Eyewitness to Revolution: The American Revolution Collection at the Concord Museum
In 1775, the people of Concord, Massachusetts, understood they were living through extraordinary times. David Brown, captain of one of Concord’s minute companies, and his family carefully saved and passed through generations a looking glass broken by British troops vandalizing the town on April 19, 1775. Today, that fractured mirror, with its single surviving shard, stands as a poignant witness to the Revolution, prominently displayed at the Concord Museum. It is objects like David Brown’s looking glass that form the heart of the Concord Museum’s American Revolution collection—artifacts that not only witnessed history but, in some cases, quite literally reflected it.
Speaker David Wood, Chief Curator at the Concord Museum, and author of the book Eyewitness to Revolution, will speak about the extraordinary collection of Revolutionary War material in their collection, dating from 1760 to 1790. David will discuss objects dating from 1760 to 1775 pertaining to the lead-up to the conflict, and another group dating from 1775 to 1790 that are associated with events from the Siege of Boston to just past the end of the Revolutionary War.
The material he will discuss were eyewitness to the American Revolution. In testifying to what they saw, they testify as well to the power of material culture to improve our understanding of history.
The Speaker Series is held at the Museum, located at 612 High Street, Dedham, and begins at 7:00 p.m.
Free to members, $10 for non-members (pay at the door).
If you would like to watch a recording of this talk the following evening, Thursday, April 16th, please register here. This link is only for anyone interested in watching the recording and not to attend in person.