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November 11
6:30 - 8:30 pm

Author Talk with Gabriel Neville

Before Kentucky: Croghan and the Clarks in the Revloutionary War

Event Details

William Croghan and two of Lucy Clark’s brothers were officers in the Continental Army’s 8th Virginia Regiment. A close bond shaped by years of combat and a year in British captivity preceded the marriage that defined Locust Grove.  This lecture speaker, Gabriel Neville, is the author of the new book The Last Men Standing: The 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution, the first work-ever covering the entirety of the 8th Virginia Regiment in the Revolutionary War. From the Declaration of Independence to Yorktown, Croghan and the Clark brothers witnessed some of the most important events of America’s founding before overseeing veteran settlement of Kentucky. After years of research, Mr. Neville will share some of the best stories from his new book.

The evening begins with a welcome reception for Locust Grove members at 6:00 PM, featuring light refreshments. To attend the reception, RSVP to Lydia Lewis at llewis@locustgrove.org.

Neville’s talk will begin at 6:30 PM and conclude with a book signing opportunity. Copies will be available for purchase at the event.

Admission

Member
$8

Not-yet-member
$10

Veterans/Active Military
Free

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About the Author

 

Gabriel Neville is a writer, researcher, and speaker specializing in Revolutionary War history, particularly the 8th Virginia Regiment and frontier life in early America. He is the creator of the Revolutionary Virginia and 8th Virginia Regiment websites and is also a contributor to the Journal of the American Revolution, the American Battlefield Trust, and Emerging Revolutionary War journals. His debut novel, The Last Men Standing: The 8th Virginia Regiment in the American Revolution, will be published this spring by Helion & Company. He is a former journalist and congressional staffer who now works as a business consultant at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington, D.C. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two sons.

About the Book

In late 1778, leading a small force of one hundred and fifty men, George Rogers Clark entered the Illinois Country where they would capture Great Britain’s major posts along the Mississippi and take British lieutenant governor Henry Hamilton prisoner to achieve one of the most singular victories during the American Revolution. Having suffered at the hands of British-supported Native American raids in Kentucky, Clark and his men embraced a confrontational approach, lumping all Native American nations together as inveterate blood enemies. For years, Clark’s daring achievement was lionized as the embodiment of American initiative. Now, in light of Clark’s treatment and participation in the subjugation of Native peoples, his legacy has reversed, with his statue at the University of Virginia recently being removed. His lack of nuance led him to misinterpret Indian responses to his military campaign and conclude that his approach produced results. In fact, many Native American nations simply used the American presence on the Mississippi to extort greater support from the British. In Till the Extinction of This Rebellion: George Rogers Clark, Frontier Warfare, and the Illinois Campaign of 1778–1779 Eric Sterner views the campaign from the American, British, and Indigenous perspectives and illustrates the wide geographic impact of the American Revolution west of the Appalachians, particularly on the French and Native American communities in the area.