Washington's Birthday Lecture - White House historian, Ed Lengel

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FINEST HOUR

George Washington famously lost more battles than he won as a battlefield commander during the Revolutionary War, and he has often been presented as a better administrator than a tactician. His performance during the 1776-1777 Trenton-Princeton campaign, however, was brilliant by any standards and is still taught to cadets at military academies today. Edward G. Lengel, author of General George Washington: A Military Life, tells the story of this campaign and its place in Washington's military legacy. After his lecture, Ed will be available to sign copies of his books, First Entrepreneur, and a limited number of General George Washington: A Military Life.

Edward G. Lengel is Chief Historian of the White House Historical Association. He received his B.A. in history from George Mason University in 1991, and his Ph.D in history from the University of Virginia in 1998. For many years he was Professor and Director of the Washington Papers project. Lengel has written several award-winning books, including First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His – and the Nation’s Prosperity (2016), Thunder and Flames: Americans in the Crucible of Combat: 1917-1918 (2015), To Conquer Hell: The Meuse-Argonne 1918 (2006), and General George Washington: A Military Life (2005). He writes regularly for Military History Quarterly, American History and other periodicals, and has made television and radio appearances on The History Channel, Fox News, and National Public Radio.