Adam Goodheart, Director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College is the featured speaker at WC-ALL’s February 15 Learn at Lunch. Goodheart’s talk is entitled “Finding the 400: A Revolutionary Mystery”. The event begins at noon in the Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College Campus
It was a mythic moment in the Revolutionary War on Aug. 27, 1776 when a valiant bunch of 400 Maryland soldiers fought off a much stronger British force during the Battle of Brooklyn. In the thick of Washington’s defeat, the 400 were all killed or taken prisoner, yet they managed to save the Continental Army. They became known to future generations as the “Maryland 400” – a reference to the “300 Spartans” of ancient Greek fame – and they provided Maryland with its official nickname, “The Old Line State”. The slain soldiers’ bodies are said to lie somewhere in Brooklyn, possibly beneath an auto repair shop. But, were the Maryland 400, in fact, simply the stuff of legend and myth? A team of Washington College students and faculty, working with researchers at the Maryland State Archives, is on the case to find out what really happened on that summer day 242 years ago.
Besides his leading role at the Starr Center, Adam Goodheart is also an historian, essayist, journalist, and New York Times best-selling author. Among his scholarly honors, he is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award (2017), a Distinguished Lecturer of the Organization of American Historians (2014-20), and an elected member of the Society of American Historians (2016) and the American Antiquarian Society (2010). Goodheart has taught and co-taught Washington College courses in American Studies, English, History, Anthropology, and Art, as well as in the freshman Global Perspectives (GRW) program. As a teacher, he believes in working collaboratively with his students on projects that take them beyond the classroom, contributing in tangible ways to scholarly knowledge and public awareness.
To attend Goodheart’s presentation, a reservation with payment is due by Thursday, February 8. The cost is $20, for members and $25 for others. Make a check payable to WC-ALL and send to WC-ALL at 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD. 21620 with name, phone, and email included. WC-ALL is planning an April 5 trip to the new Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia as a follow-up to the Learn at Lunch presentation. Details will be available soon.
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