The 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States in 2026 calls for the commemoration and study of the grueling war that was instrumental in bringing about the establishment of our country. As part of this eight-year celebration of the important people and events of the American Revolution, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation offers a detailed look at the conflict’s final years with historian presentations and a historic home tour of one of the Augusta Old Stone Presbyterian Church, completed in 1749, and its nearby cemetery. Join us for an exciting exploration of the war’s final campaigns.

Cost

Member: $55

Non-Member: $65

Schedule

Friday (February 19)

1PM - 3PM

Pastor Stan Farthing will provide a history and tour of the Augusta Old Stone Presbyterian Church, completed in 1749, and its nearby cemetery

Augusta Old Stone Presbyterian Church

28 Old Stone Church Lane

Fort Defiance VA 24437

Saturday (February 20)

8:00 AM: Registration Opens

8:45 AM: Welcome/Introduction

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Speaker Programs

LUNCH - 12:00-1:30 PM

Speakers

Gabriel Neville: Western Virginia Continentals During the Revolutionary War

Gabriel Neville is the author of the 8th Virginia Regiment and Revolutionary Virginia websites and has written numerous essays about Virginia, Pennsylvania, and the western frontier in America’s founding era. He is a former journalist and senior staffer in the U.S. Congress, now working as a business advisor. He is the author of The Last Men Standing: The 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution.

Dr. Iris de Rode: The American Alliance with France and the Winning of Independence

Dr. Iris de Rode is a historian of the French role in the American Revolution, with a focus on Major General François-Jean de Chastellux.  Her 2022 biography of Chastellux received the Prix Guizot of the Académie Française in 2023.

Ricardo Herrera: Valley Forge

Rick Herrera is an award-winning author and Senior Historian, George Washington Leadership Institute at George Washington's Mount Vernon. He is also Professor, retired, U.S. Army War College. He is the author of Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.

Scott Patchan: General Daniel Morgan

Scott Patchan is the author of numerous books on the Civil War, as well as George Washington in the French & Indian War. He is also a frequent, in demand  conductor of battlefield tours.

Mark Lender: The Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, 1778

Mark Lender is Professor Emeritus of History at Kean University. He is author or co-author of more than a dozen books including Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle.

Dr. John R. Maass: Securing Victory: Washington, Rochambeau and the 1781 Yorktown Campaign

Dr. John R. Maass received a BA in history from Washington & Lee University, and a PhD in early U.S. history from the Ohio State University. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve (80th Division). His most recent book is The Battles of Spencer's Ordinary and Green Spring, 1781.

REGISTRATION