Historian to reveal hidden Revolutionary War failures at Oak Ridge talk
Local historian David Adkins will speak at noon Tuesday, Nov. 3, in Oak Ridge on “ Benedict Arnold , Thomas Conway and Horatio Gates – the breakdown of Colonial leadership during the Revolutionary War.” The League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge invites the public to attend the “Lunch with the League” lecture by Adkins between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church, 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike. All are welcome to bring their lunch or purchase a boxed lunch for a nominal fee. Coffee and tea will be served. The presentation at noon will end after an hour with questions and answers. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States, the Lunch with the League Lecture Series has been devoting most of the League’s fall season to talks by local historians on early American history. Adkins , a former adjunct professor of history at Roane State Community College, now teaches at Pellissippi and Walters State community colleges. He regularly teaches for the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning (ORICL), which voted him Instructor of the Year in 2025. At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, he earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees