Headquarters of a Revolution: Washington’s Arrival in Cambridge

Explore the people, ideas, and questions that shaped General George Washington’s first revolutionary headquarters 251 years ago this July. Choose your path through this free, all-ages event featuring historic house and outdoor walking tours; family activities; film screenings; living historians, a Story Walk, and more. Free and open to all!

The house at 105 Brattle Street, now Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site, served as Washington’s first military headquarters of the American Revolution from July 1775-March 1776. Headquarters was a testing ground for many of the ideals, institutions, and questions that still define our country. This event will reveal Cambridge Headquarters as a complex hub of revolutionary activity, where generals, enslaved people, paid laborers, poets, Indigenous diplomats, politicians, self-emancipated families, and soldiers shaped history.

Schedule of Events

Outdoors

10:00 am-3:00 pm Living history - Interact with living historians John Koopman (George Washington) and Sandy Spector (Martha Washington)

12:00 Q&A with Martha Washington

Free family activities and Story Walk

Carriage House

Additional events TBA

10:15 am Get Ready with Martha, Sandy Spector (living historian, Martha Washington) 

Learn all about the clothing of 1775 as Mrs. Washington finishes dressing for her day. There will be some stories and some gossip, too! Sandy Spector is a Boston based historian, researcher, and interpreter, and has been a Revolutionary War reenactor since 2000, but now finds herself in her favorite role, Martha Washington. Sandy is known for bringing emotional depth, humanity, and a sense of humour to her portrayal as Martha. She spends most of her time researching and interpreting Mrs. Washington and has been portraying Martha - alone or with George - in numerous states and venues for the past 10 years.

11:30-12:15 The Last British Army to Come Through Cambridge, J.L Bell

J. L. Bell is the proprietor of the Boston 1775 website, making daily offerings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the American Revolution in New England. He is the author of a book-length study for the National Park Service about Gen. George Washington’s Cambridge headquarters in 1775 and 1776.

1:30-3:00 pm Film screening and discussion: The Black Patriots of Lexington - Silas Burdoo, Dr. Zine Magubane, PhD and Sean D. Osborne

Explore the role that third generation Lexington resident Silas Burdoo played in the Revolutionary War. Silas Burdoo was an active combatant on April 19, 1775. An inspirational story of a grandson of Ann and Philip Burdoo who were married in Medford, MA in 1704 and afterwards purchased 40 acres of land in Cambridge Farms. Yeoman Silas Burdoo is believed to have become the wealthiest of the Black veterans who fought on April 19, 1775.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with Dr. Zine Magubane, PhD, Professor of historical sociology at Boston College and Sean D. Osborne, public historian and producer of the Black Patriots of Lexington YouTube series. For more information on the Black Patriots of Lexington video series visit www.abclex.org. Sponsored by Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site with support from Tricons 2 Red Tails.

Historic House

10:00 am, 11:30 am, 2:30 pm 250th Deep Dive Tour: Headquarters of a Revolution

General George Washington’s Cambridge headquarters was a testing ground for many of the ideals, institutions, and questions that still define our nation. This conversational tour explores Cambridge Headquarters as a hub of revolutionary activity, where generals, enslaved people, paid laborers, poets, Indigenous diplomats, politicians, and soldiers shaped history - and how later generations would shape its memory.

Walking Tour

3:00 pm What Washington Saw on Cambridge Common, J.L. Bell

J. L. Bell is the proprietor of the Boston 1775 website, making daily offerings of history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the American Revolution in New England. He is the author of a book-length study for the National Park Service about Gen. George Washington’s Cambridge headquarters in 1775 and 1776.

Fees

This event is free to attend.

Location

Latitude and Longitude 42.376962, -71.126381

Schedule

Event Type

• Festival
• Living History
• Partner Program
• Performance
• Talk