Thirteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War

This year’s War College focuses on the events of 1758: the Battle of Carillon, the Forbes Campaign against Fort Duquesne, and the British capture of Fortress Louisbourg.

Note the new date!
This year’s War College will be held April 26 & 27, 2008, in the new Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center. Nearly 200 participants’ - people with a deep interest in 18th- century military history - join us each year for this two-day seminar. The War College focuses on the military history of North American in the Seven Years? War. Leading authorities and new scholars on the period present their latest findings in a series of lectures. The War College provides participants with an opportunity to listen to and interact with the presenters in an informal, relaxed atmosphere. Participation is limited and is by pre-registration only. The event sells out each year, so please don’t wait to call and reserve your place!

Members of the 2008 Faculty
Dr. Fred Anderson teaches at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is the author of several books on the French & Indian War, including Crucible of War, A People's Army, and The War That Made America. He will provide an overview of the crucial year 1758.

Dr. Stephen Brumwell, based in Amsterdam, is the author of Redcoats, White Devil, and Paths of Glory: The Life and Death of General James Wolfe. His talk discusses the impact, and fate, of two very different British officers who played pivotal roles in North America in 1758 - Brigadiers James Wolfe and George Augustus, Viscount Howe.

Dr. Jay Cassel teaches at Wilfrid Laurier University and is the author of the forthcoming A New World Army, French Forces in Colonial Canada.

Lt. Col. Ian McCulloch is the former Commanding Officer of the Black Watch (RHR) of Canada and Deputy Director of History & Heritage for the Canadian Forces. He is currently the Army Planner on the staff of the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. Their joint, two-part session will examine the nature and operation of command in the Franco-Canadian and British-American armies that fought the 1758 Battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga), with special emphasis on the generals and key officers. They will take turns considering the respective armies, their commanders, and their perceived missions; then examine logistical and operational problems facing any army in colonial North America; and, finally, analyze both armies' performance during the battle itself, from approach through the engagement to the retreat.

Christopher Fox is the Curator of Collections and Mark Turdo is the Assistant Curator at Fort Ticonderoga. Their presentation on Friday evening focuses on items in the Fort Ticonderoga collection related to the 1758 campaign.

André Gousse is the Head of Interpretive Products for Parcs Canada and a long-time reenactor. Victories at Monongahela, Oswego, and Ticonderoga were celebrated by Montcalm's soldiers and officers with songs, continuing a tradition that went back to the siege of Quebec by Phipps in 1690. Gousse will share some of these songs with attendees on Saturday evening.

Dr. Sara Gronim is an assistant professor of history at Long Island University who has published widely on the history of colonial science, medicine, and technology, and is the author of Everyday Nature: Knowledge of the Natural World in Colonial New York. She will examine the political significance of geography in colonial New York.

Chris Jedrey, the author of The World of John Cleaveland, is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery, an international law firm. His presentation focuses on how the diary of the Rev. John Cleaveland, and the letters between John and his wife Mary, reflect the rural and religious perspective on imperial warfare.

Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, a Pittsburgh native and Fort Ticonderoga trustee, was recently curator of the traveling exhibition "Clash of Empires: the British, French, and Indian War, 1754-1763." He will explore the Forbes Expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1758.

Nicholas Westbrook is the Executive Director of Fort Ticonderoga. History is contingency, not inevitability. He will discuss eight points at which the outcome of the Battle of Carillon might of gone differently - or indeed never happened!

Registration Fees
Early Bird Registration (by March 1, 2008) $90.00 for Friends of Fort Ticonderoga, $110 for general public.
Regular Registration (by April 1, 2008) $110 for Friends of Fort Ticonderoga, $130 for general public.
To become a member of the Friends of Fort Ticonderoga and receive the discount, please call Anne McCarty, Membership Coordinator, at (518) 585-2121, ext. 22.

Teacher Scholarships
Fort Ticonderoga offers four scholarships for secondary and middle school teachers who are first-time attendees at the War College. Contact Rich Strum, Director of Interpretation & Education, at rstrum@fort-ticonderoga.org for applications and more information.
Deadline is March 1, 2008.

How to Register
Contact Karl Crannell, Public Programs Coordinator, at (518) 585-2821 to register for the Thirteenth Annual War College of the Seven Years' War.