Travels Into Our Past: America's Living History Museums & Historical Sites. Wayne P. Anderson
Officials had to put a gag on the accused, as his voice had continued to be the most vociferous. Found guilty, he was at first given three choices, but gagless he remained so obnoxious authorities decided he should be tarred and feathered. Dragged to the tar pot, he relented and apologized to all concerned. At the closing he muttered he would return to England to get away from these despicable people.
The blacksmith was making hammer heads when we stopped by his shop. At the print shop a knowledgeable young lady explained printing to us as she continued to set type and print materials on the press.
At the early state capitol, Wayne sat in Patrick Henry’s chair as a guide walked us through the many decisions made here that eventually led to the proposal to declare independence from England. She introduced us to the re-enactor playing Peyton Randolph, a great leader in Virginia who had much to do with the revolution. She maintained he would probably have been our first president because he was an even more respected leader than George Washington. Unfortunately, he died before the revolution was finished.
Next we went to the Randolph house and kitchen, where we were each assigned a card with the name of one of Randolph’s 27 slaves. Here they were treated comparatively well, but they were still often regarded like cattle, even those who had close relationships with their masters. Slaves slept at the foot of their masters’ beds, with 24/7 workdays.
When Randolph died, eight of the slaves escaped. One was a mulatto with red hair who had a good education because he accompanied Randolph to lectures at the College of William and Mary. He probably passed for white when he got to Philadelphia. Our memory of visiting here years ago was that the subject of slavery was avoided or excused. We’re impressed with the change in attitude about admitting slavery existed and that it was a poor way of treating people.
When we visited the armory, a guide explained many aspects of war at the time and demonstrated some of the weapons. The final re-enactment of the day was at the courthouse, where the sheriff, the judge and a court clerk processed a series of cases with audience members playing roles such as the accused or witnesses. Volunteers were coached but enjoyed considerable leeway in interpreting their parts.
Next we ate at Shields Tavern, featuring authentic meals with recipes from the period, especially enjoying the ale-baked beef and a mixed-berry crumb pie.
At the courthouse, the judge, sheriff and a court clerk processed a series of cases.
Courthouse Judge
That evening we took a ghost tour of Old Williamsburg with a guide who meticulously cited his sources. He was a good storyteller but was adamant that he didn’t believe in ghosts. More than half of our guide’s stories were a straight-forward history of the community without the supernatural element. We started at the College of William and Mary where we stood at the statue of Lord Botetourt in front of the two oldest buildings on campus, one being the oldest existing academic building in the U.S. The latter building is no longer used as a residence because of the number of ghosts in it.
On the lawn in front of the Governor’s Palace we were told of the nine-year-old who played with a friend there, committing much mischief. The boys died and continue to be seen at night jumping over the wall and playing with their hoops. More importantly the nine-year-old had been in the third grade and now third¬-grade children at the school find papers rearranged or torn and other tricks done. Here they don’t say the dog ate my homework--they say the ghost got into it. It was a fine ending to the day’s activities.
At the armory, a guide demonstrated some of the weapons.
7. A Major Effect on History
Yorktown, Virginia
The town of Yorktown maintains many original buildings that existed at the time of the Revolution. One is now a restaurant serving food made with recipes from the Revolutionary War period--the carrot cake was especially good. A short walk away is the Victory Memorial. The legislature approved it soon after the war, but it took 100 years before the money was found to build it.
To complete the step back in time, travel a short distance to an archaeological dig displaying the ruins of an old pottery factory. To protect the dig, it has been covered with a building that houses examples of various products that had been made there. The factory had been developed despite the British forbidding any American industry to compete with the British industries.
The real treat in visiting Yorktown, however, lies in the two living history museums in the area, the Yorktown Victory Center and the Colonial National Historic Park.
The Yorktown Victory Center
The battle at Yorktown, Virginia, was one of those “minor events” that had a major effect on history because it was the final straw that caused Great Britain to accept the existence of our new nation.
The Yorktown Victory Center, a newly renovated museum devoted to the American Revolution uses state-of-the-art exhibits to acquaint visitors with the Yorktown of Revolutionary days.
We were moved by the displays using the words of those who lived through the last major battle of the war in 1781, as recorded in their diaries, letters and other records. Visitors can gain an understanding not only of the events leading up to the Revolutionary War but its impact on ordinary men and women. For example, the visitor center’s movie on the battle has re-enactors speaking directly into the camera representing the experiences of the soldiers.
The Road to Revolution, a walkway to the main museum, includes descriptions of the events that led to rebellion. The personal experience theme is repeated in the museum displays. In one gallery titled “Witnesses to Revolution,” plaster casts of 10 people of different ages and backgrounds are spread throughout settings in three rooms. One is an older man standing in a cornfield, and another is a woman with her daughter fleeing the battle. As a spotlight hits each figure, a voice relates that person’s experience during the battle.
Another gallery, “Converging on Yorktown,” focuses on the many nationalities involved in the siege and the surrender of the British. Downstairs is the story of the ships lost or scuttled during the siege. A third gallery, “The Legacy of Yorktown: Virginia Beckons,” details how a new nation was created through the drafting of the Constitution with the Bill of Rights.
Plaster casts of a woman and her daughter fleeing the Battle of Yorktown.
Behind the main buildings is a Revolutionary War encampment with tents and officers’ quarters staffed with re-enactors. We were especially interested in a presentation on medical equipment and procedures. We gathered doctoring had not changed much from what we had read about medical practices in the 14th century. Purging and bleeding seemed to be standard, and no one knew what a bacterium was.
Re-enactors gave demonstrations on musket and cannon loading and firing. The presenters in costumes knew their roles well and answered questions as if they were someone who lived during that period.
A demonstration of the state of medicine at the time of the battle for Yorktown
A short walk away is a reconstructed farm of the period with chickens and turkeys roaming about. Two small buildings housed people in period costumes. Two young girls in one house seemed bored. We suspect they had originally thought it would be a lark to be the center of tourists’ attention, but with none of the modern entertainments or a smart phone they were used to having, time must have hung heavy.
With so many exhibits in the museum