"'Huzzah!' for William Fowler. His superb American Crisis brings to life, with great clarity and understanding, one of the least-known, most important chapters in the long struggle for independence, and leaves no doubt of how much, once again, was owed to George Washington for how things turned out."--David McCullough, author of John Adams and The Greater Journey Most people believe the American Revolution ended in October, 1781, after the battle of Yorktown; in fact the war continued for two more traumatic years. During that time, the Revolution came closer to being lost than at any time in the previous half dozen. The British still held New York, Savannah, Wilmington, and Charleston; the Royal Navy controlled the seas; the states--despite having signed the Articles of Confederation earlier that year--retained their individual sovereignty and, largely bankrupt themselves, refused to send any money in the new nation's interest; members of Congress were in constant disagreement; and the Continental army was on the verge of mutiny. William Fowler's An American Crisis chronicles these tumultuous and dramatic two years, from Yorktown until the British left New York in November 1783. At their heart was the remarkable speech Gen. George Washington gave to his troops evcamped north of New York in Newburgh, quelling a brewing rebellion that could have overturned the nascent government. William M. Fowler, Jr. is Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society and consulting editor to The New England Quarterly. He received his undergraduate degree from Northeastern University and his Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of a number of books on American history including Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle For North America, Rebels Under Sail: The Navy in the Revolution, The Baron of Beacon Hill: A Biography of John Hancock, Jack Tars and Commodores: The American Navy 1783-1815, and Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War. He was Professor of History at Northeastern University from 1971 to 1998 and has taught a variety of courses in American history. He also teaches at Mystic Seaport Museum and has lectured at the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Naval War College and the Sea Education Association. He lives in Boston, MA. This event is part of a series put on by the American Independence Museum. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for members/students.