In 2007, President George W. Bush sent more than 20,000 additional troops to fight in Iraq, a strategy referred to as “the surge.” Using newly declassified documents, unpublished manuscripts, interviews, and more, retired U.S. Army veterans Col. Peter Mansoor and Gen. David Petraeus share their unique insider’s view of the most decisive phase of the Iraq War.
On June 17, 1775, violence erupted between British troops and Patriot militia in the Battle of Bunker Hill, which would become the bloodiest battle of the Revolution. An award-winning author and historian reignites the flames of Bunker Hill and offers a fresh perspective on this turning point that sparked the American Revolution.
The first momentous battle of the West launched Ulysses S. Grant as a new Union hero—but came perilously close to ending with a Confederate victory. Shiloh also raised the bar on battlefield bloodshed: at the time, April 1862, it was the deadliest encounter of the entire Civil War. Leading Civil War historians discuss every aspect of the two-day battle—from strategies to casualties, miracles to miscalculations.
In his first major book event and his only New York stop in a national tour, former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates delivers a behind-the-scenes account of his service under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama while the nation was embroiled in two difficult wars.
Celebrate the service of all U.S. military Veterans with the patriotic primer America. From D for Declaration to S for Suffrage and N for Native Americans to V for Valor, this storytime reviews a patriotic alphabet and reminds us to appreciate those that enlist to protect our country.
From the seventeenth century to the twenty-first, through fiction and through fact, hear tales of NYC and the people who made it great.
On July 4, 1863, Maj. Gen. Grant’s 47-day siege of Vicksburg ended with the surrender of the Confederate forces under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton, thus removing one of the only remaining Rebel strongholds on the Mississippi River. Three of the nation’s foremost Civil War historians discuss the operations that made up one of the most remarkable military campaigns of the American Civil War.
Why does the climactic three-day battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) still resonate in the hearts and minds of Americans 150 years later? Allen C. Guelzo depicts this momentous battle with both terror and reverence, relating the true grittiness behind the lines, the daily lives of horrified civilians, and the role of politics in military tactics.
Recommended for children ages 4–7. Free with Museum admission.
Hear tales of New York and learn about your city’s history in these stories for young children. Themes are related to New York and American history, current holidays, and New-York Historical Society exhibitions.
Prepare for our nation’s birthday by guessing which silly tall tales about our founding fathers are true or not in Lane Smith’s John, Paul, George & Ben, then hear an extraordinary true story about how a bookseller helped chase the British army out of Boston during the Revolutionary War.
Admission to the film programs is free in conjunction with New-York Historical’s Pay-as-you-wish Friday Nights (6-8 PM). No advanced reservations are possible for these events. Tickets are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 6 PM. Auditorium doors open at 6:30 PM (unless otherwise noted).