As part of the Fall 2019 Lecture Series sponsored by the Sons of the
Revolution in the State of New Jersey, Peter Stark will speak about his
book “Young Washington: How Wilderness and War Forged America’s Founding
Father ” on Tuesday, November 14 at 7 PM. Books will be available for
purchase in the Quartermaster’s Store Gift Shop.

Finalist, 2019 George Washington Book Prize

A new, brash, and unexpected view of the president we thought we knew, from
the bestselling author of Astoria

Two decades before he led America to independence, George Washington was a
flailing young soldier serving the British Empire in the vast wilderness of
the Ohio Valley. Naïve and self-absorbed, the twenty-two-year-old officer
accidentally ignited the French and Indian War—a conflict that opened
colonists to the possibility of an American Revolution.

With powerful narrative drive and vivid writing, Young Washington recounts
the wilderness trials, controversial battles, and emotional entanglements
that transformed Washington from a temperamental striver into a mature
leader. Enduring terrifying summer storms and subzero winters imparted
resilience and self-reliance, helping prepare him for what he would one day
face at Valley Forge. Leading the Virginia troops into battle taught him to
set aside his own relentless ambitions and stand in solidarity with those
who looked to him for leadership. Negotiating military strategy with
British and colonial allies honed his diplomatic skills. And thwarted in
his obsessive, youthful love for one woman, he grew to cultivate deeper,
enduring relationships.

By weaving together Washington’s harrowing wilderness adventures and a
broader historical context, Young Washington offers new insights into the
dramatic years that shaped the man who shaped a nation.

The full lecture schedule is:
All lectures begin at 7 PM and the Museum Shop opens at 6:30 PM
Tuesday, October 15: David Price – The Road to Assunpink Creek
Thursday, October 24: John Gilbert McCurdy – Quarters
Tuesday, October 29: Hal Taylor – Before Penn
Monday, November 4: Kenneth Gossard – Thalers and Pence
Thursday, November 14: Peter Stark – Young Washington
Thursday, November 21: Joyce Malcolm – The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold