The Revolution's Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs

Historic Rock Ford's Untold Stories of the American Revolution Lecture Series welcomes Don N. Hagist as he presents “The Revolution's Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs."

During a Civil War that threatened to tear the United States apart came the realization that only a handful of veterans of the American Revolution still survived – men who had fought the war that created the nation. Six of these men were photographed and interviewed for a book that appeared late in 1864. Their images have captivated generations since then; but, through a combination of faded memories and the interviewer’s patriotic agenda, the biographies accompanying these amazing photographs were garbled and distorted, containing information that ranged from inaccurate to implausible. Now for the first time the military careers of these men have been researched in detail using a wide range of primary sources. The result is a new perspective on the actual service of these soldiers, from enlistment to discharge, along with new details of their relatively quiet post-war lives

This presentation will begin at 6:30 PM in the Langmuir Education Room located on the first floor of the Rock Ford Barn. It will be approximately 2 hours in length. Please note that admission is for the lecture and does not include the Snyder Gallery.

About the Presenter: Don N. Hagist is managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com). His historical studies focus on presenting an accurate picture of individual soldiers and their families, especially those of the British army who served in America. This research is done using exclusively primary sources, mostly from archives in North America and Europe. He was a consultant for the PBS documentary The American Revolution produced by Ken Burns, and has written several recent books including Noble Volunteers: the British Soldiers who fought the American Revolution (Westholme, 2020) and The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers behind the Photographs (Westholme, 2015). Don is an engineer for a major medical device manufacturer, and also writes for several well-known syndicated cartoonists.