Hosley will regale his audience with epic stories of sacrifice, heroism and perseverance during his lecture,“Lighting Freedom’s Flame: A Look at Connecticut’s Revolutionary War.” Hosley maintains that because Connecticut was not the site of any major Revolutionary War battles it has been relegated to the margins of the story of America’s journey to independence. He will illustrate how Connecticut did indeed play a wide-ranging role during the period, and was the home of some of the Revolution’s most renowned and infamous personalities, including Nathan Hale, Benedict Arnold, Israel Putnam, Silas Deane, Roger Sherman, the Compte de Rouchambeau, and Governor Jonathan Trumbull.

Connecticut was also the site of memorable battles and skirmishes, at Ridgefield and Groton Heights—and the burning of New London and Fairfield—and played a major role in provisioning troops. Hosley will demonstrate that the American Revolution was also a “civil war” that pitted neighbor against neighbor and inflicted enormous suffering and damage on Connecticut citizens.