Читать книгу Travels Into Our Past: America's Living History Museums & Historical Sites - Wayne P. Anderson - Страница 10

A re-enactor demonstrates blacksmith skills

at the colonial village of Williamsburg.

If you would like a firsthand experience with American history, an exciting place to visit is Williamsburg, the restored 301-acre, 18th century colonial village in Virginia. Through re-enactments and skill demonstrations, visitors can “drop back in time” to glimpse life in the early years of our country.

Re-enactments happen unexpectedly throughout the day. Our group watched a street scene involving a man accused of treason for speaking negatively about the American Revolution. As the trial proceeded, his defenders and accusers noisily argued, mirroring the mixed reaction of the populace of the times.

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.