Colonial Historical Triangle
As we enter a new adventurous location, one of our first stops is always to the visitor center to seek advice of locations to see in that area. The center of tourism here is of course the Visitor Center at Colonial Williamsburg, and they were extremely helpful in organizing our explorations of the area. Williamsburg is the center of the Historic Colonial Triangle including Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. Following historical description is taken from their site:
The corners of Virginia's Historic Triangle mark major events in the story of colonial America. Linked by the scenic 23 mile Colonial Parkway, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown were important stops on our nation's journey from the first permanent English settlement to the final battle that secured liberty and independence for the citizens of the new nation.
In 1606 , England King James I granted a charter to a group known as the Virginia Company, whose mission it was to establish an English settlement in the Chesapeake region of the New World. In 1607, three ships landed at Cape Henry, Virginia, and proceeded up the river to establish the first permanent English settlement in America. To honor the king who sent them, the explorers named the river the James, and settlement Jamestown.
In 1699, the capital of Virginia colony moved to Williamsburg, a city that became the capital of Great Britain's largest and richest colony. It was here that patriots such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington pursued lives of public service, and the idea of free and independent country began.
The Declaration of Independence signed in 1776 eventually led to a revolution that ended with the battle of Yorktown, where in 1781, the Continental Army defeted British General Cornwallis and his Redcoats in the last great engagement of the war, ending King George III's tyrany over the 13 colonies and fulfilling the promises of July 4, 1776.
Today, in Virginia's Historic Triangle, visitors walk along the path of freedom and linger in the footsteps of the ordinary men and women - black, white, native american; conquered, slave, and free - who created a new country. In Historic Jamestowne, Jamestown Settlement, or Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area, the Yorktown Battlefield, the Yorktown Victory Center, who created a new country. And we revisit the birthplace of our nation.
Williamsburg
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| Carriage near Williamsburg Palace |
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| Duke of Gloucester Street Williamsburg |
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| Williamsburg Capitol at end of Street |
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| Bruton Parish Episcopal Church |
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| Bruton Parish Episcopal Church |
Among the men of the Revolution to attended Burton Parish Church were Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Richard Henry, George Wythe, Patrick Henry, and George Mason. We both saw their names engraved upon the pews in this church, it is another time we were allowed to stand were our founders of freedom had stood before.
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| Peyton Randolph House - Most Haunted House Williamsburg |
We enjoyed a meal in the reproduction of the tavern where George Washington was said to of dined often as it was known as his favorite. During the 1920's reproduction of these buildings was done were meticulously recreated through rescearching recorded history, and archeological research of the grounds. These were recreated due to the generosity of John D. Rockefeller Jr.
One of the events we attended was the "Ghosts amongst Us" tour, we were escorted into some of the building of Colonial Williamsburg and told event appropriate ghost stories. No photos were allowed on the tour, but we did meet up with some of the friends we met there the next day as they were relaxing from a long nights work. The scariest part of the walk was following our lantern carrying guide on the dark streets which were strewn with horse droppings from the days carriage rides. For some reason they do not diaper the horses, probably because it is not historic.
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| Williamsburg Capitol |
An exciting event was the "Resolved an American Experiment". We went into the House of Burgesses at the Williamsburg Capitol where we joined a historical staff and were given roles where we were cast as members of the House and after a lesson of what occurred there on May 17 1776 , and we argued and voted unanimously for freedom and creation of the United States of America. We were assigned roles to play and it was a highlight of our stay here to personally recreate history by role playing. It really made history live, and very memorable.
Sue was named to the committee, that drew up the Virginia Bill of Rights, a precursor to the US Bill of Rights. Sue sat at the table in the location were it was actually created. I personally believe she got the job because of her experience garnered at Barefoot Bay.
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| Famous Raleigh Tavern Apollo Room |
As the talk of freedom and treason began the Governor Botetourt dissolved the House of Burgess and the now "fired" legislators went to the Raleigh Tavern Apollo Room and over punch and ale mapped the way to freedom of the colonies. It was as emotional experience to be in this room as it was the House of Burgess. To be able to walk where our country was created was inspiring.
Yorktown
History - General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops,that departed from Phillipsburg, New York on August 18, 1781 and arrived outside Yorktown, Virginia, on September 28, 1781. They made this 680 mile march just before they began the Yorktown seige,
known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. The French naval fleet blocked the British escape by sea and Washington had completely encircled Cornwallis and Yorktown with the combined forces of Continental and French troops. Although the war persisted on the high seas and in other theaters, the Patriot victory at Yorktown ended fighting in the American colonies. Peace negotiations began in 1782, and on September 3, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing the United States as a free and independent nation after eight years of war.
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| Waterfront of Yorktown |
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| Yorktown Victory Monument |
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| Recreated Military Camp |
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| Massive Siege Cannon |
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| Resident of Downtown Yorktown |
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| Waterfront of Yorktown |
We spend our day in Yorktown looking at the National Park museum, and the town. There is a lot to do on the battlefield, however, we missed the tour by 10 minutes so we decided to go view the town. It was a pretty town, of course it is on the water, and it had a long walk along the river. Upon completion of the walk, we worked our way over to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. That was really interesting, and tied in all the places we had seen in the past few months in Boston at the site of the Boston Massacre, Independence Hall in Philadelphia, the site of the first White House located in New York, the Delaware River crossing and our previous day in Williamsburg.
Jamestown
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| John Rolph actor describing Jamestown and events |
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| Recreation of 1st church construction, and statute of Captain John Smith |
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| Pocahontas statute |
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| Jamestown fort from bulwark |
The National park exhibits and presentations made for another enjoyable day learning history.
Note: We are finding in our travels an amazing amount of history that we obviously ignored due to boredom and a lack of interest in our own personal school history days. It is true, youth is wasted on the young. The facts of course are our interpretation of these days of our exploration now and in condensed form. We are amazed at what our fore fathers endured and in what they accomplished. This trip has been a true awakening for us of our country, both past and present. The knowledge we learned from the birth of our Nation, to the way New York is growing and changing, and even how cranberries are farmed, we have loved this adventure and can't wait to continue.
To be continued: We are in Williamsburg for one more week. There is a lot to see in this area.