Public Programs

Book Talks

Robert Rogers, Ranger: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon

by Martin Klotz

Thursday, March 20, 2025 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual
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Robert Rogers, commander of Rogers’ Rangers during the French and Indian War, was the war’s best-known colonial military hero and, in the ensuing peace, one of the best-known Americans of any description, rivaling Benjamin Franklin in popularity. He was revered in the colonies as an example of the self-made man based on merit, in contrast to the hide-bound, hierarchical British military establishment. Yet this American icon ultimately alienated his peers, fought as a loyalist in the Revolutionary War, ruined himself financially, and died in obscurity in London, estranged from the country of his birth. Rogers is known today for his role in developing the mystique of the modern Ranger, but what explains his meteoric rise and his long, depressing fall?

Martin Klotz, a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, served as a federal prosecutor, then, in private practice, represented investment professionals in criminal and regulatory investigations of securities trading. He lives in Brooklyn.

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Tecumseh’s War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America

by Donald R. Hickey

Thursday, April 17, 2025 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual
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“Tecumseh’s War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America” is the first complete story of this major conflict. Distinguished historian Don Hickey detaches it from the War of 1812, moving Tecumseh’s confederation to center stage to tell the sweeping and engrossing story of this Indian War—the last time that Indigenous Peoples had a powerful European ally to oppose United States expansion and thus the last chance they had of shaping the future of the continent.

Donald R. Hickey is an award-winning author and historian. Called “the dean of 1812 scholarship” by the New Yorker, Don has written 12 books, including the highly-acclaimed “The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict.”

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I Dread the Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and the End of the Maryland Campaign

by D. Scott Hartwig

Thursday, May 15, 2025 | 7 p.m. ET | Virtual
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In this definitive account, historian D. Scott Hartwig chronicles the single bloodiest day in American history, which resulted in 23,000 casualties. The Battle of Antietam marked a vital turning point in the war: afterward, the conflict could no longer be understood as a limited war to preserve the Union, but was now clearly a conflict over slavery. Join the author for a detailed look at the battle based on decades of research.

D. Scott Hartwig is a retired supervisory historian at the Gettysburg National Military Park and the author of “To Antietam Creek” (2012).

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