Abby Epplett, Historian

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point . The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series , I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior. In the second part , I explored the views around the fort and informational signage about the wars in which the fort served. In the third part , I described features outside the fort. In this final part, I talk about the visitor center museum, the officers quarters, barracks, and nearby memorials. ...

I recently watched Portraits of Patriots presented by Damien Cregeau and hosted by Curt DiCamillo as part of the Art & Architecture webinar series by American Ancestors. Cregeau published his book by the same name in 2025 to celebrate a family of artists and officers during the American Revolution. Rather than a biography of a single famous figure, an in-depth study of a campaign or battle, or what Cregeau calls a “huge book” about the entire Revolution, he collected stories about six “second-tier” Patriots with a special focus on Colonel John Trumbull .

Just like approximately one year ago with the Overview of Book I, Chapter 2 , I have carefully read the chapter using multiple lenses of interpretation, including those of history, literature, world religion, and potential animated musical. I have written the first draft of the script to be used while crafting the animatic for this section and continue to add more accurate “stage directions” than in my previous scripts, which will hopefully result in fewer rewrites. In this essay, I give a quick summary of the chapter, discuss the history being the chapter title, and present the timeline for the next episode.

I recently attended a webinar featuring author Alex Wright talking about his book Empire of Ink: The Printers, Rogues, and Radicals who Invented the American Newspaper published by Basic Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group , on June 16, 2026. The talk was hosted by History Camp with Lee Wright, no relation, serving as the moderator. The last History Camp talk I attended was on The Mythmakers by John Hendrix back in June 2025 , so I was overdue for another fast-paced, history-packed talk.

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point . The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series , I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior. In the second part , I explored the views around the fort and informational signage about the wars in which the fort served. In the third part, I will describe features outside the fort, including external buildings, a pier, and cannons. Access to the park grounds and trails are free to all and ...

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point . The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series , I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior. In the second part, I explore the views around the fort and informational signage about the wars in which the fort served. Spectacular views about from the top of the fort after climbing the very cool, comparatively not too long winding stairs. To the far left is Gold Star Memorial Bridge , twi...

For the 250 th anniversary of the United States, I took a three-day patriotic trip to the Thames River National Heritage Park in Groton and New London, CT. On Day 1, I spent the morning touring Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, which included its monument, museum , and the interior of the fort , followed by an early afternoon boat tour , and a visit to Avery-Copp House ( first part , second part ). After making several quick history stops around Groton , I finished the day at UCONN Avery Point . The second day began at Fort Trumbull in New London. In the first part of this four-part mini series, I learned the architectural history of the fort and explore its interior, including rooms decorated in specific historical periods and statues preparing to shoot a cannon. Fort Trumbull is now a state park, but it began in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War as a stone fort meant to shield the nearby harbor from enemy forces, especially the British Navy. Unfort...

I have completed the second animatic in just under a year, significantly faster than Chapter 1 and yet still at a fairly slow pace. I hope to increase efficiency for the next installment. Highlights from the past year included extensive wardrobe design , rousing musical numbers , and folklore about dragons and volcanoes . My essays have become a more manageable length as I practice being concise, while my animation is more fluid. I hope you the latest installment. I will take next week off and be back with an overview of “Chapter 3: Three Is Company” on November 1.

Yesterday, I watched this year’s Robert C. Baron Lecture hosted by the American Antiquarian Society . The talk was given in memory of Robert “Bob” Charles Baron , a pioneer of computer science who passed away in April 2026 at age 92. These talks examine how a written work changed the field, how the field has further changed since the work was published. The speaker was Philip J. DeLoria , the first tenured professor in Native American history at Harvard University who has known Yankton Dakota ancestry. He originally published Playing Indian in 1998 as a reworking of his thesis from 1994. His numerous accolades include serving as a trustee at the National Museum of the American Indian and being a member of the American Philosophical Society, although he regards himself as “just a guy who kinda just does his best.” DeLoria was interested in Native American history from childhood, as he learned about Native American culture while in Boy Scouts, stopped near a lodge for “The Impro...

I recently watched the webinar Creating Winterthur: The Museum, Garden & Library featuring speaker Jeff Groff, the retired estate historian at Winterthur, and hosted by American Ancestors. The talk covered the history of the du Pont family, their properties, and the journey of Winterthur from a private home to a modern museum. The talk was fast-paced, highly detailed, and illustrated with beautiful photographs of the house and grounds, along with family pictures and images of other properties associated with the du Pont family. This is a summary of my favorite parts.