DEVENS — The Fort Devens Museum is encouraging people to join them on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 1 p.m. for a presentation by Don Hagist on his newest book “Invisible Lives: British Soldiers’ Wives in the American Revolution.”
When British regiments were deployed overseas, many soldiers brought their wives and families with them. Their presence is pervasive in the military documents and iconography of the era, and yet they are seldom mentioned in literature about the war. These women filled vital roles in the army infrastructure, and were an integral part of the military society. This book is the first to deeply investigate the lives and circumstances of British army wives in the American Revolution, including the rationale for having families accompany the army, the roles wives fulfilled, and the challenges they faced.
Hagist is managing editor of Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com). His historical studies focus on presenting an accurate picture of individual soldiers and their families, especially those of the British army who served in America. This research is done using exclusively primary sources, mostly from archives in North America and Europe.
He appears in the Netflix series “The American Experiment,” and was an advisor for the PBS documentary “The American Revolution” produced by Ken Burns. He has written several recent books including “Noble Volunteers: the British Soldiers who fought the American Revolution,” “The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers behind the Photographs.” He is an engineering consultant, and also writes for several well-known syndicated cartoonists. For more information, see his website, donhagist.com.
The Fort Devens Museum is located on the 3rd floor of the building at 94 Jackson Road, Devens, and is universally accessible. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on this day with the program at 1 p.m. It will be free and open to the public. Thanks are given to the Shirley Cultural Council for supporting the program.
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