About Wes Stone :

A List of characters Wes portrays include:

William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation-  Willam Bradford was one of the most famous "Pilgrims" who sailed to America on the Mayflower in 1620.  William was forced into the role of Governor of the new colony and faithfully kept a journal which has provided unmatched and invaluable documentation of early America.

George Fox: The Unshakable Quaker- One of the greatest religious reformers of his - or - any age.   He formed the Society of Friends, now known as The Quakers. 

Andrew White, S.J.: Naturalist, Linguist, Explorer and Priest- He arrived in Maryland in 1634 and was the first English Catholic cleric in America.  His interests were wide-ranging and his work among the Native Americans led to discoveries about the natural life, and the lives of the native peoples and their language, which are still consulted by historians of early America.

Louis LeBegue DuPortail: The Founder of the Army Corps of Engineers- In 1778, Louis DuPortail led a group of four engineers from France to America on the orders of his King.  He found a disunited jumble of tiny colonies in rebellion against their British masters.  He established a viable and competent Corps of Engineers for the fledging United States, headquartered at West Point along the Hudson River.  He is truly the founder of the United States Corps of Engineers. 

Alexander Sutherland: Cornwallis’ Engineer- In 18th Century England, a gentleman did not become an engineer, he employed one!  It might be argued that this attitude lost Britain her American Colonies.

Robert Mills: America’s First Native-Born Architect- Born in South Carolina in 1781, Robert Mills was not only an architect but an engineer as well.  He was an astute student of Thomas Jefferson and the school of the Greek Revival, and his works include Monumental Church in Richmond, Virginia, the rebuilding of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and the first national monument erected to George Washington in Baltimore, Maryland.

George Brinton McClellan: Governor of New Jersey- One of the most controversial soldiers in American history.  He graduated second in the class of 1846 at West Point, and he served during the Mexican War.  He later became Vice-President of the Illinois Central, where he employed a gawky Abraham Lincoln.  He became a Major General during the Civil War and defeated Robert E. Lee in West Virginia, earning him the nickname “The Young Napoleon.”  In 1864, he would lose the Presidential Election to his former employee Abe Lincoln.  His military greatness is both one of legend and of controversy to this day.

Edwin Booth: A Life on Stage- He was the greatest actor of his generation.  He performed Shakespeare on three continents and completely changed the style of acting in American by introducing a “natural” style of interpreting a character.   His performance as Hamlet ran 100 straight nights in New York City in 1865, a record run, eclipsed by the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, perpetrated by his younger brother John Wilkes Booth.  However, Edwins popularity was such that he was welcomed back onstage in less than a year.  He founded the notorious Player’s Club, in Gramercy Park, New York.  His statue still graces the park. 

Edward Steichen: The Artist of War- He was one of the most renowned photographers and artists of his time.  He photographed the First World War he founded the department of photo-reconnaissance, after entering the Navy. He was friends with Picasso whom he introduced to American audiences at his New York Art Gallery “291.”  And he found the photography section of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, establishing the photograph’s place in the legitimate world of art.

Omar N. Bradley: The Soldier’s General- Major General Omar Nelson Bradley led 1.3 million men- the largest force of America Soldiers to serve under one single commander.  Plain in dress and manner, he was often at the front armed with a carbine.  Bradley was known as a general who cared for the welfare of his men.  He was a favorite among the common soldier, and he was truly a Soldiers General.

Keeping A Light:  The Life of an American Lighthouse Keeper- Lighthouses call to the romantic in us all and fascinate us in ways that no other man-made structures manage to do.  But the reality of life as a lighthouse keeper was often lonely, isolated, cold, wet… the keepers of our beacons led lives of backbreaking work, vast responsibility and often mind dulling drudgery.  Confront the real life of a lighthouse keeper in a program gathered from historical records as well as interviews with keepers and their families.  I wasn’t all it seems!