Shepherd University Professor Benjamin Bankhurst Featured in Documentary on Region’s Revolutionary War History

ISSUED: 15 September 2026
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV - Shepherd University Professor Dr. Benjamin Bankhurst is featured in West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Always Free: Mountaineers in the Revolution, a four-part documentary series exploring the role of present-day West Virginia in the American Revolution.

The series looks at the people, communities, and conflicts in the western counties of colonial Virginia before and during the Revolutionary War. Bankhurst appears in episode two, "To Arms," offering historical context for the region's involvement in the fight for American independence.

His commentary explains how resistance to British authority developed into a coordinated effort. Discussing the Second Continental Congress's actions in 1775, Bankhurst describes "the need to expand the army beyond those militia units and to create a professional standing army."

The episode also highlights a connection to Shepherd's hometown. Shepherdstown, then known as Mecklenburg, was a recruiting center for riflemen who undertook the Bee-Line March from the Shepherdstown area to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to join the Continental Army. The documentary examines these soldiers' contributions and the region's larger ties to the war.

Bankhurst is a member of Shepherd's Department of History. His research focuses on migration to the Appalachian frontier during the colonial and Revolutionary periods.

To watch Always Free: Mountaineers in the Revolution, visit West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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