Dear Members:
On 19 April 1775, Sylvanus Wood stood at Lexington with the other minutemen, awaiting the British regulars marching to Concord. Wood was dressed in civilian clothes, as were most of Wood’s comrades, as they awaited the redcoats that morning in April. Yet, those colonists would go on to earn their place in history as some of the first Soldiers of the U.S. Army.
Captain John Parker, who was bedridden from battling tuberculosis, rose to lead the colonists at Lexington. Wood remembers him saying, “Every man of you who is equipped, follow me.” The skirmish at Lexington favored the British. However, when the British returned from Concord along the same route, the colonists mounted a surprise attack now know as “Parker’s Revenge.” On that fateful day, Wood became the first American to capture a British Soldier.
When The Army Historical Foundation conceived of the National Museum of the United States Army, one of the founding principles established for telling the Army’s history was through the stories of Soldiers. Telling these stories can be challenging for the Army’s earliest years, as records are scarce, but the Museum team did a magnificent job living up to that intent for the two-year Revolutionary War exhibition that debuted this month. Sylvanus Wood is one of seven individuals portrayed by life-sized cast figures, enhancing the exhibition of nearly 300 artifacts in one of the greatest assemblages of Revolutionary War items on display anywhere in the world.
The Army Historical Foundation is supporting the Army by promoting this new exhibit in ways that will draw visitors from across the nation and around the world. We are only able to do this with the help of our marketing partner, Walmart, and the generosity of supporters like you.
Thank you for your enduring commitment to our mission. We hope you will plan a trip soon to see this blockbuster exhibition that will surely leave you in awe.
Sincerely,
Brigadier General Burt Thompson, USA-Ret
President, The Army Historical Foundation
