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Living History at The Hermitage

on July 11, 2010 – 6:46 am

The Hermitage, home of President Andrew continues its series of Sunday summer treats for those who’ve wished they could step back in time and witness history with their own eyes. For the third year, Sundays Live! living history programs at The Hermitage are presented by Myers Brown, Curator of Extension Services for the Tennessee State Museum.  The Sunday afternoon program is repeated multiple times from 1:30 – 4:30 p.m. in and around the backyard of the Hermitage mansion, and it is free with the purchase of regular admission.

Today’s costumed program is entitled “The American Revolution in the Southern Backcountry”. Fighting in the backcountry rarely involved open conflict with British soldiers, but instead took the form of civil war as colonists split over loyalty to the British crown. While patriot citizen-soldiers waged war on loyalist neighbors, they also occasionally faced off against Cherokees allied to the British. The war in the backcountry was savage, vicious, and personal. Among the families swept into the maelstrom were the Jacksons of the Waxhaw in South Carolina. Andrew Jackson, a mere boy at the time, served with American forces and suffered a severe reprimand and beating from a British officer and his mother and brother both died due to the war. Indeed, many Jackson’s experiences during the American Revolution spawned his hatred and distrust of the British.

Mr. Brown’s presentation will demonstrate the clothing, equipment, and weapons of patriot forces serving in the backcountry and will discuss the battles in which they participated such as King’s Mountain, Long Island, and Cowpens.

Myers Brown, who serves as Governor of the Company of Military Historians, is a widely recognized expert in the field of military history with a number of published articles and book reviews. He holds a B.A. in History from Oglethorpe University and an M.A. in Public History from Middle Tennessee State University. Myers is particularly interested in Civil War cavalry, the Mexican War and the War of 1812. He and his wife, Angie, and their daughter, Morgan, make their home in Old Hickory.

ABOUT THE HERMITAGE:

The Hermitage, Home of President Andrew Jackson, is one of the largest and most visited presidential homes in the United States. In 1856, the State of Tennessee purchased the property from the Jackson family, entrusting it to the Ladies’ Hermitage Association in 1889 to operate as one of America’s first historic site museums. Today, The Hermitage is a 1,120-acre National Historic Landmark with over 30 historic buildings, including restored slave cabins. Thanks to efforts of this nonprofit organization, the mansion is the most accurately preserved early presidential home in the country.

The Hermitage is a national model for authenticity, conservation, and historic preservation. In recent years, new interpretive initiatives and educational programs such as archaeology and the history of slavery have enhanced the experience of some 180,000 annual visitors, including 30,000 schoolchildren, from all 50 states and many foreign countries; in fact, we interpret the Hermitage mansion in five foreign languages. The property also receives 30,000 annual visits from the local community, including over 1,000 children who play Little League baseball at The Hermitage’s Rotary Park. The Hermitage is Nashville’s first Smithsonian Institution Affiliate Museum; a “Partner Place” with the National Trust for Historic Preservation; and a site along the National Park Service’s Trail of Tears National Historic Trail.

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