AUGUSTA — A special lecture series, “Battle, Duty, Heroism: Benedict Arnold, His Soldiers and the Northern Revolutionary War Campaign,” is set for 2 p.m. Sundays in February and March in the Council Chambers, second floor, Augusta City Center, 16 Cony St.

The series is co-hosted by Fort Western Living History Museum and the Arnold Expedition Historical Society.

James Nelson, of Harpswell, author of “Benedict Arnold’s Navy” (2006), will kick off the series Feb. 5 with a talk about the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of Valcour Island, a naval battle on the lake that would ultimately spell victory in the War for Independence.

Kenny Wing, of Eustis, author of “The Lost Villages of Flagstaff Lake” (2010), will speak on Feb. 12 about Benedict Arnold’s march from the Upper Dead River to the Canadian border.

Steve Clark, of Scarborough, author of “Following Their Footsteps” (2003) and past president of the historical society, will revisit the Arnold Trail on Feb. 19 to reveal how best to follow the route today.

Tom Desjardins, of Hallowell, author of “Through a Howling Wilderness” (2006) and director of Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, will discuss the life and times of Ruben Colburn (1740-1818) on Feb. 26.

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Steven Darley, of North Haven, Connecticut, author of “Voices from a Wilderness Expedition” (2011), will reveal new information about the lives and hardships of Benedict Arnold’s men on March 5 through journals that have never been published.

On March 12, Daniel Soucier, of Orono, doctoral candidate, UMaine, and editor of Maine History, will turn the previous history of the expedition’s suffering in the wilderness on its head by looking at the soldiers’ appreciation of the natural world and how they experienced it on a variety of levels.

All lectures are free, however donations will be accepted and will be used to benefit educational programming.

Authors will be available for book signings after the lectures and refreshments will be provided. In case of inclement weather, Sunday, March 19, will be reserved as a snow date.

For more information, call 626-2385 or email oldfort@oldfortwestern.org.


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