Now I can't remember the dates and names exactly but back in the 1920's there was a pastor at the Williamsburg church who was sent to another Parish some distance away, later he was asked to come back and he said he would but only if he was allowed to restore the church to the condition it was in 1774. He was given permission and set about his task, he met with John D Rockerfeller who agreed to purchase some buidlings in Williamsburg and pay for their restoration. Mr Rockerfeller ended up spending millions on Williamsburg and we are thankfull that he did. (he is the same fellow who donated the land in NY where the UNHQ is situated). Recently a local family has donated another 5million to restore the coffee house - amazing what restoration of 18th century buidlings cost these days!
Then we went to Jamestowne, firstly to the history centre then to the actual location of the original settlement. Both were fabulous but I think the original site was the most exciting given the archiology going on right now.
The Yorketown Battlefield was also worth the visit, we arrived in time to see the movie, flow out to the cannon demonstration and then take the 35 min walking tour of the battlefield. Battlefields were not so big back then!
M and one of those old fences...we see them everywhere.
Part of the original fence...well a new one in the place of the original.
This is a model of the original fort.
Doug showing the boys how an archiology dig happens.
Whilst we were looking on an archiologist pulled out this 350 year old pipe bowl from the dirt of the well she is excavating. It was a pretty awesome experience for the children and us too, to touch this artifact 350 years after it had fallen or been thrown down the well. Very cool!
They have excavated over 1 million artifacts from the site of the original settlement including graves. It was only discovered in 1994 that they fort which every one believed to have been washed into the James River was actually almost completely on land. There is just a small section of one corner now under water.
Ah, guns, no matter where they are, draw my boys rapt attention.
Replicas of the origina l three ships - they were tiny!
The children and Pocahontas.
This memorial was erected over 100 years ago to commemorate the 300 year anniversary of the Jamestowne settlement.
The famous John Smith.
At the Replica of the original Jamestowne fort the children were able to try on some armor, visit with a blacksmith who was in the process of making some of the 5000 nails needed for a new replica building and checked out the pitch forks used by angry mobs.
Powhatten Indian Village recreation. The beds were soft and comfortable, the canoe big enough for everyone and the garden was planted with the 3 sisters. Corn which grows tall, beans which grow around and upon the corn and squash with its large leaves that shade the soil from the sun. We had heard and read about this many times but this was the first time we actaully saw it.
The first thing we did in Williamsburg was to take a carraige ride around the town. It was lovely of course and the driver told us a little about 1774 and the town. The horses were beautiful and the carraiges very nice.
I love photos like this one. The boys share a bed when we travel, J gets the roll away and D and I get one bed, the boys the other. We used to each share with one boy because trying to get them to sleep when they were in the same bed was impossible. This time they decided they'd sleep in their sleeping bags...you can see how succesful that experiment was.
This was the Governor's Palace and the British Governors lived here until they ousted the last one at the start of the Revolutionary war...can't remember his name (sorry not much of a history lesson here).
A couple of views from our carraige ride.
There was so much to see, wig making shop, apothecary, town hall, capitol builing, the jail, pubs, church, etc but these two places were amongst the favourites. Fire and Weapons, what more could a small (and big) boy want.
The ever present Union Jack.
These horses were lovely and calm and all 3 - ok 4 of use enjoyed giving them a pat and a rub on the nose.
No explanation required.
These two photos are of the actual battlefield at Yorktowne. This battle was the decider in the revoloutionary war. It is interesting that just down the road from where the first permanent British settlement in North America was established is the place where the Brits lost the war to keep the colony. We had a battlefield tour by a National Parks Ranger - it was very good and we learned quite a bit.
Where I am standing is the location of the British line of defence. In each photo in the distance is a white flag, they are the positions of the redout's that were captured by the Amreican's and French - who then brought up their artilery and were within point blank range of the Britsh.
The British Navy had early been routed by the french and could not come to the aid of the British General, so he (Cornwallis) decided to surrender rather than loose any more lives. The terms of surrender where pretty degrading for the British, we think because of the French involvelment.
I did not know that the French played such a significant part in the Revoloutionary war and it seems if they had not been involved with Army and Navy at Yorktowne the war may have lasted a little longer. Eventually the British Parliament would have tired of it and the expense of a non-producing colony I expect, but this battle sped up the end of the war.
Years later these same defences were reinforced and used by the confederates during the civil war...Yorketowne has it all!!
Our Boys volunteered as cannon crew during the ranger demonstration of the cannon. W was the Lieutenant who had to shout out the orders to the crew. M was the fellow who finaly got to light the powder and shoot the cannon. They were wonderful of course :-).
This is a little tricky to see, I just managed to snap the sign as we passed. If you enlarge the photo it might work...another funny sign along the road to our adventures.
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