As you commemorate America’s servicemen and women on Veterans Day, you probably don’t think about the Appalachian Trail, the 2,200-mile hiking route from Georgia to Maine that passes through Virginia’s Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Mountains. But for U.S. Marine Corps veteran Sean Gobin, the AT became the catalyst for his own recovery from combat and the inspiration to help others “walk off the war.” He founded Warrior Expeditions, a non-profit organization that sponsors long-distance outdoor expeditions for veterans to promote healing from their wartime experiences.

Did you know that September includes holidays like “Crush a Can Day” and “National Drink Beer Day”? In recent years, Virginia’s craft beer scene has exploded with IPAs, Sours, Sessions, and whatever your homebrewer friend concocted in their garage. In the early 20th century, Richmond made history as the first testing ground for canned beer—just one part of a brewing tradition in the Commonwealth that reaches back 300 years.

Thomas Jefferson purchased Natural Bridge from the king of England in 1774 in order to guarantee its preservation. When he encouraged Americans and Europeans to view “so beautiful an arch,” seemingly innumerable travelers and artists journeyed to Rockbridge County. Today, Natural Bridge no longer attracts such attention. Why?

As we entered our second year of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in 2021, we asked: have you ever wondered how Virginians fought infectious disease in the past? This program explored the history of smallpox, a contagious and deadly disease that had plagued humans from ancient times until its eradication in the late 20th century. An important step in this global health victory was the 1796 development of a vaccine, the first ever against an infectious disease.

On October 20, 2021, bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick delivered the 2021 J. Harvie Wilkinson, Jr. Lecture based on his newest book, Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy.

On July 21,2021, historian William C. Davis delivered the 2021 Hazel and Fulton Chauncey Lecture entitled “The Greatest Fury: The Battle of New Orleans and the Rebirth of America.”

On November 11, 2021, historian Caroline E. Janney had a discussion for her new book about Lee’s army after Appomattox.

On October 28, 2021, writer Catherine Baab-Muguira presented a lively and informative look at Edgar Allan Poe and how his life can teach us counterintuitive lessons on achieving creative success.

In this October 7, 2021, lecture, A. E. Dick Howard discussed the evolution of Virginia’s Constitution from 1776 to the present day.

On September 2, 2021, historian Robert P. Watson delivered a Banner Lecture about his research and book about the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison and the Civil War’s largest jail break.

Robert Watson provides the definitive account of the Confederacy’s infamous Libby Prison, site of the Civil War’s largest prison break. Libby Prison housed Union officers, high-profile foes of the Confederacy, and political prisoners. Watson captures the wretched conditions, cruel guards, and the story of the daring prison break, called “the most remarkable in American history.”