On Thursday, October 1, the Lee County Library will welcome Dr. Ricardo A. Herrera to Tupelo as the speaker for the 2026 Helen Foster Lecture. Herrera, Senior Historian for the George Washington Leadership Institute at the George Washington Presidential Library, also serves as Professor Emeritus, U.S. Army War College. An award-winning historian, Herrera is the author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778 (UNC Press, 2022) and For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861 (NYU Press, 2015). His forthcoming book is an edited collection tentatively titled A Most Uncommon Soldier: The Life, Letters, and Journal of Edward Ashley Bowen Phelps, 1814-1893, to be published by the University Press of Kansas.

Described as “compelling,” and “impeccably researched,” Feeding Washington’s Army highlights the daily experience of soldiers in the Continental Army as they struggled to sustain themselves during the long, cold winter at Valley Forge. This logistical quagmire—not fighting the British—would prove to be the Continental Army’s largest and most dangerous operation during America’s war for independence. Feeding Washington’s Army transcends the mythical tales of Valley Forge to demonstrate both the resourcefulness of American soldiers and just how close to starvation they actually came.

The formal program will open at 6:00 PM with a special ceremony recognizing this year’s recipient of the Helen Foster Award for Library Advocacy, and will continue with the Helen Foster Lecture from Dr. Ricardo A. Herrera. Following the program Herrera will remain in the library for a book signing and meet-and-greet with program attendees.

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