Chapter Presentation Program
2009-2010
The Fairfax Resolves has a longstanding tradition of hosting programs at chapter meetings for the benefit of Compatriots and members of the community. Past programs include: historical topics, genealogical and other educational topics, Chapter youth contest winners presenting their entries, and ceremonies recognizing community members. Beginning in the fall of 2009, the Chapter will record presentations when feasible and make them available on the website.
All presentations and associated materials remain the sole property of the presenter and are made available with permission.
“Washington's Officer Corps”
Major General Tom Wilkerson
Speaker: Major General Tom Wilkerson
Date: February 18th, 2010
Summary When the “shot heard 'round the world” was fired in 1775, the Colonies had only militia forces available to oppose the British regulars sent to America to restore royal power. The militia officers were a mixed bag of merchants, farmers, attorneys, and even a few clergymen. As the American War for Independence raged on into the late 1770s, officers in great numbers were needed for units of all sizes -- whether state militia forces, county defense units, or "regular" forces of the Continental Line. Where did Washington's officer corps come from? How was it trained and disciplined? How did it develop the leadership qualities required to hold ragged units together despite hardship and defeat? And of great importance, what practices date from that time that still influence officer selection and training to this day?
Major General Tom Wilkerson, a retired U.S. Marine Corps flag rank officer and a descendent of one of Washington's own officers, talks about where Revolutionary officers came from, how they were welded into an effective leadership corps, and how selection processes developed in Washington's time have come down to the present.
Video Download: Washington's Officer Corps.wmv (256MB)
“The Forgotten Man of the Continental Navy”
Speaker Jerry Whipple
Speaker: Jerry Whipple
Date: November 12th, 2009
Summary Everyone has heard of the great naval heroes of the Revolution such as John Paul Jones and John Barry, justly famous for their exploits at sea. But few have heard of Abraham Whipple, an extraordinary sea captain from Rhode Island whose sea duty did much to advance the cause of independence. It was Commodore Whipple, then a merchant sea captain, who led the June 1772 attack on the British revenue schooner, Gaspee, one of the earliest shots fired in the Revolution. Not only that, but from 1775 to the war's end, Whipple clashed with British warships off New England and the Bahamas. In one daring episode, the Commodore and his "fleet" of three frigates captured a British convoy of ten ships off Newfoundland without a shot being fired. Yet after independence was won, Whipple was quickly forgotten and died penniless in Ohio in 1819. This great naval hero was certainly deserving of the title: “The Forgotten Man of the Continental Navy.”
Video Download: The Forgotten Man of the Continental Navy.wmv (140MB)
“The War Comes to Virginia: 1781”
Compatriot Andrew Gutowski
Speaker: Andrew Gutowski
Date: September 10th, 2009
Summary Except for some parting shots by Lord Dunmore as he fled his post as royal governor in 1776, Virginia had largely been spared the ravages of war until 1781. From 1776 to 1779, the campaigns had mainly been in the northern colonies, especially in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York. But in late 1779 the British struck at the southern colonies, landing at Savannah and proceeding steadily northward toward Virginia. General Nathanael Greene conducted a masterful defensive campaign that wore out the columns of Lord Cornwallis. But now the British focused on Virginia - sending first the traitor Benedict Arnold to ravage and devastate the James River area. And Lord Cornwallis was fast approaching. Only Washington's brilliant French general, the Marquis de Lafayette, stood his ground to meet the British onslaught.
Video Download: War Comes to Virginia - 1781.wmv (126MB)
Presentation Slides: War Comes to Virginia - 1781.pdf (2.5MB)