Header Image: Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, oil on canvas, 1820. Courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol.
About Krysten Blackstone
Blackstone is a Ph.D. student in history at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland whose research examines the morale of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Her research focuses on the revolutionary period and its soldiers by analyzing the burgeoning relationship between the army, national identity, and the effects it had on the wider community. Morale served a dual purpose - in motivating soldiers to fight it also contributed to creating and sustaining a national identity. Her work at Mount Vernon will investigate the emphasis that officers of the Continental Army placed on troop morale, in an effort to understand better the relationship of morale to victory and American identity.
Blackstone is a recipient of the James C. Rees Fellowship on the Leadership of George Washington.