Damien Cregeau: Independent Historian, Author, Public Speaker, Narrator

Most Popular PowerPoint Presentations Include:

“Spies, Lies and Alibis: Spies, Patriots and Traitors of the American Revolution”   I have given this talk scores of times over the past twelve years throughout the northeast, including to the FBI’s New York Office in 2014, Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City in 2016 and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, New England Chapter at MIT in 2019.
 

“Eighteenth Century Architecture of Connecticut”  I have given this fascinating slideshow presentation throughout Connecticut over the years.  I worked for many years for my father’s architectural firm in Litchfield County.  My talk focuses on the most interesting and grandest homes built around the state in the 1700s, including the architecture of Williams Spats and Peter Harrison.

“The Military Accomplishments of Major General Alexander Hamilton”   I am a scholar on Alexander Hamilton, and while he is known for his very significant accomplishments as a Founding Father, especially with our Department of the Treasury, this talk focuses on his many military accomplishments.  He was Washington’s favorite and second-longest-serving aide-de-camp during the American Revolution, and Washington insisted Hamilton serve as his major general in the Quasi-War with France in 1798.  I have given this presentation at SUNY-Maritime Academy in New York City as well as at the grave of Hamilton at Trinity Church in New York City.

“The Treachery of General Benedict Arnold”  This talk clarifies two common misconceptions: that Arnold’s treachery was only in September of 1780 and that it was only the plans of West Point when in reality he began to communicate with the British in May of 1779 and he gave them all kinds of secrets and key documents over those 16 months.  It also details how he used codes and couriers with the British in New York, and how he almost served in the U.S. Navy in 1779.   I have given this talk in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

“The Life of a Revolutionary War Foot Soldier”  I use my Revolutionary War military uniform and equipment as well as my PowerPoint presentation to help illustrate the many different kinds of hardships experienced by the soldiers, including lack of food, shelter and clothing.  I have given this talk to historical societies in Connecticut, Vermont and New Jersey.

Other Professional Presentations Include:

“The U.S.S. Confederacy: The Only U.S. Navy Frigate Built in Connecticut”  This PowerPoint presentation is about a sailing ship built in Norwich, Connecticut during the American Revolution.  I co-presented with my co-author, Dayne Rugh, at the Otis Library and Mystic Seaport in the summer of  2019.

“Four Smoky Events in the Colorful Life of Major General Israel Putnam”  The Hartford Club’s Cigar Club Dinner, April 2019  Putnam was a larger-than-life figure who fought bravely in many battles in two wars.  He discovered what became known as the Connecticut Wrapper while he helped besiege Havanna, Cuba in 1762, bringing the tobacco seeds back to Connecticut.  He was also nearly burned alive at the stake by Native Americans in 1758 and fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill outside Boston in June 1775.

“Four Patriot Generals from Connecticut”  This presentation looks at four different patriot leaders from Connecticut, including Generals David Wooster, Benedict Arnold (including his treachery), Israel Putnam, and Colonel Ebenezer Huntington, who became a brigadier general in the Quasi-War with France in 1798 and served as two-term U.S. Congressman in the early 1800s.

“Brevet Brigadier General Samuel Blachley Webb of Wethersfield, Connecticut”  Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, October 2019  This slideshow illustrates the fascinating life of Sam Webb, who served as aide-de-camp to General Washington, was wounded three times in several battles and held the Bible at Washington’s presidential inauguration in New York City in 1789.
 

“The Accomplishments of Brevet Major General Jedediah Huntington”  Grave of General Huntington, Norwichtown Burying Ground, Norwich, Connecticut, September 2019  This speech  was on the various military and civilian accomplishments of patriot leader Jed Huntington, who finished second in his class at Harvard, fought at the Battles of Ridgefield, CT and Monmouth, NJ, and served as collector of customs at the port of New London after the war.

“The Family of Alexander Hamilton” SUNY-Maritime Academy, Bronx, New York, September 2018  This slideshow presents Hamilton’s mother, Rachel, as well as his wife, Eliza/Betsy, plus her prominent father, Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler of Albany, as well as their children, including son Philip, who was also killed in a duel.

“Major General Alexander Hamilton’s Creation of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service,”  NOUS (Naval Order of the United States) New York Commandery Chapter Meeting, May 2018, New York, New York.  Hamilton created the service in 1791 to create income for the young republic.

“Colonel James Swan: Forgotten Financier and International Man of Mystery”  Museum of American Finance, Wall Street, New York City, April 2019   Swan was a Son of Liberty from Boston who was also a Freemason, patriot officer who fought at Bunker Hill, and both a land investor and merchant in France who made millions in his lifetime.  He helped bail out the United States debt to France in the 1790s and was friends with the Marquis de Lafayette.  He also tried to smuggle Marie Antoinette out of France before she was killed.

“Mad Men in the Age of ‘Downton Abbey’”  This is an architectural history presentation looking at the landmark buildings of early 20th-century Manhattan, including early skyscrapers as well as the then-famous mansions demolished later in the century.  This talk has been presented at both the Museum of American Finance in NYC as well as for GANYC, the Guide Association of NYC, which was attended by about 100 professional tour guides.