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What is your favorite WWII era fighter plane?Join the conversation and share your thoughts! 💭 Each week, We're posing a question about historical military vehicles, and we want YOU to weigh in. Whether you’re a history buff, or just curious—we want to hear your thoughts! Leave a comment below to cast your vote! 👇#QuestionOfTheWeek ... See MoreSee Less
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Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - What is it?! Thanks to everyone who played last week… The answer for August 13th is an access hatch on our M60A1… see the previous post for the full details!Good luck on this week’s challenge! #americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma ... See MoreSee Less
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The answer to the “What is it? Wednesday” question from August 13th is the handles and retaining bolts on the rear engine access hatch of our M60A1! Have you ever worked on an M60?Stay tuned for the next “What is it? Wednesday” question tomorrow, August 20th at 10:00 am EST!#americanheritagemuseum #whatisitwednesday ... See MoreSee Less
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Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - What is it?! Thanks to everyone who played last week… The answer for August 6th is the tow hitch on our A34 Comet… see the previous post for the full details!Good luck on this week’s challenge! #americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma ... See MoreSee Less
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Speaker Series: A Perfect Frenzy by Author Andrew Lawler

April 12 @ 1:00 pm, ending 2:30 pm

Free with standard museum admission

Join us on Saturday, April 12th for a talk by nationally best selling author Andrew Lawler about his book A Perfect Frenzy – A story that will forever change our understanding about the American Revolution.

As the American Revolution broke out in New England in the spring of 1775, dramatic events unfolded in Virginia that proved every bit as decisive as the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill in uniting the colonies against Britain. Virginia, the largest, wealthiest, and most populous province in British North America, was led by Lord Dunmore, who counted George Washington as his close friend. But the Scottish earl lacked troops, so when patriots imperiled the capital of Williamsburg, he threatened to free and arm enslaved Africans—two of every five Virginians—to fight for the Crown.

Virginia’s tobacco elite was reluctant to go to war with Britain but outraged at this threat to their human property. Dunmore fled the capital to build a stronghold in the colony’s largest city, the port of Norfolk. As enslaved people flocked to his camp, skirmishes broke out. “Lord Dunmore has commenced hostilities in Virginia,” wrote Thomas Jefferson. “It has raised our countrymen into a perfect frenzy.” With a patriot army marching on Norfolk, the royal governor freed those enslaved and sent them into battle against their former owners. In retribution, and with Jefferson’s encouragement, furious rebels burned Norfolk to the ground on January 1, 1776, blaming the crime on Dunmore.

The port’s destruction and Dunmore’s emancipation prompted Virginia’s patriot leaders to urge the Continental Congress to split from Britain, breaking the deadlock among the colonies and leading to adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Days later, Dunmore and his Black allies withdrew from Virginia, but the legacy of their fight would lead, ultimately, to Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

Chronicling these stunning and widely overlooked events in full for the first time, A Perfect Frenzy offers a striking new perspective on the American Revolution that reorients our understanding of its causes, highlights the radically different motivations between patriots in the North and South, and reveals the seeds of the nation’s racial divide.

Details

Date:
April 12
Time:
1:00 pm, ending 2:30 pm
Cost:
Free with standard museum admission
Event Categories:
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EVENT TICKETS ONLY FOR SATURDAY & SUNDAY - No General Admissions available this weekend during WWII Tank Demonstration Weekend special event.

There will be no General Admissions tickets available on Saturday, August 16th and Sunday, August 17th during the WWII Tank Demonstration Weekend - all visitors on Saturday and Sunday must purchase event tickets for access to the American Heritage Museum. $30 Adults | $25 Seniors/Veterans | $20 Children 3 to 16 years old.