Tripping with MikenJudy 2011: Yorktown & Jamestown, VA

Williamsburg, Yorktown, & Jamestown comprise what is known as the “Historic Triangle”. We had been to Williamsburg several times, but never to the other two places.

Yorktown
The seaport town was a bustling and prosperous 18^th century seaport by the James River, having been established by the 1691 Act of Ports. Today it is the seat of the county’s government, a position it has maintained since 1634. Yorktown gained its most lasting fame as the site of the last battle of the American Revolution, when on October 19, 1781, British General Cornwallis marched his men across Surrender Field and surrendered to George Washington, setting a new country off and running.

Our first stop was the Yorktown Victory Center. In a re-creation of a soldier’s camp we first watched a costumed interpreter explain how they loaded and fired artillery. After that we listened to a nurse tell how they cared for the soldiers’ illnesses. There were tents to look into with cots the soldier’s slept on. Then to cool off, we watched a movie, “A Time of Revolution” which gave some additional history, and then we toured the museum.

Then again to the outside heat and humidity to walk around a 1780s farm, seeing tobacco grow, saw much of it hanging in a barn, a small family dwelling with a separate kitchen, crop fields, vegetable and herb garden, and a slave’s garden. Turkeys, chickens, ducks were also there. Again, we learned a lot from one of the ‘gentleman’ from the period!

Our next stop was the Yorktown Colonial National History Park where we viewed more military information showing America’s evolution from Colonial status to nationhood chronicled through a unique blend of timeline, thematic exhibits and outdoor living history that emphasizes the experience of ordinary people.

We drove the Yorktown Battlefield Tour, exploring fields, fortifications and historic buildings where American independence was won. We were able to go inside a replica of the Moore House which was the site of negotiations that led the British surrender at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. This site was chosen since it wasn’t damaged by the siege of war. There was a ranger there to answer any questions and he gave us some great history and information about the home in the 1780s.

Along the route there were many re-doubts (dirt forts) where the soldiers dug trenches, and were then protected by the small hills of dirt they piled up. Also in many places we saw the ‘Virginia Onion', which is a bulb on a very tall stem. This is the only area where they grow and it is illegal to pick them. We left the trailer at 10:30 and were done touring Yorktown about 5:00, a full day of reliving history.

Drying Tobacco

This is a redoubt (French word) which is an enclosed defensive emplacement usually made of earth. It was a component of the military strategies of most European empires during the colonial era.

This is where the surrender papers were signed by General Washington and a representative of General Cornwallis

Jamestown

Our first stop the next day was the Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum of 17^th century Virginia. Thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts, a group of 104 English men and boys made a four and a half month voyage to the banks of the James River to form a settlement in Virginia. Their goal of making a profit from the resources of the New World for the Virginia Company’s shareholders in London quickly took a back seat to pure survival as they confronted the harsh realities of life in their new home. This is known as the first permanent English settlement.

Jamestown never became the ‘great city’ John Smith envisioned in 1608, but the small colonial settlement did enable England to establish a permanent presence in North America and plant a culture that would shape a nation.

First we watched the movie offered in the museum (which was finished being built in 2006). We then had another wonderful guide in costume who took us on a fantastic 90 minute tour. First on the agenda was a re-creation of a Powhatan Indian Village, we then saw three replicas of the English ships built to 17^th century specifications representing the craft that brought the settlers to Jamestown, and a re-creation of the original Jamestown fort and some of the buildings inside the triangular-shaped compound. The Indians were the first to inhabit the land, then those from England arrived, and finally the Africans.

We then visited Jamestown Colonial National Historical Park where we saw the James Fort excavation, the 17^th century church tower and the 1907 Jamestown Memorial Church where The House of Burgesses first met. We walked through the remains of the original settlement along the picturesque James River and went through the Archaearium where we viewed many recent artifact discoveries. Here we also saw where they are still excavating today. Another enjoyable but exhausting 6 hour day.