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STEUBENVILLE -- It's Back to Basics as the Old Fort Steuben Project is planning its annual dinner for 2 p.m. on April 23 at Holy Trinity Greek Church.
"We all have had three years of major disruptions and changes and it has caused us at the fort to reevaluate many of our activities," explained Judy Bratten, director. "We have been able to offer many events to the community and we hope to continue to do so, but our main mission is keeping history alive. We want to demonstrate that with history as our theme for the dinner this year.
"That afternoon we will have a brief summary of what the fort has done since the last dinner three years ago, and a simple fund-raiser: A 50/50 drawing. Attendees will enjoy a buffet dinner to be followed by an informative and entertaining presentation on the importance of doing history correctly by a native son of the area."
The speaker for the dinner is Jonathan D. Bratten, a captain and the command historian of the Maine Army National Guard. He is serving as the Army Center of Military History's current historian in residence in Washington. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in history from Franciscan University of Steubenville and the University of New Hampshire and has served two company command tours, as well as a tour as an instructor at the Department of History at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He is a veteran of Afghanistan and served in the Capitol response mission in 2021. He has conducted several missions in Montenegro as part of a training team to assist that country's military. In 2016, Bratten served as a historical on-screen adviser for the Smithsonian Channel documentary "Americans Underground: Secret Cities of World War One." He has written for Army History, the Washington Post and the New York Times. Bratten contributed chapters to the anthologies "Strategy Strikes Back: How Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict" (2018) and "Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences" (2023.) In 2020, Bratten published "To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919," through Army University Press, which received the 2020 Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Award. He also appeared with Dan Snow on the popular British series "History Hit TV," discussing George Washington's role in the French and Indian War.
"Of course, I'm a little biased as Jonathan is my son, but he is an example how sites such as the fort are essential for encouraging the study of history," Bratten explained. "Throughout his youth he visited museums and sites around the country and, combined with a love for the subject from his father and watching many documentaries, he went on to study history and now has become a respected historian himself."
As part of their commitment to making history accessible to all, Bratten invites all local high school and college students to attend the speaker's portion of the program at no charge, as long as reservations are made in advance.
The Old Fort Steuben Project is a private non-profit that operates Historic Fort Steuben, the First Federal Land Office and Fort Steuben Park. Since 1986 it has been tasked to reconstruct, develop, interpret and promote the original site of the 1786-1789 American fort in order to inform the public about the historic and cultural heritage of the Upper Ohio Valley.
"As a nonprofit, we depend on the generosity of our members, visitors and supporters to operate and to meet our mission," Bratten added. "We encourage everyone to become a member and help us keep this beautiful resource available for years to come."
The cost for the dinner is $35 and reservations must be made in advance by calling (740) 283-1787 or by sending a check to Old Fort Steuben Project, 120 S. Third St., Steubenville 43952.