A new documentary exploring Southwest Virginia’s role in the American Revolution will be screened next month at the Salem Museum.
The museum will host a showing of the recent Blue Ridge PBS documentary, “Resolved to Live and Die: The Revolutionary Roots of Southwest Virginia,” on Thursday, June 11, at 7 p.m. The event will include a panel discussion following the screening and is free and open to the public.
The documentary examines the role Southwest Virginians played before and during the American Revolution, focusing on Colonial leaders including Andrew Lewis of Salem. According to organizers, the film explores how local residents organized resistance to British rule in Virginia’s frontier region, culminating in the signing of the Fincastle Resolutions, which pledged resistance against the British Crown.
Historians involved in the documentary’s creation will participate in a question-and-answer session after the screening. Panelists are scheduled to include April Martin, director of the Wilderness Road Regional Museum; Jeff Briggs, director of interpreters for the Fincastle Company Living Historians; Steve Aaron; and Hunter Haskins. The discussion will be moderated by Garrett Channell, executive director of the Salem Museum, who also appears in the documentary.
Copies of the documentary will be available for purchase after the screening and in the Salem Museum gift shop.
The Salem Museum, located in the historic Williams-Brown House at 801 E. Main St. in Salem, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are free, though donations are accepted. For more information, call 540-389-6760 or visit .
