While the ‘Big Birthday’ came and went on July 4, 2026, the revolutionary drumbeat continues in Rockbridge: on screen, and on the page.
Resuming its run in September, the Rockbridge Historical Society’s monthly “Revolutionary Films & Books” series now launches into its second year, continuing to build toward the twin 250th birthdays of Lexington and Rockbridge in 2028.
This fall, films will be screened on the second Tuesday of each month, with a complementary book discussion to follow on third Wednesdays. All events are free and open to the public, and run from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Piovano Room at the Rockbridge Regional Library’s Lexington branch.
From September through December, book selections will be thematically paired to echo with a “Ken Burns Quartet.” Chosen episodes will draw from some of Burns’ less familiar series, before wrapping the year with excerpts from his most recent national epic, “The American Revolution.”
RHS Executive Director Eric Wilson stresses that these events will open with related book or movie trailers, short interviews with authors and directors, sometimes even with local historians and topical experts to frame discussions.
Wilson adds: “As we’ve grown and learned through this first year’s run, it’s been nice to have folks for whom the readings and films bring welcome returns, from years ago, as well as those who may not even have decided whether or not to crack the spine of an inviting or ambitious book.”
“To be clear,” he continued, “our conversations don’t come with expectations of prior knowledge, judgments of how much someone has or hasn’t read in a given text, nor fidelity to the monthly tempo. We trust people to find their way to the parts of a book or topic they like. Or, we’re often finding, simply come to get a feel for the broader themes in play. If the spirit moves, it’s exciting and easy to check out the book or DVDs from the library to read or watch afterwards, at your own good pace.”
Lewis and Clark
The first coupling, next month, turns the spyglass back to the trials, triumphs, and legacies of the “Corps of Discovery,” America’s first transcontinental expedition from 1803 to 1806. On Sept. 8, scenes drawn from Burns’ “Lewis and Clark” will also set the stage for a Sep. 16 discussion of one of the most celebrated books of American history, Stephen Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West.”
Thomas Jefferson
October loops back to Thomas Jefferson, perhaps the most highlighted figure in this year’s 250th anniversary witness to the Declaration of Independence. On Oct. 13, excerpts from Burns’ cinematic biography will look beyond more iconic histories of his service as a revolutionary author, Virginia governor, and U.S. president, exploring scenes of his more private life, his interests in science, and his time in Europe.
For a timely pairing, on Oct. 19, RHS, the Washington and Lee University Department of Politics and the Virginia Society of the Cincinnati will host a public lecture at W&L’s University Chapel, delivered by Monticello President Jane Kamensky. Her remarks will be followed by a round table conversation reflecting on national, state, and local commemorations of this semiquincentennial year.
On Oct. 21, “Revolutionary Books” will take up “Declare: A New Civic Gospel,” an inventive new anthology of poems, meditations, and essays (published by Monticello, with an introduction by Kamensky), jointly reflecting on the Declaration as our evolving democratic creed.
Native Histories
November brings National Native American Heritage Month, as Burns’ often overlooked nine-hour chronicle, “The West,” spans the 19th century, from its first decades to its close.
On Nov. 10, in scenes from the final two episodes, Burns turns the lens to the dramatic trans-tribal revivals of “The Ghost Dance,” the Battle of Wounded Knee, and the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Continuing that arc into the 20th century, and with a more local turn, an associated RHS program that month will detail the Rockbridge County court cases that challenged Virginia’s 1924 Racial Integrity Act, including its attempts to ban “interracial marriage.”
On Nov. 18, a discussion of Kathleen DuVal’s “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America” (winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize) “flips the script” on conventional American histories, with her comprehensive chronicling of native strength, resistance, and resilience providing a vital counterpoint to the presumed inevitabilities of “Manifest Destiny.”
1776
The 250th anniversary commemorations of 2026 will duly close the year on Dec. 16 with a discussion of Pulitzer Prize-winner David McCullough’s bestseller, “1776.” Its quick pulse runs from the spring Siege of Boston, through the Battle of Brooklyn that summer, and the daring Christmas night crossing of the Delaware for a crucial surprise victory at Trenton.
The series spotlight on Burns’ distinctive narrative approach concludes on Dec. 8 with parallel scenes from “The American Revolution.”
Looking Ahead
In 2027, the series will broaden into fiction – novels, short stories, poetry selections, along with age-appropriate texts and graphic novels for middle and high school students. And it will also return to full screenings or excerpts from feature films that traverse four centuries and more of American history.
For event updates, book and movie trailers, and complementary articles to tease the series’ broader themes, follow RHS Facebook and Instagram pages, or write Director@RockbridgeHistory. org with questions.
