John Adams & The Rule Of Law

BROOKFIELD — As part of its ongoing American Military Forum, the Brookfield Historical Society will host a multimedia presentation on Monday, July 11, concerning “The Rule of Humanity.”

The program will begin at 7:30 pm and will be offered by local attorney and former probate judge Joseph Secola.

The Board of War, created under the Second Continental Congress in January 1776, established this code of conduct during the American Revolution.  The board assumed responsibility for many actions effecting the Continental  Army, among them securing prisoners of war.

Mr Secola, a student of American Jurisprudence history, will discuss how John Adams, chairman of the board, upon learning from Washington of the continual accounts of the barbarities perpetrated by British and Hessian troops against American prisoners of war, pressed to adopt a more humane policy of “Yankee virtue” toward captives in American hands. He will explore the impact of Adams’s actions on future generations of the American military in the treatment of enemy prisoners up to and including our current involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Admission is free. The museum is located at 165 Whisconier Road (at the intersection of Routes 133 and 25) in Brookfield Center.

Call 203-740-8140 or visit BrookfieldCTHistory.org for additional information.