We took a two-day family vacation last week to visit Colonial Williamsburg. And It. Was. Awesome. History is fun. This, was really fun! Two days was not enough, but we were able to see a lot and get in some key events. Mom and Dad were there last September and had a better idea of what would be the best things to see.
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| the governor's mansion |
"Storming the Palace" It's April 21, 1775. Lord Dunmore, the royal governor of Virginia, had ordered the removal of the gunpowder from the Williamsburg magazine by the Royal Marines, under the cover of darkness the night before. The soldiers were discovered, and the alarm was sounded. By morning, a crowd of angry citizens demanding the return of their gunpowder had assembled on the governor's lawn.
People dressed as colonials are walking through the crowd of us
tourists "citizens", some angrily opposing the governor's actions and some supporting him and trying to calm the crowd. None the less, some local militia show up, and we all begin to march on the palace - we're going to get our gunpowder back!
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| Peyton Randolph |
Peyton Randolph, speaker of the house of Burgessess, shows up and calms the crowd:
The governor then comes out, defending his actions, claiming he removed the gunpowder for fear of a slave insurrection, and says he will eventually return it. The crowd, at this time, peaceably disperses.
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| the governor coming out to address the crowd |
"Order in the Court"
At the courthouse, volunteers from the crowd sit as the justices and the jury, and others participate as defendants.
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| the county courthouse |
Melinda and Nathan volunteered to be justices (they get cushioned seats, while the rest of us sat on hard benches or stood =)). Dad participated as a preacher who needed a license to open a meetinghouse.
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| Melinda on the far left, Nate fourth from the right |
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| Daniel tried out the stocks outside the courthouse |
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| The gunsmith |
The guys, of course, enjoyed this stop =)
At the armory:
The printshop:
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| Now wouldn't it be fun setting all that type? =P |
We attended a debate between Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson on the Separation of church and state, which was really amazing.
Pictures with Thomas Jefferson (above) and Patrick Henry (below). Now is that cool, or what?!?
Touring the governor's mansion:
We had a really good tour guide that took us through the governor's mansion. The governor had a particular liking for weaponry, I guess:
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| the grand ballroom |
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| the old harpsicord |
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the palace kitchen, where they cook the kind of food, and in the same manner,
as they would have for Lord Dunmore in the 1770s. |
You can hardly see them for the darkness, but Nate and Andrew are there in the Jail, or "Gaol"
The Declaration of Independence was read, in it's entirety, in front of the capital. Which was just extremely neat! =D
Touring the Capital:
in the house of burgessess
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| sitting where Patrick Henry would have sat... COOL!! =D |
in the "high court", the other side of the capital
Nate took the governor's grand chair, assuming all the duties and responsibilities of keeping order when the tour guide was interrupted by a crying baby. I'm sure all who know Nathan can imagine.... "Order! Order!"
Lunch time!!
We attended several events in the theater of the art museum, one by Robert Carter III, the largest plantation owner and slave owner of his time in Virginia, who after being saved and baptized and attending a Baptist church (we were quite surprised they gave us Baptists credit for that!) he decided to free his slaves. He drew up a "Deed of Gift" by which he legally freed all his slaves, about 450, over a period of several years.
We went to two different sessions by James Madison, the first called "Meet a Nation Builder" where he talked about his life as a statesman, and the second "Case Against Toleration", in which he pointed out the reasons why religious toleration was not enough--we must have religious freedom. We really enjoyed his speeches and the questions he answered at the end of each session.
Melinda helped Bethany and Daniel participate in the RevQuest, a "spy game" in which kids had to find clues, talk to certain people who wore the right ribbon, and send in information to help General Washington determine the troops movements of Cornwalis and the British Army. They had a lot of fun with that! =)
Raleigh Tavern, where the House of Burgessess often met when they were dismissed by the governor
General Washington himself came to talk to the crowd about the difficulties the continental army and the citizenry had throughout the long war.
We couldn't have asked for better weather! Both days were beautiful and warm
At one of the last events of the day, people from the crowd were encouraged to enlist as local militia; it was mostly kids who rushed to participate:
one lady colonist commented that militia "seem to get younger every year!" =D
The band of fifes and drums (which was quite impressive in performance) paraded down the street and out on the lawn behind the courthouse, where the regular troops and the volunteer "militia" assembled.
(we have lots of videos, but they won't load for some reason =( )
The General Marquis de Lafayette came to address the troops and the crowd
It was amazing to feel like you were in Williamsburg in the 1770s! As if you're reliving history! We definitely would like to go back again!
