Becoming Americans (04-23-13)

I’ve been to other live history museums- such as Plimoth Plantation and Sturbridge Village, so the thought did cross my mind that we could skip Colonial Williamsburg.  Boy am I glad we didn’t. There are several things that set this living history museum apart from all others.  One is the sheer size- it’s the largest museum of it’s kind, and encompasses 300 acres.   We elected to get a multi day pass, which was smart because they rotate which years they are interpreting. Tuesdays they represent 1775-1776 and Wednesday they interpret 1779-1781.  I think what I liked most about this place was that this timeframe in our history was so dynamic, volatile and, well, historic! 

Our first stop was the movie theater to watch “Becoming a Patriot” a movie about a fictitious family in Williamsburg, 1775, and what life was like for them. Great movie.

To get to the “town”, you cross over a bridge where you “walk back in time”.  On the ground there are plaques that contain a timeline with information from different years. One plaque says “1865- from this date back, you know people who own other people.”

On the outskirts of the town was a small farm, where you could talk to farm workers and slaves about the work they were performing. From the slave’s perspective all the talk of freedom and  claiming independence didn’t mean much, because no one was talking about the slaves being free. It was ironic that colonists were willing to fight for freedom yet they all owned slaves.

There were numerous side roads with small houses, gardens, and many trade businesses.  We checked out the wheelwright, the cabinet maker, the joiner (which, surprisingly is a separate job), the brickyard, etc. Paul enjoyed watching them work using only tools available in the 1700s.

Main Street was full of houses, shops, taverns, and government buildings such as the courthouse, the powder magazine and the Capital building.

1775-1776

Our first stop inside the town was the Governor’s Palace, where we learned about the mood of the town in 1775 and what events were taking place that were causing unease among the townspeople.  Relations between England and America had been strained for many years by this point, and King George had recently declared that no more gun powder could be imported by the colonies.  Soon thereafter, the Governor of Virginia stole all of the gun powder that the people of Williamsburg had stored in the town powder magazine.  He made the excuse that he had heard a rumor that nearby slaves intended to revolt and steal the gunpowder, but that was proven to be a lie. The tension level in Williamsburg rose quickly after that.

   As we walked down the street, we could listen to, or converse with, townspeople  who were discussing taxes, what should be done about the Governor and his thievery, and whatever else they were worried about that day.

Later in the day there was quite a commotion as a rider came storming into town with the news that shots had been fired in Concord Massachusetts between colonial militia and the British troops, who had been given orders to seize the colonists’ military supplies.Quite an argument ensued, since many of the townspeople were still  loyal to the crown.

The boiling point was soon reached and Virginia, the wealthiest and largest of the 13 colonies was the first to declare it’s independence from England, in May of 1776. The war, which was already being waged, intensified. In July of 1776, all 13 colonies reviewed and signed the Declaration of Independence.

1779-1781

The reality of war and the daily sacrifices that everyone has had  to make are the topic of conversations in the street.

At noon, Thomas Jefferson spoke to a large crowd about the process of writing the Declaration of Independence.  He was part of a committee of 5 who wrote it.  He insisted that the ideas and words incorporated into it were not new, but merely formalized the thoughts that had been in the heads of Americans for many years. “Common sense” was the term he used. As a speaker, he was absolutely fabulous.


He also discussed the the phrase “we the people”  and the definition of who that actually meant at the time.  Government officials were elected by the people, yes, but in the 1700s, very few people could actually vote. You had to be white, male, over 21, Protestant, and a landowner who has no mortgage on his property in order to vote in elections.

Later in the day the streets were buzzing with the arrival of British troops who (in 1781)seized control of Williamsburg.  They were led by Benedict Arnold. The British occupied Williamsburg for several months.

The final visitor of  the day was General George Washington, who arrived in town to muster the troops and head to Yorktown. The battle of Yorktown was the last major battle in the Revolutionary War.









I had a great two days and learned a lot of great information in a fun way.

Virginia is for lovers? (04-22-13)

If Virginia is for lovers, then how come so many battles were fought here? We’ve settled ourselves in historic Williamsburg, Virginia, to explore the wealth of history in this area. We’ve also taken some time out to do some long range planning, and have made several reservations for later in the year.  We booked a spot at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in October, and we booked a month at an RV park in San Diego for Christmas. With those chores out of the way, we started exploring.

Yorktown:

We’ve spent a lot of time visiting Civil War sites over the last few months, but now we are going even further back in time to the Revolutionary War.  In 1776, after years of arguing and fighting with England, the Congress of the U.S. colonies wrote and signed the “Declaration of Independence”, declaring the united States of America to be an independent nation, free from allegiance to the British Crown.

Of course, England didn’t just roll over, and in the following years, a war between the two countries raged on. In some ways it was a Civil War- people living here were English subjects and some considered thoughts of independence to be treason. In 1781, there was no victory in sight for either side.  It was during that timeframe that the battle of Yorktown took place.  Yorktown was held by the British at that time, and General George Washington was situated in New York, preparing to engage the British there.  He heard that a French fleet was headed towards Chesapeake Bay and the town of Yorktown, to maintain control of the harbor for the colonies.

Why so dark?
This is the actual tent used by George Washington. 
Low lighting helps protect the artifact.

Washington decided to take advantage of the edge the French would give his troops, and changed his plans.  He did everything he could to convince the British that he would soon attack New York, even setting up a fake camp, complete with empty tents.  In the meantime, he and his men headed to Yorktown. By the time he arrived, he had amassed an army of 17,000 troops.

Yorktown- many buildings were built in the early 1700s.

In cooperation with French troops, Washington led the fight against the British at Yorktown, who were led by Lord Cornwallis.  After several weeks of fighting, Cornwallis was left with no option but to have his 7000 troops surrender.  The siege of Yorktown was the last major battle of the Revolutionary war.

The original Purple Heart was a patch that was
worn over the heart area of a uniform.

One of the interesting displays was about the Purple Heart Medal, and it’s origin. When General Washington ordered the attack on Yorktown, he told his men not to use their muskets- only their bayonets.  He felt that reloading would slow them down and distract them too much, so the British lined up and essentially mowed down the first row of American soldiers (the first “line” was appropriately called The Forlorn Hope). After the siege, Washington created the decoration The Purple Heart to honor soldiers for “singularly meritorious action”. It’s one of the highest military honors and is only given to those who have “given of his blood in defense of his homeland”.