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The Hour of Victory, Edward Percy Moran, c. 1914. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Sheppard, 2006, MVLA [M-4535]

The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 is a fascinating examination of riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution.

A book signing and reception with complimentary beer, wine, and hors-d'oeuvres will take place after the lecture. 

This event is the second in the 2025 Michelle Smith Lecture Series. 

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The Michelle Smith Lecture Series is supported by an endowment established by a generous grant from the late Robert H. and Clarice Smith.

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Cost

In-person:
$50 for members, $60 for non-members

Virtual:
$15 for members, $20 for non-members

The Michelle Smith Lecture Series

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The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780

The Fate of the Day Bookcover

Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson provides a riveting narrative covering the middle years of the Revolution. Stationed in Paris, Benjamin Franklin woos the French; in Pennsylvania, George Washington pleads with Congress to deliver the money, men, and materiel he needs to continue the fight. 

In New York, General William Howe, the commander of the greatest army the British have ever sent overseas, plans a new campaign against the Americans—even as he is no longer certain that he can win this searing, bloody war. 

The months and years that follow bring epic battles at Brandywine, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Charleston, a winter of misery at Valley Forge, and yet more appeals for sacrifice by every American committed to the struggle for freedom. 

Timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolution, Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

 

Rick Atkinson

Atkinson Headshot

Rick Atkinson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven previous works of history, including The Long Gray Line, the Liberation Trilogy (An Army at Dawn, The Day of Battle, and The Guns at Last Light), and The British Are Coming, the first volume of the Revolution Trilogy. His numerous awards include Pulitzer Prizes for history and journalism.