The Brigade of the American Revolution

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The Brigade of the American Revolution An Association of Revolutionary War Living Historians Since 1962 the Brigade has been recreating a broad spectrum of the 18th Century.

It's activities include military encampments, tactical exercises, firelock shooting competitions, craft demonstrations and social activities. The Brigade also conducts annual schools and educational seminars featuring experts from several fields of 18th Century study.

WHITE PLAINS 250th — IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR DAY-TRIPPERSJoining us for the day? Please follow these steps to unload y...
10/20/2026

WHITE PLAINS 250th — IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR DAY-TRIPPERS

Joining us for the day? Please follow these steps to unload your equipment, park, and return to camp:

1. Check in and unload between 6:00 and 8:00 AM.
Come first to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation to check in and drop off your clothing, equipment, and supplies at camp. Please allow enough time to unload and move your vehicle out before 8:00 AM.

The county will close the roads inside the park to participant vehicle traffic at 8:00 AM. Arrive early so you can complete your drop-off before the closure!

2. Drive to the day-tripper parking lot.
After unloading, park at:

📍 Lewisboro Town Pool / Town Park
1079 NY-35 (Route 35)
South Salem, NY 10590

Please carpool whenever possible to help make the most of the available parking.

3. Take the shuttle back to the event.
The Brigade has hired two shuttles that will make continuous loops between the Lewisboro Town Pool parking lot and the event from 6:00 to 9:30 AM, transporting participants back and forth.

Please drop off your equipment at camp first so you are ready to board the shuttle after parking.

Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we get everyone into camp. We look forward to seeing you at White Plains!

Our next featured speaker for 1777: The Turning Point is historian and author Keith Marshall Jones III, presenting “The ...
10/20/2026

Our next featured speaker for 1777: The Turning Point is historian and author Keith Marshall Jones III, presenting “The Battle of Ridgefield.”

Jones will examine the April 1777 fighting in western Connecticut, where American forces under Benedict Arnold and David Wooster confronted the British expedition returning from Danbury. Drawing on new primary source material and research connected to the National Park Service’s battlefield studies, his presentation will explore why Ridgefield deserves a larger place in the story of the 1777 campaign.

An award-winning historian and author, Jones has written extensively on Revolutionary-era military, political, and legal history. He is also a founding president of the Ridgefield Historical Society and a frequent speaker on the American Revolution.

Join us at West Point on April 10–11, 2027, and discover why the road from Danbury to Ridgefield became one of the defining early clashes of a year that would transform the war!

Take your Revolutionary-era research further.The Brigade of the American Revolution is proud to support the next generat...
10/17/2026

Take your Revolutionary-era research further.

The Brigade of the American Revolution is proud to support the next generation of scholarship through the Founder’s Fellowship & Research Grant, an annual award created to advance serious research into the American Revolution and the world surrounding it.

The fellowship provides $1,000, with additional funding possible upon approval, to a deserving researcher pursuing work related to the years 1763 to 1785. Eligible topics may explore military and naval history, social and material culture, economics, politics, or other subjects connected to North America and the Atlantic world during the Revolutionary era. Graduate students working toward a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation are also encouraged to apply.

Recipients do more than receive financial support. Their completed research is considered for review in The Brigade Dispatch: The Research Journal of the Brigade of the American Revolution, and recipients are expected to share an overview of their work at the Brigade’s annual School of Instruction.

The Founder’s Grant accepts applications on a rolling basis, so researchers do not need to wait for a single annual deadline to submit their work.

Help us continue the Brigade’s commitment to research, education, and preserving the stories of the American Revolution.

https://www.brigade.org/foundersgrant

Reenactors: time is running out! You have FOUR days left to register for the 250th Anniversary Retreat from Fort Lee to ...
10/16/2026

Reenactors: time is running out! You have FOUR days left to register for the 250th Anniversary Retreat from Fort Lee to New Bridge Landing. Registration closes October 20: sign up today to join this historic Brigade commemoration!

On November 21 and 22, re-enactors will retrace Washington’s withdrawal through Bergen County, from Fort Lee and the Palisades toward New Bridge Landing. Saturday will include a memorial march into Fort Lee, followed by a large-scale tactical demonstration showing the American rearguard under pressure from advancing British and Hessian forces. As evening falls, the public will be invited into the camps to hear the stories of the forces caught in the desperate days of November 1776.

On Sunday, the action moves onto the historic retreat route. Continental forces will withdraw toward the Englewood Liberty Pole and across the Hackensack River, with Crown forces following close behind. At New Bridge Landing, the retreating and advancing columns will meet around the historic bridge and Steuben House.

This was more than a retreat. It preserved an army that would soon cross the Delaware and fight at Trenton and Princeton. Two hundred fifty years later, we have the opportunity to commemorate that movement on the ground where it happened.

https://forms.gle/xdGwtYCsuJaXpWxg6

White Plains 250th is almost here, and the latest Participant Information Packet is NOW AVAILABLE! With the event just o...
10/14/2026

White Plains 250th is almost here, and the latest Participant Information Packet is NOW AVAILABLE! With the event just over a week away, participants should review the full packet before traveling to Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

Here are three key updates to know:

1. ARRIVAL, CHECK-IN, AND PARKING
Friday check-in will run from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Saturday and Sunday arrivals are from 6:00 to 8:00 AM. Every participant must check in individually at the Visitors Center to receive a parking assignment. All vehicles must be out of camp by 8:00 AM Saturday and Sunday. Day participants will use separate parking with shuttle service available. Carpooling is strongly encouraged due to limited parking near the camps.

2. CAMP LOGISTICS AND SUPPLIES
Participants should report to their respective quartermasters before setting up, as unit pitches will be assigned on site. Two 6,000-gallon water trailers will serve the camps, so bring appropriate containers for collecting water. Straw, hay, firewood, and limited ice will be available near the BAR marquee, which will serve as Command Central throughout the weekend.

3. WEEKEND SCHEDULE AND TACTICALS
The camps open to the public at 10:00 AM Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s tactical weapons demonstration is scheduled from 3:00 to 4:00 PM. Sunday will also feature an afternoon tactical demonstration, with final timing still subject to confirmation. Participants should continue to follow unit and command briefings for current orders.

The full Participant Information Packet includes detailed arrival instructions, parking and site maps, camp layouts, schedules, tactical information, command assignments, safety guidance, and more.

Please read the complete packet before arriving:

https://www.brigade.org/whiteplains2026

We’re kicking off our presenter showcase for 1777: THE TURNING POINT with historian and author Gary Ecelbarger!At German...
10/13/2026

We’re kicking off our presenter showcase for 1777: THE TURNING POINT with historian and author Gary Ecelbarger!

At Germantown, George Washington launched one of the most ambitious American attacks of the Revolutionary War. On October 4, 1777, thirteen brigades advanced in a coordinated offensive—an operation of remarkable scale that ultimately ended in defeat.

But was Germantown truly a failure?

In “Germantown: The Most Beneficial Defeat in American History,” Ecelbarger challenges the traditional interpretation of the battle to examine why its significance extends far beyond tactical outcome. Drawing on decades of research, he explores how Germantown strengthened the Continental Army's confidence, influenced international perceptions of the American cause, and shaped the future course of the war.

Gary is an award-winning historian, author, and nationally recognized speaker specializing in the American Revolution and the Civil War. With ten books and over three dozen scholarly articles, essays, and monographs to his credit, he is renowned for bringing fresh analysis to key campaigns and figures in American military history.

Join us at West Point, April 10–11, 2027, more information to come closer to the date!

https://www.brigade.org/schedule

Come look beyond the silk and lace to the people, labor, and politics that shaped eighteenth-century dress.On November 6...
10/10/2026

Come look beyond the silk and lace to the people, labor, and politics that shaped eighteenth-century dress.

On November 6 and 7, 2027, the Brigade of the American Revolution plans to present Of the Fashionable Set: Fashion, Fabrics, and Frippery of the 18th Century, a two-day conference exploring clothing and textiles across the Revolutionary era. Through lectures, visual presentations, and discussion, we’ll examine dress as an expression of identity, politics, status, and global exchange.

The planned program reaches from court dress and military uniforms to working-class clothing. It asks how fabrics were made, worn, traded, and understood, and whose labor and traditions shaped what we now call Georgian fashion.

The conference preview features keynote speaker Anna Reynolds, a curator and historian with the Royal Collection Trust, whose presentation will consider dress as a language of politics, status, and identity.

Join historians, artisans, collectors, and living-history interpreters for a closer look at the material culture of the eighteenth century. We’ll share venue and registration details as plans are finalized.

https://www.brigade.org/schedule

Registration for the 250th Anniversary of the Retreat from Fort Lee to New Bridge Landing closes October 20th. If you pl...
10/08/2026

Registration for the 250th Anniversary of the Retreat from Fort Lee to New Bridge Landing closes October 20th. If you plan to join us on November 21 and 22, NOW is the time to register!

In November 1776, Washington’s army was under immense pressure. Forced from Fort Lee, Continental troops withdrew across northern New Jersey as British and Crown forces pursued them. What followed was not simply a retreat. It was a fight to keep the army together, preserve the Revolution’s military strength, and survive long enough to strike back. That withdrawal carried the Continental Army toward the campaign that would culminate in the victories at Trenton and Princeton only weeks later.

This November, reenactors and interpreters will gather at Fort Lee Historic Park and New Bridge Landing to commemorate that story on the ground where part of it unfolded. Two hundred and fifty years later, we will retrace the movement, hardship, determination, and leadership that carried the army through one of its darkest moments.

Help us build a strong field for one of the Brigade’s major America 250 commemorations. Registration closes October 20:

https://www.brigade.org/fortlee2026

WHITE PLAINS IS ALMOST HERE!With the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of White Plains just weeks away, planning is moving...
10/06/2026

WHITE PLAINS IS ALMOST HERE!

With the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of White Plains just weeks away, planning is moving into its final stages for what is shaping up to be one of the Brigade’s largest commemorative events of the year.

Participants will begin arriving at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation on Friday, October 23, with registration open from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Everyone must check in at the BAR registration station upon arrival. Participant parking will be available on site, with assignments made as participants arrive, and shuttle service planned for more distant parking areas. Carpooling is strongly encouraged.

Across the reservation, Continental and Crown forces will prepare for a major two-phase tactical demonstration portraying the British advance, the American fighting withdrawal, and the final assault on Chatterton Hill. Civilian interpretation and demonstrations will add even more depth to the weekend’s programming.

Participants should also be prepared for plenty of walking across Ward Pound Ridge’s large and varied terrain. Water, ice, portable toilets, and transportation support are being coordinated throughout the site.

An event of this scale takes a tremendous amount of work, and volunteers are still needed throughout the weekend to assist with registration, parking, programming, water distribution, battlefield support, and more.

The countdown to White Plains is on.

Full participant updates and event information:
https://www.brigade.org/whiteplains2026

Walk into a Brigade encampment and look closely. The uniforms, equipment, and work of daily life can tell us as much abo...
10/02/2026

Walk into a Brigade encampment and look closely. The uniforms, equipment, and work of daily life can tell us as much about the American Revolution as a battlefield can.

Founded in 1962, the Brigade of the American Revolution has spent more than six decades helping members and the public study the Revolution and the colonial period. Today, it is a national organization with more than a thousand members who share that history through living history events and educational programs.

A Brigade gathering may include military encampments and tactical demonstrations, but the story reaches beyond soldiers in formation. Craft demonstrations and conversations with interpreters offer a closer look at how people worked and lived during the war. Members also continue their own learning through schools, lectures, and research, bringing new questions and evidence to the stories they share.

As we commemorate the Revolution’s 250th anniversary, those details matter. The war touched people with different loyalties, responsibilities, and hopes for the future. Exploring their lives helps us understand the choices behind the dates we remember.

https://www.brigade.org/about-us

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Fort Lee, NJ

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