YORKTOWN VICTORY CENTER
Several years ago I brought my son to the Yorktown Victory Center for a grand immersion experience as a Continental Army soldier.
From learning about hardtack, watching a soldier fire a cannon, and donning the attire, my son was incredibly geeked out.
Squeezing in numerous historical sites on a short two week trip from Texas, we only had the afternoon to explore, which meant we could only drool over the grand exhibits indoors as we quickly passed by to focus on the outdoor activities.
First opening in 1976 as one of three Virginia museums ready to tell America’s story for the bicentennial, Yorktown Victory Center certainly had a unique story to tell about the American Revolution.
For it was in this small seaport town that the British massively surrendered in the final major battle of the American Revolution.
Unfortunately for me, when I returned, the name of the museum changed along with its purpose.
RENAMED AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM
Instead of focusing solely on the Virginia story, the American Revolution Museum (as it’s now named) tells the entire story, which is amazingly comprehensive.
Although I took tons of great notes of the comprehensive history, this photo montage reflects my Virginia love of her unique story!
My favorite parts of our tour began with the grand Virginia-esque architecture…
…being greeted by General George Washington…
Lots of grand exhibits which include videos, displays, and stories galore from all the colonies…
Pretend to join the militia in this unexpected by terrific immersion experience, evidenced in my youtube video.
Finally, the 1781 Virginia campaign culminated at the Siege of Yorktown, brilliantly told in this exhibit.
Loved this exhibit of the peace treaty, which included a light show which changed the emblem on the floor, telling the story.
My favorite interactive exhibit were these swords. Although I’ve often seen them worn by 18th century interpreters and reenactors, now I got to pick them up for myself. They are HEAVY!
LAFAYETTE IN VIRGINIA
Especially since this is the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s Grand Tour of America, which included a visit to Yorktown, I wondered why there weren’t more details of his fascinating 1781 Virginia campaign.
Since Lafayette and his light infantry comprised significantly fewer men than Cornwallis’ army, their interactions were full of cat and mouse fights with Cornwallis.
Nevertheless, Cornwallis ultimately found himself cornered by Lafayette’s light infantry in Yorktown, a narrow peninsula surrounded by deep water.
Although the British sent a ship to rescue Cornwallis and his men, that ship was greeted at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay by a French ship.
Losing to the French Admiral de Grasse, the British ship returned to New York, while Cornwallis met his fate of a siege from the French-American Alliance.
Of the Lafayette story, I found this marvelous little section.
Even so, the grandness of the 1781 Virginia Campaign is a huge story that I’ve not yet discovered in its entirety in any museum beyond the book simply titled but magnificently written: Lafayette by Harlow Giles Unger.
