But haunting the proceedings are the lessons learned from one of the central events in the Army’s history — the Newburgh Conspiracy. Visitors to the new National Museum of the United States Army will encounter at least two detailed discussions of that 1783 crisis, in which prominent officers of what was then known as the Continental Army threatened rebellion over back pay and pensions. Since the Newburgh Conspiracy, civilian control of the Army has been central to its self-understanding and purpose. The Army and the Army Historical Foundation have devoted substantial resources to create a museum that now ranks among the major public-history institutions in and near the nation’s capital. Located on a grassy plain surrounded by forest on the grounds of Fort Belvoir, the $430 million Army museum is far more than an exercise in institutional hagiography or, like the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, a mostly theme-park recruitment experience.

Source: Washington Post November 12, 2020 11:01 UTC