rehabilitation plan, Medfield State Hospital is unbarring the asylum to the public by repurposing the former wards into housing units and a cultural hub for artists.
The proposed rehabilitation of the hospital’s historic structures envisions a promising future for the former State Hospital Complex. By understanding the implications and ethical criteria for transforming dark tourism sites into cultural hubs from a cultural heritage resource management perspective, we learn that it is not always appropriate to preserve sites of tragedy in their original state simply for the sake of dark tourism and the dark tourist experience. Rehabilitation treatment plans can enhance the visitor experience at these sites while maintaining the historic integrity of the site. Through positive transformations of dark tourism sites that meet my proposed ethical criteria, communities can be built around culture, art, and history without forgetting or ignoring the victims of traumatic historic events that occurred in these spaces.
Emma Bickford, MA, (efbickford@gmail.com) holds a Masters in Museum Studies from Johns Hopkins University and Bachelors in History and Marketing from Saint Anselm College. With a lifelong interest in all things macabre, Emma’s independent research focus is dark tourism as it relates to historic psychiatric hospitals and sites of historical crime. Her educational background focuses on how historic sites and cultural landscapes are represented, imagined, and transformed for public access, use, and tourism.
Walking Cape Cod’s Hidden History: from the American Revolution to the Kennedy/Civil Rights Era
As we celebrate 250 years of the birth of the United States, the role of women and people of color in historical events and eras has been under-represented but are often hiding in plain sight. This session takes you on a virtual “walk” through the towns on Cape Cod to find the hidden history of women and people of color (Wampanoags, Cape Verdeans, African Americans) who helped shape the history of the Cape, Massachusetts, and our country. Some of the figures we will hear about include Mercy Otis Warren (the revolution and our constitution), Rachel Carson (the environment), Kathy Lee Bates (America the Beautiful); the role of women in the Wampaoag culture; Women at Sea and connections to the institution of slavery; Civil Rights era leaders including those who founded the NAACP on the Cape; Women Suffragettes and Women Ministers; Women artists and poets; LGBTQ leaders and artists. This will be a fast paced, inclusive approach to looking at history right where we live and sharing how to create a walking historical tour of your own.
Peggy Jablonski, EdD, (Jablonskiconsultinggroup.com) continues to serve higher education as a consultant and executive coach after a career of 40 years in administration including Dean or Vice President roles at MIT, Brown, UConn and UNC Chapel Hill. An American History major from UMass Amherst, Peggy has visited historical sites around the northeast, and across the South to pursue an interest in social justice, race relations, women’s history, and the American Revolution. During the summer of 2020, Peggy walked through every town on Cape Cod looking for “hidden history” particularly related to women and people of color.
Her walks led to the creation of the Cape Cod Camino Way walks, where she leads participants in the summer on historically accurate, social justice themed walks on Cape Cod. The author of the book Cape Cod Camino Way: Walking with a Purpose was published in 2021. Peggy serves on the board of the JFK Museum in Hyannis and is a member of the Brewster Historical Society and the Naples [Florida] Historical Society. She has presented more than 30 sessions on the hidden history of Cape Cod at libraries, historical societies, and conferences. Peggy’s goal is to make hidden or forgotten history come alive to enrich our understanding of the past.
Who Was Agent 355? Women, Espionage, and the Culper Ring in the American Revolution
In 1779, Culper spy Abraham Woodhull wrote of a mysterious woman — code-named 355 — whom he believed could “outwit them all.” Nearly 250 years later, her identity remains one of the American Revolution’s most tantalizing unsolved mysteries. Who was she? Three women stand out as candidates: Sally Townsend, Elizabeth Burgin, and Margaret Moncrieffe — each with undeniable ties to Washington’s Spy Ring, each with a compelling case. In this session, Kit Sergeant, author of 355: The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring, will untangle the documented evidence, the later claims, and the fascinating limits of what we can actually prove. Along the way, familiar names from Hamilton and AMC’s TURN — Aaron Burr, Robert Townsend, John André, and others — will make appearances in a story that is equal parts espionage thriller and forgotten women’s history.
Kit Sergeant (kitsergeant.com, @kitsergeant, Facebook: Kit Sergeant Author, Amazon: Kit Sergeant) is the author of nine historical novels centered on real-life women who shaped pivotal moments in history, particularly during the American Revolution and World War II. Her works include 355: The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring, The Spark of Resistance, Marie-Madeleine: World War II Women Spies, and The Doctor of Auschwitz, which explores the moral courage of Dr. Adélaïde Hautval. Her next book focuses on Virginia Hall and is expected to be released in the summer of 2026. Sergeant’s fiction is grounded in extensive archival research, memoirs, trial transcripts, and historical scholarship, with particular emphasis on the role of women in resistance networks and intelligence operations. Her work highlights the operational structures of organizations such as Churchill’s Special Operations Executive and the French Resistance. She is a member of the Chicago Writers Association Speaker’s Bureau and regularly presents on women in espionage and resistance movements at libraries and historical societies. A teacher by profession and at heart, Kit loves to impart little-known facts and dares you to walk away from one of her books or talks without learning at least one new thing.
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History Camp is a project of The Pursuit of History, the national the non-profit organization that brings together adults from all walks of life to engage with history and historic sites and organizations.