Behind the Lines:
Unsung Women of the American Revolution
Sponsored by the Debra Najecki Endowment
In the grand narratives of the American Revolution, the spotlight has long focused on founding fathers, generals, and politicians. But history is finally making room for the women who shaped the Revolution behind the lines.
Behind the Lines: Unsung Women of the American Revolution is a three-day conference, running March 13–15, 2026, that will explore the indispensable yet often overlooked contributions of women during America’s fight for independence. The conference will be held at the historic, 300 year old Portsmouth Friends Church, in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and well also be available virtually. Friday evening will have light appetizers and lunch will be provided on both Saturday and Sunday.
Sponsored by the Debra Najecki Endowment, the event will shine a light on women whose courage, intelligence, and resilience influenced the Revolution in ways both subtle and profound. From writers and political thinkers to spies, nurses, and family stewards, these women upheld homes and communities while pushing the boundaries of what it meant to be a patriot. Their voices—sometimes whispered through letters or boldly expressed in publications—helped shape the ideals and outcomes of the revolutionary era.
The Debra Najecki Endowment
The Debra Najecki Endowment was established by her husband in loving memory of Debra Najecki, who was a dedicated member of the Brigade of the American Revolution from 1987 until her passing in 2017. Debra was deeply passionate about the Brigade and its mission, and she championed the role of women in the organization. An avid lover of horses and a fierce advocate for historical preservation, Debra's spirit of determination and passion for the American Revolution continues through this endowment. The funds will be used to honor her legacy and further her work in promoting the ideals she held so dear.
Presenters
Saturday, March 14th, 2026
Nancy Rubin Stuart - 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation
Nancy Rubin Stuart is an award-winning author and journalist specializing in biographies of notable women throughout history. Her works, such as American Empress: The Life and Times of Marjorie Merriweather Post and Defiant Brides, have been praised for their depth and engaging narratives. Stuart's dedication to uncovering the stories of influential women has established her as a leading voice in historical biography.
In this presentation, Stuart will discuss her book, The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation. She will illuminate the life of Mercy Otis Warren, America's first female playwright and historian of the American Revolution. Stuart will explore how Warren's writings, including satirical plays and the influential History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, challenged the societal norms of the 18th century and provided a unique perspective on the nation's founding. Through this discussion, Stuart aims to shed light on Warren's significant yet often overlooked contributions to American history.
Dr. Friederike Baer - 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Across Enemy Lines: A German Baroness in the American Revolution
Picture a young aristocratic woman and her three young daughters in 1776, defying social conventions by leaving their sheltered life in Germany for war-torn North America. For some contemporaries, this act was truly heroic; for others it was reckless, even mad. In 1800, Friederike Charlotte Louise Riedesel, Baroness of Eisenbach, made waves again with the publication of her memoirs of the seven years she spent away from home, including one year in England and six years in North America. This presentation uses Riedesel's extraordinary memoirs – the only known account by a woman who accompanied the German auxiliary forces to North America – to explore the Revolutionary War from a unique transnational perspective, one that crossed national borders, enemy lines, social classes, and cultural divides.
Friederike Baer is an award-winning author and Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University Abington College. Her scholarship on the American Revolutionary War and Early American Republic has been supported by institutions such as the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Society of the Cincinnati. She is the author of The Trial of Frederick Eberle: Language, Patriotism and Citizenship in Philadelphia’s German Community, 1790-1830, which was awarded the St. Paul, Biglerville Prize in American Lutheran History, and Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, which was honored with the American Roundtable of Philadelphia Annual Book Award, Inaugural American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Honorable Mention, and Society of the Cincinnati Prize. Dr. Baer served as a historical advisor and interviewee for The American Revolution, a documentary film by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. She is currently working on a book about Friederike Riedesel and her adventures in revolutionary Anglo-America.
Bonnie Hurd Smith - 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Not Content on the Sidelines: Judith Sargent Murray Advocates for Female Equality
She is considered the first feminist essayist in America. She was the first American woman to publish a book. She was a poet, playwright, and one of the first Universalists in America who prevailed over the established, Calvinist order. But unlike two women she fiercely admired, Mercy Otis Warren and Abigail Adams, in the months leading up to war, Judith Sargent was not yet in a position to act. In 1775, Judith was twenty-four, newly married, and living in Gloucester, Massachusetts — then, a thriving colonial trading port. She was an eyewitness to the British naval attack on her town that August. She worried about her father’s role on the Committee of Safety and her brother’s service in the Continental Army. She read the news, listened to high-level conversations, and held out hope for what a new American nation could become. Having been raised in a family that prized leadership, civic duty, and learning, once the war was over she could not sit on the sidelines. Not during America’s founding years. Instead, through her public pen, she determined to help “form a new era in female history.” Through her private letters, copied into letter books, she left us an account of her thoughts and actions.
Bonnie Hurd Smith has been writing and speaking about Judith Sargent Murray and Boston-area women’s history for thirty years. She has led cultural organizations, developed historical walking trails, and provided creative and consulting services to nonprofits through her company Hurd Smith Communications. Ms. Smith’s definitive scholarship on Murray is recognized by Oxford Bibliographies. Her work on Murray’s letters has been incorporated into historical museums, National Park Service sites, and books by noted historians and journalists. Her fifth book on Murray’s letters, In Her Words: The evolving story of Judith Sargent Murray, was released in December. She is currently preparing Murray’s letter books for publication by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
- 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Eve LaPlante - 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Anne Hutchinson: Founding Mother and America Jezebel
Eve LaPlante is a speaker and award-winning author who has published three biographies of her ancestors. American Jezebel (Harper, 2004, 2005) tells the true story of the colonial leader and founding mother Anne Hutchinson – the subject of Eve’s talk. Her other ancestor biographies are Marmee & Louisa (Simon & Schuster, 2012, 2013), about Louisa May Alcott and her mother, and Salem Witch Judge (Harper 2007, 2008), about Samuel Sewall, which won the 2008 Massachusetts Book Award for Nonfiction. LaPlante collected and edited a companion volume to Marmee & Louisa, a compilation of Abigail May Alcott’s writings, My Heart is Boundless (Free Press, 2012). She also wrote Seized (Harper, 1993), a narrative portrait of a common brain disorder that can alter personality, and coauthored Who Needs a Statue? (Tilbury House, 2024). A picture book featuring Anne Hutchinson and other statue subjects, Who Needs a Statue? won the International Literacy Association’s 2025 Notable Book for a Global Society Award for excellence in promoting cultural and ethnic diversity. Eve’s talk will consider Anne Hutchinson as a foremother of the American Revolution.
Sunday, March 15th, 2026
Dr. Carol Berkin - 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
Historian Carol Berkin’s talk highlights the critical role women of all backgrounds played during the American Revolution, including boycotting, spying, and even fighting. She explores how both white and African American women, along with Native Americans, interpreted the revolutionary ideals and chose their loyalties, with many African Americans and Native Americans siding with the British for their promises of liberty. Berkin also examines the harsh experiences of Loyalist women and the struggles they faced during the war. Using primary sources like diaries, letters, and songs, Berkin’s presentation underscores the often-overlooked impact of women on America's fight for independence.
Carol Berkin is an American historian and author specializing in women's role in American colonial history. Carol Berkin is Presidential Professor of History, Emerita, of Baruch College & The Graduate Center, CUNY. She received her B.A. from Barnard College and her PhD from Columbia University where her dissertation received the Bancroft Award in 1972. She has worked as a historical commentator for several television documentaries, most notably PBS's Dolley Madison: America’s First Lady.
Guests are invited to attend a traditional service at one of the oldest English Friends churches in the United States, founded in 1699. Alternatively, we will host a Socratic Seminar in the Fellowship Hall exploring women’s roles in the American Revolution, in history more broadly, and in modern public interpretation. All are welcome to join the discussion – whether to listen, reflect, or actively participate.
Service & Socratic Seminar - 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM
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Jean Zimmerman - 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty
In The Women of the House: How a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, a Fortune, and a Dynasty, historian Jean Zimmerman tells the extraordinary story of the Philipse women—one of the most powerful and influential families in colonial New York. At the center of the story is Margaret Hardenbroeck Philipse, a formidable 17th-century “she-merchant” who built a vast trading and real estate empire spanning New Amsterdam, the Hudson Valley, and the Atlantic world. This presentation traces the rise of the Philipse dynasty through generations of remarkable women, including the famed Mary Philipse Morris, who was courted by George Washington before the Revolution reshaped both their lives. From fur trading and shipping to land speculation and mansion building, these women operated at the highest levels of colonial business and society—long before women were supposed to wield such power. The talk also examines how the American Revolution shattered the family’s privileged world, forcing Philipse women to navigate loyalty, exile, confiscation, and political upheaval. Through their story, this session reveals how elite colonial women built wealth, shaped society, and ultimately confronted the cost of revolution.
David Waldsteicher - 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley
David Waldstreicher is a distinguished historian specializing in early American history, with a focus on political culture, slavery, and antislavery movements. He serves as a Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His extensive body of work includes Slavery's Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification and Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution. Waldstreicher will discuss his acclaimed biography, The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet's Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence, which offers a comprehensive account of Phillis Wheatley's life and work. Wheatley, the first African American woman to publish a book of poetry, navigated the complexities of slavery and freedom during the Revolutionary era. Waldstreicher will explore how Wheatley's poetry and personal experiences reflect the broader political and social dynamics of the time, shedding light on her role as both a literary figure and a political actor.