Sparking the Revolution: Flintlocks, Gunpowder, and Policy in America's War for Independence Full Day Conference

When: 11/21/25, 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM
Location: Scibelli Hall (B2) Auditorium

Join us in Springfield, November 20 and 21st, 2025. The University of Wyoming College of Law’s Firearms Research Center, in partnership with the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, invites you to an academic conference exploring the complex role of firearms in Revolutionary America.

Through thought-provoking panels, lectures, and discussions, the program will delve into topics such as colonial disarmament and regulation, the function of militias, the material culture of arms, and archaeological insights into the earliest days of the Revolution.

Bringing together historians, curators, and scholars, this event offers a balanced and dynamic look at how firearms, policy, and community shaped the struggle for independence - and how these legacies continue to inform our understanding of early America and resonate in conversations today.

This event is free and open to the public.

Schedule

November 20th

Springfield Armory National Historic Site

• 5-7:30 pm Welcome Reception and Fireside Chat on Founding Era History and the U.S. Supreme Court's Bruen decision.

November 21st

Springfield Technical Community College

• 8:30-8:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
• 8:45-10:00 a.m. Panel 1: Disarmament and the Revolution (CLE)
  • Panelists:
    
    • Bob Cottrol, George Washington University
    • E. Gregory Wallace, Campbell University
    • James Slaughter, Marshall University
• 10:15-11:00 a.m.: Guns of the American Revolution
  
  • Speaker: Erik Goldstein, Colonial Williamsburg
• 11:00-11:30 a.m.: The Earliest Days of Springfield Armory
  • Speaker: Alex Mackenzie, Springfield Armory
• 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lunch
• 12:30-1:45 p.m.: Panel 2: The Colonial Militia (CLE)
  
  • Panelists:
    
    • Jody Madeira, Indiana University
    • Joyce Malcolm, George Mason University
    • Alexander Cain, Author
• 1:55-2:40 p.m.: Creating an Arsenal of Liberty
  
  • Speaker: Andrew Fagal, Princeton University
• 2:40-3:25 p.m.: Early Ballistics of the American Revolution
  
  • Speaker: Joel Bohy, Antiques Roadshow