We were recently gifted "A Day in the Life," which is a DVD/CD-Rom series from Colonial Williamsburg.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  We have had a terrific time watching this.  Last week we watched the first DVD and the other night we watched the second DVD.  (You can see samples at the link above.)

     There are eight segments, telling about a day in the life of eight different people from different segments of 18th century society on the eve of the American Revolution, set in Williamsburg.  Taken from historical research, we learned about men and women who were slaves, free African Americans, gentry class, middling sort and apprentices. One of my favorite things about this is that all of the stories intertwined, showing that people across the spectrum of social class did interact with each other. We learned how they interacted with each other. We also learned/reenforced lessons in customs/life situations for different social classes, politics, economics and differing roles for men and women of the day.  Additionally, there are many references to events we are all familiar with (the Boston Tea Party) as well as references to scenes from Colonial Williamsburg's Revolutionary City.   

     My 16 year old daughter's favorite story was about a gentry girl named Prissy.  Her day consisted of the type of schooling she had, to train to one day be the wife of a gentry husband. She learned how to supervise the household,  practiced her French with a tutor and took dancing lessons.  (My daughter is often asked by the townspeople of Colonial Williamsburg if she is training in such a way herself.  Um, no....) Prissy's story was intertwined with that of an apprentice and a young slave boy named Dennis.  Someone needed to make the dessert for Prissy's party, but the best cook for this particular receipt (recipe) was the slave who seriously injured her leg.  Surprisingly, the dessert was made and it was as delicious as ever. It becomes a bit of a mystery trying to ascertain who made the intricate dessert???    

     My 14 year old son's favorite part had his favorite actor with all the contests (as my son put it).  This was a fun story with a great deal of humor and action which we all enjoyed. This segment told the story of a young gentleman, named Daniel, who lived on a plantation near Williamsburg. Daniel was the quintessential gentleman of his day, who was discovered by his father and another gentleman (who were the focus of the previous segment about politics) while quoting romantic Shakespeare, substituting Juliet's name for the young lady he was in love with.  He was a bit embarrased at getting caught and tells his friend, Percy, about it. Percy plays Daniel's literary foil, teasing Daniel unmercifully and pridefullly challenging him to a series of contests.  The contests include horse racing and fencing.  I could tell my son was experiencing these exciting activities vicariously through his favorite actor.  My son got to go horseback riding in Colorado a few years ago and he had visions of galloping off into the sunset across the top of the snow covered Rocky Mountain peaks. However, he got a plunker of a horse who wouldn't budge.  My son also enjoyed the fencing scene, because he taught himself fencing moves a few years ago when he portrayed a French Musketeer.  My son has seen very little fencing in any of the movies we have. This was his first opportunity to see how fencing works. While watching, he was calling out the different moves and techniques. How he would have enjoyed being there and participating! We all had a lot of fun seeing who played the fencing master.  Absolutely unpredictable! Then probably my daughter's favorite part was when they attended the ball. Percy was talking to one of the young ladies while dancing. My husband couldn't understand why.  I reminded him that during the dances back then, it was quite proper to talk while dancing. We've had the opportunity to dance with costumed characters at Colonial Williamsburg. My historic dancing partners spent their time talking pleasantries with me while waiting our turn to dance and while dancing.  It was a lot of fun!  While studying Pride and Prejudice, set a bit later than the CW era, my daughter and I learned that dancing was one of the very few times unmarried men and ladies were allowed to touch, by holding hands while dancing.  Dancing was an extremely special event and a form of dating.  I assume this was true even in the Colonial Era. However, we found out that romance was the last thing on Percy's mind. He was merely talking to the young lady to unmercifully tease her and his friend Daniel. He was quite the trouble maker.  It was all presented quite humorously. Daniel and the young lady definitely knew their proper manners. Sigh...poor Percy. Perhaps he will become a gentlemen when romance slips into his heart.     

     There is also a CD-rom which has a student role playing game. Additionally there are numerous  excellent lesson plans and activities. These are set up exactly like the Electronic Field Trips. (samples are at the link above) We haven't done any of these yet, but we are looking forward to them! 

     Invited by a friend to meet her at Colonial Williamsburg Fri, the kids and I went down for the day, and we had a great visit! In addition to that, the day turned out to be primarily a costume research day in the historic area.  That was productive and a good thing, although I felt the usual historic magnetic tug to listen to Lafayette behind the Palace, but we didn't arrive until he was nearly done. He always has great stories prompted by guests who have great questions which I never would have thought to ask.  We never can plan ahead of time to see any specific Founding Father, because the schedule on the web site merely says that "a Founding Father" will be speaking, but we never know which one.  Later in the day I felt another tug for the kids to have the opportunity to meet with Thomas Jefferson at the Tucker House.  We have yet to have an opportunity to meet any historic figure at the Tucker House, which we've been told is extra special. We're not sure if we need to come prepared with lots of questions for that or not, so we are trying to fill our colonial book for one of these special occasions. Well, I managed to restrain myself from history and focus on some of the things the kids wanted to find in relation to their costumes. Originially unplanned, it is funny how things fell into place for our costume research day.

    As we were preparing to leave the house that morning, my son announced he wanted to use some of his birthday money to buy a Lafayette hat at CW. I didn't realize they sold them.  It wouldn't come with the cockade or plume, but it has a different triangular shape from the usual tricorn.  Suddenly my son has this compulsion for his costume to look as accurate as possible. I knew he was a fan of the actor who portrays him, but I was sensing that something deeper was going on. Each year I ask him who his favorite historical figure is, but he is always non-commital.  After the announcement about the hat, I asked again if he had a favorite historical figure. He said Lafayette. The night before we were researching Lafayette's life for a report he is working on.  He said he was still supporting the troops at CW, but he wants every detail of his costume to be as historically accurate as possible. He wants the Lafayette costume for the cold days to keep warm and the gentry outfit (without the coat) for the summer.  We still have quite a bit of research to do.

    When we arrived in the historic area, we went to the open air market and looked at their hats, but my son couldn't find the right one.   We decided to go to the Greenhow store next. On the way, we were stopped by a lady who approached my son, not only to look at his costume, but also to actually touch it, opening the coat to look at his vest, etc.  This was a first! She was extremely interested.  She asked him where he got the costume and he said that I made it.  She asked me where I got the pattern and I said there was no pattern.  I looked at vacation pictures of the actor who portrays Lafayette to assemble pieces to try to get the proper look.  She told me that her ten year old son was a huge Lafayette fan and he analyzes all the costumes and tells his mom how he'd like this or that.  In disbelief I told her my son was the same way.   We got to meet her son and daughters, all of whom were in costume. Her daughter's costumes were more accurate than my daughter's and I asked where she got the pattern. I think someone made the dresses for them.  We talked about all kinds of things about trying to make their costumes as accurate as possible. We were laughing and laughing at everything we had in common.  I felt as though she was my twin lost at birth.

     Eventually we moved on. My son couldn't find the Lafayette hat in the Greenhow Store either. While there he did some Christmas shopping for us, so I took my daughter to the milliner's across the street.  She wanted to buy a new hat. The old one looked like one of the horses had started eating it, then sat on it.  This time she wanted a style that was more accurate to what the interpreters wear.  This is getting contagious!  The cashier taught me how to properly set the hat, tie the bow and use the hat pins.

     Then we headed to Tarpley's Store to see if they had a Lafayette hat. On the way, we met Wil. He remembered the kids and they exchanged courtesies (bowed and curtsied). He even remembered their names. He said my daughter's name was Elizabeth. She said no, it was ___________ and he said that he would have said that next.  The same thing happened to my son. Then he talked about taking care of their father's horse at the stable down the road and their father was  named William. They said that was not his name but he insisted it was and proceeded to tell us everything about taking care of his horse. When we got home I told my husband I had learned quite a bit about him and the horse he never told me about at CW that day! Wil also told the kids about the Declaration of Independence that would be read that afternoon. He was quite excited about freedom. My son apologized and told him he wished it meant freedom for him, but it actually meant freedom from Great Britain, not freedom for the slaves.   Wil was sad to hear that. My daughter said something about it which I did not hear, but Wil was shocked that she knew about the politics of the day. He said her father must have taught her that. She said no, her mother did. At that, Wil looked at me in disbelief, then explained it away by saying my husband must have told me about it. I told him no, I actually told my husband about the Declaration of Independence. Well, he went on talking to the kids.  I cannot tell you how many times people in CW have told me that I must get all my information from my husband, since I'm not educated enough.  Everyone from the Founding Fathers to the gentry, middling class, slaves, women...none believe that I have read and studied about the events of their day and taught it to my kids (...including my husband who does not enjoy reading books. He prefers doing things to reading. However he does keep up with current events of 2009.). That is truely how it was in the 18th century. It was interesting that we had studied Women's Suffrage that week. I must admit I was not impacted by all the facts I learned since I am not an activist. I am a quiet, contemplative person by nature.  I like to read and learn and write and talk about the things I learn.  The problem is finding someone to talk about this stuff with. Right now I have a built in audience, since I homeschool my children.  I have a feeling that if I lived in the 18th century, I wouldn't be much different. I doubt that I would have been an activist then either, but I would have wanted to find books to read and learn from. I probably would not have had the opportunity. Although Abigail Adams was well read, that was rare for the time.  The 18th century viewpoint of women has finally sunk in to my brain.  I realize I don't know everything and I still have a lot to learn, yet it bothers me that I am expected to know nothing of a deep nature. This is the mindset of not only the men, but also the women in CW. Surely there was at least one women in 18th century Williamsburg who sought a deeper education than what society allowed for her. This mindset is tied up in the lack of the women's franchise (vote) in the era. I may not be an activitst, but I am a teacher. I love to teach and I love to learn. It has become a passion with me to teach history.  I strongly believe that because history repeats itself, as Patrick Henry keeps reminding us, a solid foundation in it can help us to vote wisely today.  Therefore when I am "in the 18th century", and I am told that I don't have an education, it probably hits a different nerve than it does most. Despite my feelings, I appreciate the actors at Colonial Williamsburg.  They bring the pages of history to life, so that we can feel what historical people felt. It helps us to understand our history better. It is one thing to read about it; it is another thing to experience it. Hmmmm.....    

     We proceeded on to Tarpleys and my son thought he had found the Lafayette hat.  However, he didn't purchase it yet, because he wasn't certain it was right. He wanted to see the actor who portrays Lafayette because he always wears this style hat. I had an idea to do a little research at the print shop. When we arrived, we met Mr. Greenhow who taught us how to sign our name with a quill. He writes our name first to model for us, then we write underneath. We get to keep the sample. Also if we buy a quill, he'll prepare it for us. He did this for my son when we met him last summer. He remarked on how my kids were left handed, causing a problem with smearing the ink. 

Lefties in the 18th century were taught to become right handed.

After this, we went to the Revolutionary City scene at the Courthouse then had lunch. After lunch and enjoying the lovely autumn colors we went back to the open air market to look for the black and white cockade that represents the French American alliance that will go on the Lafayette hat. None were to be found. We talked to the cashier for quite a bit about cockades and such and she sent us to the Greenhow store. In there we didn't find the right cockade. My son talked to the manager about the Lafayette hat. He told my son where he could have one specially made!  That's exactly what he did! My son found the lady and told her he wanted a Lafayette hat to be specially made. He showed the one type that was on the shelf, but told her it wasn't quite right. The lady was extremely patient to work with him and understood exactly what he wanted. She started the shaping in front of us, then took it to the back and told my son to come back in 30 minutes. She also gave him further directions to complete the look at home. They did not have the proper cockade either, but I purchased a black one. We can't quite remember what Lafayette's cockade looks like. My son remembered that General Washington's picture was on the front of the weekly schedule.  We quickly pulled that out to look at, but he was posing at the wrong angle. We couldn't see the cockade. Between the cockade I purchased and analyzing more pictures that we have at home, I'll try to make the right kind of cockade.    

     Meanwhile, I wanted to go to the milliner across the street to ask questions about how to sew my kids' costumes.  I asked about a shift for my daughter and they showed me this baby's shift. Well she's a lot taller than that. I learned that a shift is a shift and I could form ruffles for her by inserting a drawstring around the neck and wrists.

That's it? I showed them her somewhat fancy dress underneath her cloak and the milliner was ready to sell me lacing for around the neck and sleeve edges. Hmmm, I come in with 21st century questions and before long I find myself in the 18th century again. It is a lot of fun but it challenges me to translate all of that 18th century information into my 21st century sewing skills, sources and supplies. I was wondering what lace looked like back then and exactly how it is set in to the sleeves and neckline of the dress, but a school group came in for a tour. I turned my attention to this lady who was sewing a gorgeous pink gown, a reproduction from a painting in a book that she showed me.

Here is the stomacher. If I recall correctly, this will never be sewn into the bodice, but will be pinned with the bodice into the stays. Then as the fashions quickly change (up to six times a year) alterations can easily be accomodated.  

  There is some of the pink dress on the left, next to the gorgeous blue dress on the right.  The fabric of each is a lovely irridescent sheen. The sheen is created on the loom with one color thread going in one direction and another color in the other. As I recall, there is a sheen of blue in the pink dress and a sheen of pink in the blue dress.

While I was talking to the milliner, my son came back from picking up his hat. He proudly tugged on my coat to get my attention. I took one look at him and gasped. That does look like a Lafayette hat!

My son wanted a picture of them doing their courtesies...

 I had to shake my head all afternoon. The new hats definitely made them look more in character.  In fact, they are now fooling more guests. They are often mistaken for employees, but when the kids tell them they are only guests, the guests believe them, then ask directions from here to there anyway. Well earlier in the day, a couple stopped my daughter to ask her what the population of the town was during this historic time frame. My daughter was stuck! We did learn that I think in one of the EFTs, but we have forgotten. My daughter told the man she was only a guest and he didn't believe her!  I backed her up and told him my son might have a good answer.  He looked behind me, where my son was talking to a friend. The man asked if the two star general was my son. "Yes, and he has a quick mind," I told him. The man decided to test it.  "General," he asked, "what was the population of the town during this historic time period?" My son said, "It was less than the numbers you see in town today."  The man liked that answer! He walked away chuckling!

     By the kids' request, we ended the day with Revolutionary City. We noticed something new, with Benedict Arnold arriving in town with the British flag and handing it to his men to replace the American flag above the Capitol's cupola.  That is the first we've seen him hand over the flag.  It was quite effective.  On the ride home, my kids had many questions about RC and we had quite the discussion.  It is always interesting how we can tie in the history at CW into our current history studies.

     Tuesday the kids and I went to Colonial Williamsburg to visit the Costume Design Center's (CDC) 75th anniversary open house.

     First stop was to meet the producer we worked with last week to Skype for the EFT.  The kids and I had a great time meeting with her and thanked her again for that opportunity!

     Then we went to the CDC.  Wow! Can you imagine me in there?  What an opportunity!  After all the historical unit celebration costumes I've sewn for the kids, the struggles I've had to make them as accurate as possible with limited time and budget, I now had an opportunity to see how CW costumes are designed, sewn, fitted, stored, archived, researched, etc, etc, etc.

     My goal had been to take the historical patterns I had purchased at the CW milliner shop a few months ago, cut them out, lay them out and analyze them for questions. My son wants a new costume since he outgrew his old one and the Lafayette costume isn't right. Also, the stars on the epaulettes are already falling apart.  I knew that would happen. With the costume hanging in the closet, unworn for the past year, now was the opportunity for my son to get some wear out of it and stay warm in this colder weather until I sew a new costume for him. My son is determined that I make his next costume as historically accurate as possible.  

      Instead of researching historical costumes, all weekend, I sewed colonial capes for the kids to wear when they go to to CW in the cold.  We had had 45 degree weather for five days straight with rain. We were cold! If this is autumn, what is winter going to be like?  Obviously we still have warm Texas blood rushing through our veins!  When we left for CW, it was 33 degrees.  brrr  

  Actually, when we arrived at the CDC, I was overwhelmed. There was so much to see.  On top of that, my blood sugar dropped too low. I was able to take care of it medically, but my body was out of sync the rest of the day and it was difficult for me to process too many details.  That made me sad because it meant I couldn't take as much advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Nevertheless, I was determined to learn all I could!

     We started in Operations.  Look at all those costumes!

On the other side of the room were all of these!

I didn't get a picture of it but my favorite was a gorgeous ball gown that was laid out, in the process of being sewn. This dress caught my eye.  I stood there looking at it, then looked at one of the costumers and asked if it was a maternity dress.  Yes!  I've never seen anyone wearing one of these in the historic area! 

     I asked if the ladies wore stays while pregnant and she said yes. I can't imagine.  I hear stays are quite comfortable and help a lady to keep her posture. In fact, there are stays for babies!  All of the ladies in the historic area wear stays.  It provides a completely different shape than our 21st century look. I didn't get any pictures, but stays can be quite decorative.  Being in the historic area so much, and analyzing the costumes as I always do, I've recently realized how common it is to see parts of the shifts, petticoats and stays.  Also the bodices are pinned into the stays!  Recently I was shocked while talking to a reenactor during Prelude to Victory when she unpinned her bodice to show and explain elements of her stays.  She assured me it was okay.  Well, if she says so. We talked a bit about modesty, since these bodices are a bit revealing. She said the main modesty issue back then were the elbows and knees. One of the coachmen has been after me for showing my elbows (gasp) and has asked why I don't wear my proper dress.    My son has agreed with him, since he's been after me to wear a costume like he and his sister. Can you believe I haven't worn one yet? My dress, which I made for our Y2U4 Celebration is not completely accurate, nor am I an employee, so I don't feel right wearing it. However my son has been trying to talk me into it, so I almost did for him. But I haven't had time to make a colonial cape for myself for these chilly days. 

    I got tips on sewing a new costume for my son, who wants historically accurate breeches, coat, vest, shirt and cravat.  Specifically he wants to be the son of a gentry plantation owner. I got to talk to several costumers, including one I met a few weeks ago. She assured me that I can sew breeches. Hmmmm, I'm not so sure. Look at these! They have flaps and buttonholes and lacing everywhere! Also it is important to make them fitting to the body around the knee and thigh (lower thigh) with more room above.  

  She has sewn lots of the men's costumes so I'm thinking that's easy for her to say! =)  Additionally the waistcoat (vest) is cut in such a way to cause a man to have correct posture. I mentioned to her that with all the costumes I made for my kids' history presentations, I have had some surprisingly unusual pattern pieces and methods of assembly, as compared to 21st century patterns.  She said that's precisely due to the differences in fashion and body shape in the past.  She also encouraged me, as has the milliner and reenactor and perhaps the tailor, that I start with muslin for the fitting and use that as a fitting. When the milliner tried to explain this to me last July, I was overwhelmingly confused.  I suppose with time to think about it and time to skim through a CW costume book helped me to understand when a reenactor who has sewn 18th century clothes explained the process to me. Sooooooo m-a-y-b-e I can do this.  

     Specifically we talked about appropriate fabrics. My son and husband (who also wants a costume, one like Alexander Purdie's) wants their costume made of silk.  They insist that gentry wore silk. Yes I told them, but mainly to the ball! My husband and son won't be dancing much. Instead they'll be walking about town.  We need wash and wear so I brought this up to the costumer and she agreed. She does Civil War reenactments so she completely understood. Since she said so, my son now agrees to achieving the look with wash and wear. Whew!

     Our next stop was Research and Design.  There were costumes all over this room too!

In the corner was the computer with the CAD program, where they design specially fitted patterns for those employees who have such a shape that a generic pattern doesn't work for them.

     I think this was some of the embroidery work. 

This table had hand drawn patterns (a stunning work of art) and notebooks full of information for costume design for the Electronic Field Trips!  Suddenly this became my favorite display.  I used to sew and coordinate costumes for children's choir and I appreciated this level of organization and peek behind the scenes. Honestly what I deeply desired was to pull up a chair and go through each notebook, page by page, looking at renderings of historical clothing, fabric samples, color swatches and memos of casting and costuming. I could probably spend the entire day doing this and be utterly content.  However my children would want to move on after a period of time. It was fascinating to go through the binders of information, especially for those EFTs we've experienced, like "Will of the People".   

        Then we went to see Accessories.  Speaking of "Will of the People," here are some of the costume accessories from that EFT.

Here's some from theater. Check out the boat on top of the wig!

Oh my, you won't believe what I found!  Some of the very accessories I desperately tried (and failed) to recreate for my son's Lafayette costume were on the table.  This was now my favorite display!  We had so much fun here, oohing and aahing. We were allowed to touch the accessories. This was incredible.  Here's the picture and let me go one by one describing our favorites.

 First I picked up the epaulettes. I went nuts trying to figure out my son's epaulettes.  These are for General Cornwallis. I seem to recall that the fringe was sewn from the top, whereas I sewed my son's from underneath.  I asked about how they were made. Actually many items on this table came from Europe. Oh! Now I don't feel so bad.  And here I thought I'd get some tips on making these accessories.  Then I picked up the silver epaulettes.  Hmmm, I couldn't imagine who wore those.  The colonels? The seem too small. I was told the governor's footmen wear them. I forgot to look while we were at Revolutionary City, but I looked in some pictures and couldn't find them.   

     We asked what in the world is this (picking up the long, narrow black leather-like object)? That is a stock. Lafayette wears this around his neck.  Really? When I sewed the Lafayette costume, I didn't know which paintings of the real Lafayette were historically accurate and which used artistic license (yes, even in the 18th century). However I knew CW's quest for authenticity so I used our vacation photos of the CW Lafayette, as well as pictures of him on the website, as models for my son's costume.  I hadn't realized before, but after analyzing the photos, I realized he did wear what appeared to be a black turtleneck. Since I was pressed for time to make my son's Lafayette costume, and on a budget, I wasn't about to buy a black turtleneck, which I'd probably have to special order from Lands End like I did for choir costumes in the past.  I think I did consider making a black strip for a mock turtleneck, but being pressed for time and not wanting to run out to the fabric store for a bit of black fabric for the stock and cravat Lafayette wears, I talked my son into wearing his white cravat like he had done a couple of weeks before for his Oliver Hazard Perry costume.  Now I wish I had done the black strip and cravat. That would have been hilarious to have my son wear it and discover it really was a strip instead of a turtleneck.  Since it is going to take me awhile to get a full costume together for my son, he wants me to make the black stock and cravat for him, to at least complete his military outfit now.   

     My son got excited about the dragoon's helmet. It's the one that looks like a horse tail is coming from the top (that's to represent the horse that the dragoon's ride).  I picked it up to hand over to my son and I was surprised at how heavy it was.  Does anyone get a headache from wearing this?

     Then I noticed the Lafayette hat, with the black and white furry thing on top. My son asked him once what that was called and what it represented. I'm trying to remember.  Was that a plume?  One color represents France and another represents America.  I forget which color represents which country. Also the order of the color, one on top of the other, signifies whether the officer was from the American army or the French.  I hesitated and asked if it was okay to pick this up. I guess I felt that this was extra special and might have special rules. The costumer assured me I could hold it to look at closely. I've been extremely intrigued on how to put the feathers together. I never could have reproduced this. The feathers were like many feather dusters stacked one on top of the other and inverted.  We took a carefully look to figure out how it was adhered to the hat. 

Now let me tell you about the other side of the table. 

     I saw the round cream colored hat, walking cane, gloves and pocket watch.  "Are those George Washington's?" I asked.  Yes!  I've read about the leather gloves before. My son and I admired how soft they were.   

     Then I noticed the gold epaulettes.  I looked at those and saw two stars.  I said, "Those are a major generals.  Are those Lafayette's?" Yes, the costumer told me. W-O-W!  I told her how I agonized over recreating these.  I picked them up and exclaimed that the stars were gold.  When I looked at the CW photos of Lafayette, he had silver stars, so that's what I put on my son's epaulettes.  She said Lafayette wears silver ones too. I carefully turned it over and analyzed each side.  It was great to see them and handle them in person. There is no way I could have duplicated these accurately.  There is an elaborate flat golden trim that runs the length of the epaulette and then forms a figure eight. When I looked in the fabric stores there were no trims and no embroidered stars that matched these epaulettes. My son, at the time I made his, told me to make them as easily as I could.  

     Then we got a peek around the corner to see a costumer who I think was weaving trim for the ball gowns. I wasn't able to get a good look due to all the people crowded around her.  There was another lady doing quill work on leather leggings for the American Indian costumes.  

     I stepped out of the room for a few moments and when I returned, I found my son at the table talking to the costumer at the accessory table where the epaulettes were.  I went to them and they said I needed to make a white stock for him. A what? Um, is that like the black stock, that narrow strip of black that I had thought was Lafayette's turtleneck? 

    No. The costumer proceeded to explain to me the appearance and construction of it.  Hmmm, this is difficult for me to conceptualize something I've never seen, but I told her it sounded like a mini cumberbund for the neck. She thought that was a pretty good description.  Did she have one of those to show me?  She said that we could see some if we went back to the Operations room and went upstairs. I also asked how all of this works with the shirt. She gave me a booklet the costumed interpreters use to know how to wear all of their articles of clothing!  Wow! There are lots of descriptions for each item worn. For the neckware, it describes cravats tied ascot style (Hmmm, what is that? I've heard of the term but I don't know how to tie that.), neckerchiefs and stocks. There are so many varieties, black or white, depending on occasion and class level, and they work in different ways with the shirt which may be plan or ruffled, according to class ranking. It was overwhelming.      

   We went back to the Operations room and who came over to talk to my son, but his favorite actor, who portrays Lafayette. He has been so kind to acknowledge my son on every visit we've made recently. This time, he was not in character, but was himself, which was a rare experience. My son told him that we had just learned that he should have a white stock to wear and we were on our way upstairs to see one. He confirmed that we would see a lot of them. The actor gave us a lot of information on neckware.  He is a real machine gun of information, which is one of the reasons why we admire his work. The information was coming so quickly, and this topic is so broad, and like I had previously mentioned, my blood sugar was off so I wasn't completely mentally quick, which is a real shame.  He had some wonderful information. Fortunately, my son remembered a lot of the details.   

       I told the actor that I make costumes for my kids for history in school. When I tried to research cravats, I had difficulty narrowing down information.  I had analyzed the CW pictures of the four Founding Fathers, all of whom wear different neckware.  In short, I was confused and not sure what to put together for my son.  The actor said he has a book on 19th century neckware and there is a vast array of styles. My son tells me that he specifically said 40 different ways.   We talked about the white and the black. I asked whether the black was unique to the French? No, the British, French and Americans all wore it, specifically the military. I had said something about reading that it was specifically French and he told me to stay away from Wickipedia. We assured him we have nothing to do with that. In fact, I've been working on a blog article on that very topic. I told him I do try to find reputable sources, but it is difficult to get this sort of detail from home.  That's why I like to go to CW, because everyone there looks for historical accuracy, especially this actor. I knew I read about this black style being French from a book that should be considered accurate. When I got home that night I found it. It's a book I purchased from Mount Vernon on a museum display that they did a few years ago on Lafayette called, A Son and His Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington. There is a painting of George Washington, which is apparently unique,  done by a French painter, where "Washington's collar is depicted in a French style with a dark cravat." I had read this a year ago when we were living in Texas. In CW pictures I could only find Lafayette wearing a black cravat. I wrongly surmised that only the French wore the dark cravat. Since we've come to Virginia to live and visiting Colonial Williamsburg more, I've noticed British and Americans wearing it too,exactly like the actor was explaining. Obviously I made a mistake and used faulty logic! I guess what I should have concluded was that the style was French, but others wore it. The actor talked about the black and white cravat and said the white my son was wearing as an officer would be acceptable. My son told me later he said it was acceptable for special occasions. 

     We were interrupted by some guests who had seen him in a previous scene. As he talked with them, we were listening and learning about a scene I guess we've never seen before.  Then a lady walked by and stopped and introduced herself as one of the producers for the EFT and thanked my kids for being the first Skypers!  We had a lot of fun talking about that experience and I thanked her for the wonderful opportunity. My kids are still building memories from that.

   Then we went upstairs and saw the "stock," which were piles of all the costumes. The entire walls from floor to ceiling had rows and rows of neatly stacked pants and breeches, shirts, etc of every size imaginable. It is up here that new employees get their costumes. If a new costume had been made for an employee, the fittings take place up here. After she described all of that, I told her we needed to see a different kind of stock, a white stock and why. She took us in the other direction and we looked at various stocks and cravats, talked about how to tie them, etc.  The white stock looks exactly like a small cumberbund. I was still overwhelmed with the variety of options and which my son would actually want to wear. Then we went to the shirts. My son is outgrowing his shirt that has helped him to be a musketeer, colonial boy, Oliver Hazard Perry, Lafayette and a union Civil War officer. The ruffle no longer shows.  Now he was talking to her about his need for a new ruffle shirt so that everyone can see the ruffles. I stood there and smiled. When I first purchased that shirt for his musketeer costume, he fussed about the ruffles.  "Men do not wear ruffles, Mom," he complained. I told him it was the style hundreds of years ago. It wasn't until he met Lafayette and had his picture taken shaking his hand, that we noticed they had matching ruffles at the wrists. When my son discovered that, he became comfortable with wearing the shirt. Now he wants MORE ruffles.  Since he doesn't have ruffles in front, and the shirt is getting small, he has a ruffled shirt at the top of my sewing list.  The ruffles would complete the look.  The costumer assured me that I could do it.  Hmmm, well I can try.  I took a picture so that I could remember exactly where all the ruffles go.

Here are the sleeve ruffles. Actually the shirt and neckware seem easy enough, if I can just remember the right combination. It's the breeches, waistcoat (vest) and coat that worry me.  Well, one thing at a time.

      Since it's going to take me a while to sew all of this (I still have window treatments and early 20th century costumes to sew for our upcoming Y4U1 Celebration), my son would like the black stock and cravat to help him look more military. Then I think he wants the ruffled shirt. Then a new white stock. I'm not sure if he wants the breeches or waistcoat (vest) next. Finally he'd like the coat, which he won't need in the summer but would be good for cold weather, like now. At least now he can wear the Lafayette costume while I get the new costume assembled. I hope the CW Lafayette doesn't mind.    

     Well, it was a terrific morning.  I hadn't been feeling well due to my blood sugar dropping, so I'm sad I didn't get as much out of it as I would have liked.  This was a one time experience to celebrate the 75th aniversary of when costumes were first worn at CW. There is  web page which shows the development of their style of wearing costumes. It wasn't until more recently that the costumes became more historically authentic. I appreciate all the dedication, research and craftsmanship they put into the costumes. There is a time line of pictures that becomes a slide show. Enjoy!

     We walked to the historic area and ate lunch, got the ball for my son's trap game he got for his birthday, then I asked the kids what they'd like to do for the rest of the day. My daughter wanted to do Revolutionary City. Really? My son even liked that idea. I couldn't believe this! Sometimes I'll suggest going to see a specific scene to help them remember a specific point about our country's history and they'll say, "But Mom, we've already seen that scene." Now they were looking forward to RC of their own free will! 

    While waiting for RC, we stepped into the silversmith shop where they were making beautiful filigree.

    She explained the grids in the floor behind her (and under her) were to catch all the bits of silver she'd file away. Every few years that is swept up, shipped to England where they have factories to melt down the shavings and purify the metal. Instead of shipping the metal back, they are given credit in England. It is interesting how England kept their colonies dependent on them.

    While waiting for RC, this lady came over specifically to talk to my daughter. She is Mrs. Randolph, wife to Peyton Randolph. She asked my daughter where her brother was. Across the street. (How did she know about him?) Then she asked if we were in town to enroll him in the College of William and Mary. My daughter said no. Mrs. Randolph asked how old he was. When we said 14, she said that was a good age to start, but some who are quite bright start as early as 8. She figured my son could be in that category, as he strikes her as the philosophical type. (This was uncanny. She has him perfectly pegged, but how does she know that?  Was she sort of guessing to strike up conversation because we are guests.) I told her he does keep us on our toes at home, constantly talking to prove a point. He reminds us a bit of Patrick Henry. Oh, she said once that man starts talking he never stops. (That sounds exactly like my son, although I think the historic area has been spared much of my son's verbosity. They had better watch out as one never knows when he'll form an opinion and discourse away!)  I like how her dress matches the autumn colors.  The CDC does such a nice job coordinating colors.      

     We were surprised by some new things we saw in RC.  My son told me one of the guests walked up to him and said she saw him on the EFT. That surprised me, because he wore a different costume than usual, mixing up a few elements and he took his glasses off for the show.  The kids got a lot of attention from the actors.  It was funny when we walked by Alexander Purdie, the printer of the Virginia Gazette.  He gave my son the same look a certain British officer held for ransom in the Mary Stith house gave him. Before the slave scene, one of the slaves came to us and looked at us really seriously.  He asked if we owned slaves.  We said no. He came closer to us and spoke softly and asked, "Can I trust you?" We said yes. He softly said that there was a slave meeting behind the Coffee House. I cannot do justice to how he engaged us, but it was fun. When we went behind the Coffee House there was another slave there who gave her courtesies to the kids and then asked my daughter if she had seen Kate yet. My daughter stood there and talked to her for a few minutes before the beginning of the scene. 

      Meanwhile, much of my focus during RC was on neckware!  I couldn't get it out of my mind. In fact most of the day we were whispering amongst ourselves and pointing out the different styles the men were wearing and trying to apply all the things we had learned that morning. Apparently, from what we are trying to remember, the gentry wore white stocks with a ruffled shirt, like these members of the House of Burgesses. Hmmm, the member on the left has a bit more plain style I think. I think John Randolph is on the left and I know that is George Washington on the right. Did you know he was a member of the House of Burgesses before the war? (A lot of these actors change parts all the time. They can be in the same scene, yet play different parts. Keeping track of characters, since we go often, is almost as confusing as neckware!) 

There were a lot of people there so it was difficult to get close ups.  I think he is Speaker of the House, Peyton Randolph.  He has the gentry neckware and elegant clothing.  I like looking at all the different color combinations of the different costumes.

Here are some more burgesses. That is Patrick Henry on the left. I think Richard Henry Lee is in the center.  And I think Robert Carter Nicholas is on the right. However, the gentleman on the right is wearing a black cravat! I know you can't see it in the picture, but I saw it. Why is he wearing a black cravat? What did the actor tell us at the CDC?  Only military wore black cravats or mainly military wore black cravats?  Does this gentleman perhaps lead a militia?  Hmmmm, the plot thickens...

 Here is Lord Dunmore and I think his aide. Being the British govenor for Virginia, he is dressed the fanciest of all.

Here is a close up of John Randolph and his wife.  We've noticed that the Randolph family is usually color coordinated.

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  We noticed Mann Page had a new costume, at least to us. The first thing the kids said when they saw him was, "He's wearing blue today!" We liked how the CDC designed his costume, with the blue coat and a green waistcoat (vest). I couldn't get a shot of his neckware. We thought it was only a white cravat but we weren't certain. Can you tell we were costume fixated that day! 

      In the final scene, cannon shots are fired.  My son always hangs out with the cannons and I hang out near the actors. I figure you've seen one cannon fire, you've seen them all fire.  LOL  Actors are different. You never know what they will do. Actually my son has been on a quest to get the perfect picture of the cannon firing.  Specifically he wants to show the fire coming out of the cannon. Well it's not the best coloring and clarity, but for the first time ever, he got the fire!

How in the world did he get that shot?  After the scene we were walking down the Duke of Gloucester Street, heading for home and a return to the 21st century. While walking down the street, my son excitedly showed me all his pictures of the cannon firing.

     While showing me the pictures, Mann Page walked up to say goodbye to him. Mann Page made an infamous 100 mile (I think) horseback ride during the revolution, relaying important news from Fredericksburg to Williamsburg, and then back again.   I was thinking of our drive home by van, not by horse. (Well I think I do have 6 horsepower in the van!) I asked the kids, "If it takes us 2.5 hours to drive home, which is a little over 140 miles, how long did it take Mann Page to ride a horse 100 miles to Fredericksburg?"  I didn't really expect a mathematical answer since none of us like math. But my son worked out all the math in his head. You have to estimate the speed of the horse, and we have been told in times past how fast they go on certain occasions. My son thinks it took Mann Page about 7 hours to ride to Fredericksburg.  I am glad it won't take us that long to get home.      

     People always ask us why we keep going back to CW. Well there is always something new to do. Always a fresh experience. The people are nice. My kids get a lot of attention, which they enjoy.  Also they learn a bit of history. In fact, I am simply amazed how quite recently, my son is enthusiastically digging into his books a little more. The attention he has gotten from his favorite actor I know has played a big part in this. The actor is more than an actor, he is a historian who enjoyed history books while growing up and it is positively influencing my son. I think the experience of being part of the EFT has factored into this as well.   

     How does all of this affect my daughter?  She is quiet. Remember she is the one who asked to see RC. Interestingly on the way home, she was reading her literature lesson in preparation for Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, a Russian play written at the turn of the 20th century. She said, "Mom, this fits in perfectly with Revolutionary City. However RC is not a stage play. It is street theater."  She went on discoursing on the similarities and differences. You'd have thought she had read the RC pages on the CW website but she did not. She was making her own connections from her literature lesson on plays. 

      What a fun way to learn school and bring history and other lessons to life! How wonderful that we got behind the scenes tours. Thanks to all who made the day special!

    Arriving in Colonial Williamsburg from Yorktown, my son hurriedly called me to join him at the capitol where the traitor Benedict Arnold was speaking to the town he had taken.

     A few months after the British occupied Williamsburg, the American and French armies moved in to occupy the town.  Reenacting that time, Prelude to Victory is a special annual event where hundreds of Continental Army reenctors arrive in Williamsburg. 

     Ending Revolutionary City that Friday afternoon, was a special scene to open events for Prelude to Victory weekend.  We assembled at the courthouse where we met the mayor (CW had a mayor?) and General Nelson, whose house we had just visited in Yorktown. This was great! We had never met either one of them before!

Then General Lafayette spoke about why and how he came to fight in America on the American side.  He had been in Williamsburg with his dragoons, awaiting the arrival of Generals Washington and Rochambeau.

     Afterwards we watched the Continental Army arrive in town and set up camp.  Then we went to dinner.

   Being my birthday, my husband made reservations at Christiana Campbell's Tavern and told them it was my birthday.  A historic musician, playing a tiny violin, about 6" long, played several songs for us. Then he walked to our table and explained the traditional "Happy Birthday" song had not yet been written, so he played the 18th century traditional song, "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" which my husband sang.  Later another historic musician played a hurdy-gurdy, a type of guitar that has a hand crank and sounds like a set of bag pipes. Later he came back with a lovely medium sized guitar, walked right over to me and announced he was going to play a popular 21st century tune.  He plucked out "Happy Birthday" while my family sang for me. Now I've been sung to before at a few other restaurants, but this was the most unique. =)

       The next morning we arrived at the Courthouse for roll call.  

 Generals Washington and Lafayette arrived on horses with the dragoons, and joined the other generals in front of the Courthouse. Knowing that Williamsburg had been previously occupied by the British, General Washington assured the town a brief occupation while all the troops gathered, before moving on to Yorktown.

   Here's one of the dragoons...

Generals Washington and Lafayette leave with the dragoons to scout the town.

       Then we went to the Wythe House to meet with the generals. This was a surveyor. It was fascinating to see real equipment and learn how it was used.

Here is another type of survey equipment my son got to inspect.

     Colonel Pickering is the quartermaster, in charge of gathering supplies, none of which can be found. He showed us the supply list and explained how it was next to impossible to work with Congress, much less to gather all the necessary supplies and food for so many from so few.  He also showed us the route they had journeyed from New York. When he learned we had recently moved from Texas to Northern Virginia, he realized why we seemed so unfamiliar with the terrain and explained in more clear terms. The importance of supplies came to light while he described the journey.  What happens when his troops come to a bridge? I replied that they have to make sure it is sturdy for all the men. Then he rolled his eyes, handed us his supply list, and asked us where in the world was he to procure these supplies?  (Hmmm, I suppose I can't tell him to talk to Tony Curtis from "Operation Petticoat".)   He was a lot of fun to engage with, as he portrayed a truely exasperated supply officer.  I definitely felt his frustration, which came to life from many of the books I had previously read about how Washington's army was short on supplies.

     Then we met with General Nelson. My husband told him we had been to his house the afternoon before. I had forgotten he thought it was Cornwallis' headquarters.  I knew the enemy was camped close by and I could honestly admit I had been terrified by cannon shot (safely fired from the nearby living history museum). Then I asked him about his double duties as governor of the state while general of the militia. He spent quite a bit of time sharing about this. He didn't seek to become governor. However the delegates felt a need for a strong military presence in the position and selected him.  General Nelson made comment on my son's costume, saying the only other general close in age to him was Lafayette. Lafayette joined the American cause when he was 19. My son said he was merely dressed as such to support the troops.  After we talked a while, General Lincoln, Washington's second in command, came over and asked Governor Nelson to introduce him to the young general.

General Nelson introduced my son as General Lafayette! My son quickly replied, "No, I am here to support the trooops."    

 Next we got to meet with General Hand, who was Washington's Chief of Staff.  He oversaw all the other departments. 

While we were talking, guess who arrived?  None other than Generals Washington and Lafayette!

General Lafayette announced Washington's presence and gave a brief speech.

 All activity stopped while we stood in awe of the moment. It seemed so real. One doesn't merely chit chat when General Washington is around. General Lafayette told us they didn't come to stop activity. We were to resume what we were doing. That was difficult! Washington inspected the work of the different men.

 Finally we pulled ourselves together to resume talking to General Hand.  Before long, we were surprised by an exuberant General Lafayette who quickly strode over to my son and exclaimed something to the effect of,  "My friend, I see you have been promoted to major general! I commend you for that!" My son smiled and replied that he was supporting the troops. Lafayette knodded his head in acknowledgement and said that is to be commended as well.  He asked my son if he had seen the town yet.  No, we had only been here to meet the generals so far.  Ah, Lafayette understood, as it was still early in the weekend. Lafayette said it was important to learn the war strategy and he discussed that at great length.  Then he said it would be good to go around the town to meet the different soldiers, etc, etc, etc.  Hmmmm, was he talking to my son as if he was a general and these were his duties as general?  It sounded a lot like what Lafayette himself was doing!  It finally occured to me I had a great picture moment and took out my camera.  Wow is he observant! He caught me doing that out of the corner of his eye!

 Then without my even asking, he volunteerily stepped over to pose with my son.  Now that I see their costumes side by side I can critique the differences in my son's costume. I used Lafayette's costume as a guide with contemporary patterns I had, which I made last year for him to portray Lafayette for an EFT project on Yorktown at home. My son needs a new costume as right now this is the only one that fits. Nevertheless, this is great to finally have the two of them side by side in the major general costumes, considering that Lafayette's was the inspiration for my son's.  Never did I expect them to stand side by side in similar costumes!  The entire experience was truely wonderful! 

     Lafayette left to attend to his other official duties.  We then got to meet the mayor!  I told him we have made many trips to town but had never heard of a mayor of Williamsburg before. I asked if this was something new since the provincial government left. No, there has always been a mayor and he spent quite a bit of time explaining that and various other things to me. One explanation led to another question and it went on and on.  Quite fascinating!

Somehow we got onto the topic of distance of shooting range. Maybe my husband or son was asking that. He said 80 yards was good. Or is it feet?  Hmmmm, anyway, he asked what was a good way to judge that distance. Now this I know!  By the whites of their eyes! Yes! He explained that was not first said at the Battle of Bunker Hill, as it is often credited, but goes back many years. Then I asked about Baron von Steuben's work with the soldiers.   After much discussion of him, the mayor brought out the baron's guide book for soldiers. Ahhh, I remember reading that he was responsible for this important manual which has been used through the years. The mayor offered the book to my husband for his perusal. Now my husband is not really into books, but having been recently retired from the USAF, this book caught his eye.  He flipped through a few pages and recognized some stuff, then he pointed out some differences. That's when things got interesting!

  Colonel Pickering overheard the conversation and he came over and joined the mayor in reeducating my husband in the art of soldiery and trying to convince him to join the militia.  I tossed out the fact that my husband had recently retired from the USAF in Texas and is now living in Virginia. They said that was not an excuse for not joining the militia. Men in Virginia move from county to county all the time and are still expected to join the local militia.  When my husband mentioned that he marched "1-2-3-4" they exclaimed that that made no sense whatsoever. Who has four feet?  Then they found out my husband didn't efficiently right turn or about face.  Colonel Pickering set out to demonstrate for my husband the proper method while the Mayor read from the baron's instruction book...

       After the drills, we decided to leave for lunch.  The family wanted to eat on Botetourt Street, where we saw the generals and the dragoons pass by.

After lunch we walked around the camps, where I met a seamstress. I learned how to make buttonholes by hand and we talked extensively about draping for gowns and how to use all of the accessories. I plan to make this a separate blog entry.

We talked to many interesting people and my kids played a lot of colonial games. He was roasting something highly unusual. He asked me to guess what it was and I guessed a cow's udder.  Yes, to render the fat for the soldiers' diet. Can you imagine?

At these tents I met some cooks of more appetizing food. Actually they  cooked for the officers. They had recently roasted a hollowed pumpkin full of apples and spices. 

 Then we went to Revolutionary City which had special scenes just for Prelude to Victory. First we met with General Washington.  Afterwards men were recruited to join the army, and my husband did join. Col. Pickering and the mayor should be delighted. They went through their drills and my husband probably snuck in some 21st century about-faces which were better than some who did 360 degree about-faces!  We missed the next scene about Barbary Hoy, because my kids insisted on going to the print shop to buy a birthday gift for me. However Babary Hoy's story became more real to me after having had talked to the cook for the officers. She said the safest place for them was often in following their husbands in camp. However they were never given tents. They slept wherever they could find a spot. Babary Hoy comes back to Virginia after being a camp follower with her husband, who has been captured in South Carolina. This is a regular scene from RC. 

The next scene, "The Court Martial of Private Grant" was emotionally rough to get through. He was accused of treason after nearly killing his officer. 

Although he was able to prove it was not treason, and he acted alone, he admitted to premeditated murder.

Why? Because this officer was having his way with the soldiers' wives of the camp, and was caught by the private with the private's own wife.  Here is his wife surrounded by friends, in tears at her husband's trial.

Angered, the private shot the officer in the eye. He was found innocent of treason but guilty of premeditated murder. He was sentenced to execution. While studying WWI, my kids and I have been discussing this kind of tightened up rules during war time, to keep order in the ranks to remain focused on winning the war.

 After watching another poignant scene, regularly in RC about slaves contemplating escape to freedom, we met Washington in front of the Capital and followed him to the Courthouse for a review of the troops.

There are also some Shawnee Indians in town. More about them later.  Looks like these Indians are helping the Continental soldiers.

Then we followed Washington to the Courthouse for his review of the troops.

There is General Washington, Lincoln and Lafayette.

The next morning we attended the drumhead church service.  Because there is no pulpit in the field for the minister, drumheads are used to represent the pulpit. Baptist preacher James Ireland delivered the sermon while the generals sat in front.

Then Generals Washington and Lafayette joined the dragoons to tour the town.

We returned to the Wythe House to meet with the generals again and met different surveyors. This time I got to talk to a map maker. I've always wanted to see how the art of surveying went hand in hand with cartography. Although I did not enjoy math in school, I always liked geometry and cartography looked like fun. The surveyor admitted to the same and said he found map making to be quite relaxing. General Washington arrived again, alone this time, and inspected each of the projects. He told the surveyor he needed the maps as soon as possible. After Washington left, the surveyor told us maps could be made quite quickly and these particular maps were like today's triptiks from AAA, focusing on the roads themselves.  

    After lunch we met the singer from RC.  He walked by my son and stopped and said, "Yes, we were all wondering what your rank was." He chuckled when he saw the rank and said, "That's pretty good that you made yourself a major general." My son said it was to support the troops. The singer said my son might be a spy for all he knew.  What?  Not my son! He took a close look at the stitching and said it was too precise to be American. He said it looked like it came from Britain. Really? (I stitched it but I'm not British. Afterwards my son came to me and asked if the singer was complimenting me or not. I have no idea!  I was wondering the same thing myself!) We  got to talking about Under the Redcoat and I said my kids were nearly imprisoned. He was surprised to hear that and said he was captured. We said we knew because we were there.  (I blogged all about it!) He told us the real story of why he was captured and that was interesting because we didn't know the details at the time.  He related it to things in our current time. 

     Then we met with some officers who were British prisoners of war under house arrest. They have a small bit of freedom about town. The one on the left engaged with my son a lot!  He was a bit laid back and resigned to his condition, and a bit philosophical in that he was able to argue the Continental view alongside the British view. While discussing the Boston Tea Party, he talked about the savages running through the streets and dumping tea into the harbor. He asked my son why the townsfolk did not get upset about the savages running through town. My son simply replied, "Because they were not Indians. They were the men of the town dressed as Indians." The man on the right, who was extremely frustrated at being cooped up and imprisoned, said that was an astute answer. He had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Saratoga (which Benedict Arnold won for America) and was later exchanged. After Arnold became a turncoat, this man fell under his command but he didn't trust him much.  They were very interesting to listen to. 

 Next we saw the newest RC program, "So Far from Scioto," about the Shawnee Indians in Williamsburg. Since it is set in a different time frame than Prelude to Victory and because it is a unique program, it deserves a separate blog entry which will be forthcoming.  Afterwards we got to meet with the actors and they were wonderful.

We learned more interesting information about Native American culture. Additionally I discovered one of the actors (the one in the white shirt) had the same educational philosophy that I had and we had a great time talking about that. Then one of their friends, another Native American in 21st century clothes (the one covering the non-historic Denver Broncos logo on his blue shirt), asked me if I had a camera. When I told him yes, he said I should get a picture of my kids with the actors. In fact, he'd stage them. How nice of him! Here they are! My daughter said the man next to her was making her laugh by whispering in her ear, "I bet you're scared of me.  Grrrrrr. No not really. Grrrrr."

 Next we went to Revolutionary City. The first scene was of Loyalists sneaking out of town.

Here's his slave loading the Loyalist's wagon with his personal belongings. 

Then we saw a demonstration of the dragoon's skills while Lafayette narrated. 

This was the first we ever saw horsemanship like this demonstrated at CW.

 Lafayette led these dragoons through the war. My daughter and I had gotten separated from my son and husband during the Dragoon event. She and I went behind the Coffee House to wait for the next scene and to wait for my husband and son. When they arrived my son was grinning and said, "Hey Mom, guess what?"  Lafayette had seen him and asked if he had been learning how to be a general and if he was ready to lead his own group of dragoons.  My son told him yes to both.  I knew I could lose my son to the dragoons. He's always had a thing for horses.  

 Afterwards we watched a meeting of the generals as they planned their seige on Yorktown. As Washington arrived at the meeting, there was a loud gunshot. He was told that was the execution of the soldier who had been convicted of premeditated murder the day before.  During this scene, a wagon pulled by horses and followed by soldiers in arms went up the road. The wagon had a casket.    

The next scene, usually seen in RC, was The Promised Land with pastors Gowan Pamphlet and James Ireland. Afterwards we met with General Washington who announced that all of the troops have arrived from the north. They were now prepared to leave Williamsburg and engage with Cornwallis in Yorktown.

 After Washington reviewed the troops at Market Square, the army left town for Yorktown.  Today we know the rest of the story.  America, with France's help, successfully lays seige against the British, Cornwallis surrenders, and England prepares for peace talks which conclude two years later. Yorktown was the final major battle of the American Revolution. Huzzah!

     Over the last few weeks, a few ladies have contacted me for information to help them plan their time at Colonial Williamsburg during the homeschool weeks. Each of these ladies had been to CW years ago, but a lot has changed and they knew that I go quite a bit. Incidentally, their primary questions revolved around the same program, so I thought others might benefit from some of the information I shared.

      The one lady, wanting to maximize her family's time in the few days they'd be at Colonial Williamsburg, asked which programs did I think she should focus on attending. Without skipping a beat I said, "Revolutionary City".  Revolutionary City is an interactive outdoor theater program that encapsulates everything that Colonial Williamsburg represents.  For everyone, including homeschoolers, this is incredible. It is more than a synopsis of the driving force behind the Revolutionary War. It is an opportunity to see first hand the essence of what the Revolutionary War was fought for. It explores the roots of our country's history and the beginnings of our representative government. 

     Then I was asked if all of this takes place indoors. Would there be enough room in the theater for the entire family to view this. Actually Revolutionary City is outdoor theater!  The setting is on the streets of 18th century Williamsburg, when it was the seat of Virginia government. How often do we get to see a play in it's actual historic setting with a three dimensional stage? The restored colonial shops, houses, taverns, capitol and courthouse form the backdrop for the dramatic scenes. Revolutionary City is a history book come to life. Everything that the students have read and studied, are now interactive.  The students, parents and all guests can now get emotionally caught up as they see events, hopes, dreams and disappointments of the people of the 18th century unfold before their eyes.  Horsemen gallop up the Duke of Gloucester Street shouting news of the recent Battle of Lexington and Concord!  The royal governor,  Lord Dunmore, angrily arrives at the capitol in his carriage drawn by horses. During the announcement that Virginia is declaring its independence from England, cannons near the guests are fired while everyone shouts "Huzzah!"  Benedict Arnold arrives pompously on his horse and arrogantly declares the benefits of his takeover of the city, as the American flag is taken down from the capitol behind him, and the British flag is raised.    

     Another friend asked what year Colonial Williamsburg would be in when they arrived. I knew what she meant, because I had experienced that on previous visits before Revolutionary City began a few years ago. In 2004 we were there for a week and the time frame was the month that we were there, August, in one certain year, I think 1775.  Now that Revolutionary City is a daily event throughout the year (except winter), the time changes each day. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is the day 1 program, which reenacts events from 1774-1776.  If RC is in the afternoon, as it is during the school year, and you meet Patrick Henry in the morning, he'll probably mention that there is consternation in the town and Lord Dunmore will be arriving at the capitol in the morning.  We might want to be there to hear what he says. (That is the first scene of RC on those days.)  Wed, Fri and Sun is the day 2 program, which reenacts events from 1776-1781.  If you meet townspeople in the morning, they might mention that the Declaration of Independence is going to be read at the capitol that afternoon and we might want to attend the public reading of it. That is the first scene of RC of those days.  On Mondays, there are vignettes of various people from the Revolution throughout the entire time frame.  Then there are additional scenes scattered across the historic area throughout each day.

     My friend also asked how they would be able to find the scenes. At the beginning of each RC, as the "staging" area is entered, broadsides (flyers) are distributed with the events, locations and time frame, so everyone can keep track.  Also one can't get lost, just follow the crowds. The interpreters often make transition speeches with announcements of where to go next. For example, "I hear there is a secret meeting in the garden.  Let's go down and listen!" (That's not actually a line. I don't have the script; nor do I have any of this memorized! But the transitions are done in character!)    

         The part that makes RC shine is that it is interactive!  It's fascinating to watch an excellent play; yet, it's beyond incredible to be caught up in unfolding drama! The guests are encouraged to engage with the characters, asking their opinions of events, and subsequently are free to express their own opinions.  Sometimes while walking down the Duke of Gloucester to go to the next scene, Patrick Henry himself has fallen in step next to me and another delegate has joined him.  They discuss the pressing events requiring Lord Dunmore's angry arrival.  I could jump into their discussion with my own opinions, or ask them questions about their discussions.  However, I am usually so in awe, caught in the moment from a page of history, that I can't think of anything to say. Other times one of the characters will see me and draw me out. That is really the best way to get me to talk.  One time a slave came to me before RC, while I was sitting on a doorstep, quite worried and asking if I heard that Lord Dunmore would be arriving. Another time, before the tar and feathering scene, I've been hurriedly asked if I had seen Mr. Hardcastle. Before the beginning of RC on various trips to CW, the kids and I might eat lunch or get a snack or hot cocoa from Raleigh Tavern Bakery and sit under the trees, only to be approached by one of the townspeople and asked where we are visiting from and caught up on the events of the day. The other day, while walking to the capitol to hear the reading of the Declaration of Independence, Mr. Mason greeted me and said he remembered my family. I started talking to him about the Virginia Declaration of Rights which he had written.  My husband and son have earnestly attempted to talk Mrs. Randolph into becoming a patriot and remaining in Virginia. My husband told Mrs. Vobe that I make Peanut Soup and she suggested that we trade receipts.  While I was talking to her, she saw someone coming down the street, from whom she needed to collect money owed her. She excused herself so that she could take care of business. Then I realized that was the next scene, and I was part of it!  Each experience with Revolutionary City allows me to consider the story from different viewpoints, whether I stood next to a slave, a tory, or a patriot.   Where else can we be immersed in the history of the formation of our country? 

     I finally made a decision about when to attend Colonial Williamsburg's Homeschooler Experiences and my husband subsequently took his first two days off from his new job. To him, it was vacation time in Colonial Williamsburg!  For me it was going to be a chance to see some homeschool friends at my favorite place.  Little did I know who all I would meet, and who all would remember us from previous visits! For my kids it was a chance to have fun.  Always, the night before we leave for CW, my son starts humming "Yankee Doodle" and my daughter gets more fluttery and excited. When we arrived on Thursday, there was a sign greeting the homeschoolers...

     After getting our homeschool passes and schedules, we set out to meet with Lady Washington in a private audience with homeschoolers.  She was absolutely wonderful in engaging with the children.  When they ran out of questions, she filled the time with fascinating stories that we never would have thought to ask about, which revealed more about herself and her husband.

     Then we went to Kimball Theater for a presentation from the Marquis de Lafayette, which is always wonderful. During the Q&A, my husband told Lafayette that he (Lafayette) would one day go to Monticello and he (my husband)  wanted to hear about that experience.  Uh oh, the kids and I know better than to do this!  Lafayette gave him a hard time (in a fun way) that he could not predict the future. In the meantime I think he did tell us something interesting from Lafayette's timeframe, but now I forget. We were laughing too hard at my husband being called a "soothsayer!" At the end, my son wanted to meet with Lafayette to ask for a picture of the medal he received from King Louis for fighting in the American Revolution. Well, I told my son he can't just ask for a picture of Lafayette's medal. After all, he is always telling us that he is a statute in search of a pedestal. He might be offended to have a picture only of his medal taken! I told him we could ask for a picture of him with Lafayette and that would be more polite. He liked that, but when he got a chance he asked Lafayette if he'd mind a picture being taken of the medal.  I was surprised to hear Lafayette say that he remembered my son asking about the medal last time we had visited him and he certainly could take a picture of the medal. (He remembers my son?) In fact, he'd even purposely stand still for the picture. I thought that was an interesting statement, because we are always having trouble getting clear pictures of Lafayette because he is extremely animated. Now I'm glad my son got the picture, because the medal is gorgeous. The French really do know how to design medals. Hmmm, it doesn't show up as well here as it does in my photo program.

In the end, my husband did get a picture of the kids with Lafayette.

   Then we went to the Tucker House to meet with the crafter of the day. She used a spindle a bit different than the one I had at home. She got excited when she heard that. She said I needed wool to make it work. Um, I do have wool, although we've never used it.  "Why not?" she incredulously  asked.   Sheepishly I explained we simply did not have her knack for spinning.  The wool looks so beautiful now, but if we start pulling it apart, we'll ruin it and it won't spin well and it won't be pretty anymore.  She told me to bring the wool and spindle the next time she is at the Tucker House and she'll help us with it!  

        Then we walked down Nicholson Street to Botetourt to go to Revolutionary City. We saw the governor's footman posed dutifully next to the carriage in preparation for the first RC scene.  I had never seen them set up before. As I walked by, I realized this would be a great photo moment. I went back and took a picture. Hmmmm, he seems so familiar to me. Why? Can't you see the knowing look on his face? Um, well it shows up better in my photo program. 

     Quickly he stepped out of  character,  gave me a quick thumbs up and grin and then got back into character again! We did know him! He looked so serious posing, that I thought I couldn't talk to him and we went on to RC. In hindsite, I think maybe I could have talked to him, so I'm looking for him there next time.  And thus the entire weekend went, various people recognizing us and giving us pause to remember where we had seen them before.  It was funny.

     This blog entry is going to be extremely long, so I'm doing another entry just on Revolutionary City. I'm just going to share a few tidbits of it here.

     My husband was recruited to join the militia. He wasn't going to but he told me he was chitchatting with one of the actors who remembered him (one whom I had written about previously in supporting our homeschooling) and I guess this actor recruited him.

       That evening we attended a special concert to celebrate Constitution Day. This event was the driving force to schedule our time in CW as we did, as there are two full weeks for the homeschool events. While waiting for the event to begin, I talked with a lady sitting near us, who asked me tons of questions. She was shocked that I homeschool my daughter in high school courses.  She thought those level of courses would be too difficult for me. Well I've taken them myself in high school and college, so most of it is a refresher for me, except the Latin which we are learning as we go.  Also we have great curriculums that pretty much teach the kids.  I am mainly needed for reference or grading. However in the humanities (history, literature, government, philosohy) I am more hands on, studying more deeply to do the Socratic Discussions. She was amazed.  She was surprised that we dress in costume for history.  She kept asking questions and I kept answering (much of the same stuff I usually blog about) and she was speechless.  She asked how my husband handles all of this craziness.  I laughed and told her he goes along with it just fine, in fact, he encourages me.  Then she gave me her copy of a flyer from Christopher Newport University for senior citizens.  Um, I'm not a senior citizen. She said she knew that, but it was for my future reference. Um, I'm not planning on retirement. I'm not even old enough to think about it!  I'm dreaming of somehow working at Colonial Williamsburg someday. (She knew that because we had previously talked all about that.) She explained that I could teach the senior citizen classes at CNU. But I only have a bachelor's degree.  She said that was sufficient.  Hmmmm, precisely what did she think I should teach?  How to be crazy?  Honestly, she was a lot of fun.  Probably the one sane bit of information she heard was that my daughter was interested in one day attending CNU. She was elated because the gentleman seated next to her used to be a professor there.      

     Finally the program began.  My husband retired from the USAF after 24 years of service, so watching the USAF band play was terrific!  During one part, The Armed Services Medley was played. It is traditional that as each song is played, veterans from that service stand. When the USAF song was played, my husband stood up, which I know was a thrill to him. He had retired after 24 years of service last winter.  It's always fun to see who all represents the different services.  Also performing was the fife and drum corps...

and General Washington! Remember that George Washington was president of the Constitutional Convention.

The presentation was wonderfully patriotic.

   Friday morning we took the Gardens of Gentility Tour. This was extremely interesting. We toured the palace gardens, which represent the ultimate genteel garden.  We looked at their kitchen garden...

the orchard...

the peek-through windows...

and the symmetry of the pleasure gardens...

Being that CW is about living history, you never know who will walk by, like Patrick Henry. Incidentally, this was his home as the first governor of Virginia. 

Then we went to the Wythe garden (to represent gentility of the gardens on a smaller scale)

 and the kitchen garden behind the Geddy House to represent a middling garden. Then we were given an assignment to walk through the other gardens and pick out which type of garden it is.  My husband had left early to be certain to catch the next private homeschool audience speaker.  We decided to stay on and joined him later.  As a result, as we walked through  the historic area the rest of the weekend, my husband kept asking questions about the gardens that we were able to answer due to the tour. 

       Then we met up with my husband, who definitely had a private audience, all alone with Gowan Pamphlet. (We were so caught up in the talk we forgot to take a picture!) Pamphlet had received his freedom and was a Baptist minister.  He told us about the Great Awakening, which we had studied a couple of years ago. This was a great review, confirming to our kids that Mom isn't too crazy with her historical ideas.  I even told Gowan Pamphlet that we had studied it and had learned that it was one of the driving forces that unified the vastly differing colonies before the American Revolution. We talked about that for a while and other homeschoolers joined us. The time was wonderful! He told us how he became a minister and I asked him where he learned to read. He started talking about the Bray School and his teacher Ann Wager. Of course, I had forgotten.  I told him we had met her and she had mentioned him. He was delighted to hear that!

    Then we watched the end of The Challenge of Independence, about the Virginia delegation who had written the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

 Their scene was interrupted for the poignant "What Holds the Future?"

     Then we had lunch on the Duke of Gloucester Street. As we ate, a lady came over who acted like she knew me. I started digging deeply into my memory, trying to remember her. Actually we had never met before! She was visiting from Ohio and had seen my children's pictures on my blog. While planning her vacation to Colonial Williamsburg, a lady in her homeschool co-op suggested my blog for ideas. I was speechless.  Honestly, I never dreamed anyone would ever read my blog.  I actually started it becuase of some homeschool yahoo groups I'm in where ladies ask a lot of questions about what I do. It was easier to write it once here with pictures, then reference when the same questions get asked again and again.  It has surprised me over the years who has read my blog!  Additionally, I always thought I was incognito at CW. Well that was completely proven wrong this trip down!  We had a good laugh and I must say, her children were very well dressed, as the CW interpreters would say! 

     Then we went to the playhouse and watched a few skits, common to the era.

The cast of characters included a doctor named Dr. Gargle and a man in love called Lovewell.  These are the only names I remember, played by the man on the left, in two different plays. As they told us, characters were named according to who they were.  The next day we had lunch outside the fence.  We don't normally eat lunch here but my blood sugar had just crashed and I had to eat immediately. This was a nice place, and just in time for the fife and drum corps to march up the street. Then the plays here started, and they were different. I asked one of the actors about it and he said they always change them up!  How terrific! There's always new stuff to do here.  We quickly finished lunch and went in to see another play which recieved yells of "Encore!".   

     Then we went to the shoemaker, who is great! He works industriously (I guess he doesn't have any elves in the night to help him.) and speaks about anything we ask.  I like seeing the trades and seeing the various stages of the various projects. We had visited him a few weeks ago and told him how my son had made his own boots for costumes.  This time he told my son to pick up the cut out leather waiting to become a shoe.   This is the top part of the shoe...

which when folded up...

looks like this.

     We did Revolutionary City again, covering a different era of history. We had had fun the two days with RC. As much as we see it, we saw lots of new tidbits  this time that had been thrown in.  They do a terrific job. In fact, while walking to one of the scenes, one of the gentlemen looked down and smiled at me and welcomed me, remembering our family. (I remembered him too! I'm glad my husband got this picture of him talking to me.) Was he George Mason? Yes! We talked about the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which he wrote, and Gunston Hall, about an hour from where we live! 

My husband was quite vocal against Benedict Arnold, and so was this citizen from Williamsburg who stood in front of me...  

After meeting with Lafayette who reviewed the troops,

I met up with some homeschool friends who use the same history curriculum I do, TOG. In fact, we had been meeting up with each other throughout the day. Finally we posed for pictures, which were posted for our yahoo group where we initially met. In the time that we met, our husband's jobs brought us all to Virginia. The lady on the left I met for the first time at the Dallas geTOGether. The kids and I visited her and her kids at their house a few months ago. They are about an hour from us. The lady in the middle has recently moved to VA like we did and it was the first we met her. We form fast friendships at our TOG group, because we have so much in common.  We spent so long talking before saying goodbye, that my family had to rush to find a quick bite to eat to get to our evening program in time!

 With our kids...I have the smallest family!

That night we attended a musical concert at the Capitol, surrounded by candlelight. The Viola de Gamba was featured, while accompanied by the harpsichord. The music was beatiful. We cannot take pictures inside at night, but isn't the walkway inviting? My son took this terrific picture!

     Saturday we began the day with another garden tour, Through the Garden Gate.  This was another interesting tour, where we learned about architectural research to recreate the gardens with historical accuracy. We walked through a few gardens off Waller Street, land that had been owned by Mann Page! The guide was surprised to hear our exclamations of recognition! He's the man we see on the horse in Revolutionary City that made a fast and furious 100 mile horse ride from Fredericksburg to Williamsburg with pressing news, only to be asked to make a hasty return trip with new information.  That night, we got to meet the lady who lives in the house with this lovely garden! 

     The kids had been given picture cards of various dependencies (or small buildings like the white one above) to look for on each property. We also took turns reading various quotes about the gardens. Especially funny was reading about how two gentlemen went on and on in correspondence about this particular flower.  I can't think of any men today who would do that!

     During the tour, a man who takes care of the pigeons came over to show us one up close! Lancelot was incredibly gentle and soft. 

We learned a lot about pigeons.  I thought this horse was funny, looking into the pigeon coop! We went over to pet him and he kept sniffing us for food and even sniffed my totebag for food!  We didn't feed him because that is not allowed, but he was fun.    

    Then we went to the private audience with homeschoolers, Patrick Henry.  He was homeschooled himself, so I asked about that.  His father had a small Latin school at home for the area children. I had not known that.  He was asked to give his famous speech, "Give me Liberty or Death!" Well, that wouldn't happen until the future, but he is always willing to delve into the future, so he told us what he might say!  It was great! He always says he can talk to us about anything in the future, because history repeats itself. On many an occasion, I've heard contemporary questions asked, that Henry can answer, using stories from his era. 

     Then we went on a special 75th anniversary tour of the Governor's Palace. This tour is all about the archaeology and restoration of the palace. We toured with my friend who has ten children. Afterwards, her children and mine had fun playing in the palace gardens which has a maze and many "hidden" trails, surrounded by all boxwood.  They also played along the canal. 

    That afternoon we went to Basset Hall, which was the colonial home of the Rockefellers who provided the finances to restore the historic area. They lived there every April and October and had the gardens specially designed for those bloom periods.  The gardens continue to reflect that, so I told the family we need to tour the house again in those months to see the gardens.

    That evening we went to the Capital to dance!  We all got to dance as 100% participation is required. 

I got to dance with the colonel, who was alot of fun! He had a thick Scottish accent, and talked in my left ear, while the music was playing to either chit chat or give me direction.  (I had major head surgery many years ago and as a result, I lost a bit of hearing in that ear.  So I wasn't catching everything he said.) One of the moves we made was the gentlemen twirling the ladies!  The colonel twirled me most of the time but there is one part where I get passed off to another partner who twirls me as well. All that twirling was fun and surprisingly I wasn't getting dizzy. (That surgery also resulted in a cut balance nerve. I had to learn to walk all over again, so things I don't usually do like dancing and twirling can throw me off balance.) Well the colonel kept telling me I was an excellent twirler.  (I bet he says that to all the girls.)  Finally he started twirling me extra, making me dizzy! But I was laughing too! I said something about getting dizzy and he said, "Oh dear," held me extra tight, kept twirling me (The show must go on after all!), then passed me off and told the gentleman to be gentle in twirling me!  At the end he held onto me tightly while returning me to my husband. The dance is my favorite evening event of all. I definitely want to do this again, even double twirls! Surprisingly I wasn't dizzy for too long.  This is the colonel, who left before I could have my picture taken with him.

     My daughter danced with a gentleman we had met before and teased us greatly, so she wasn't sure about dancing with him. At the end she told me it went well.  I told her he was being a gentleman this evening.  While my son and husband were having their pictures taken with their partners, my daughter's dancing partner came to me (To my left ear no less, everyone likes to talk to me in my left ear!) and said that he thought he had met our family once before.  I refreshed his memory and he had a good laugh. 

     My son's partner...

This lady also danced with my husband...

And this lady danced with my husband...

This is my other dance partner, who also did a great job narrating for the evening.

We each got to dance two dances, while a few more were demonstrated for us.  My husband had hoped to dance with me, but I told him it was nice to dance with one of the costumed dancers, since they are trained in the steps. We've danced one other time at a historical place and it wasn't as fun because not everyone was guaranteed a partner, and some of our partners were other guests and we didn't really know what was going on. This dance at CW was extremely well organized, as always.  The first dance they ask for volunteers and they CW dancers go around looking for partners. Then the next dance they are certain to get the others who did not get to do the first dance.  No one will be left out!

     Sunday we began the day with a walk in the Palace gardens, looking for graves of the French and American soldiers, none of which we could find. On the way in, we met a "gatekeeper" who said a few things to my son, called him by name, and my son acted like that was perfectly natural. In essence, they acted like they had known each other for quite some time! We passed through and when we got out of earshot, I asked my son, "How does she know your name?"  "We danced together last night, Mom!"  She danced with my husband too. She was the lady in the red dress.  I went back to talk to her and compliment her on the Minuet she and her partner danced for us. Those are extemely complicated.  There is a version of it done by Felicity in the American Girl movie. We also looked at her stitch work, which looked a lot like one we saw last summer. A year ago in Aug we were at CW on summer vacation, met a "gatekeeper" at the Palace gate, sticthing nearly the same thing in more vibrant colors, she said because Patrick Henry is fiery. We told her about it and that was her!   

     Finally it was time for the private audience for homeschoolers with General Washington. He is very difficult to think of questions for, because he does an excellent job portraying General Washington, a stoic, private man who only spoke about public things. It really makes us realize how many private things we want to know!  My daughter asked Washington if new ideas or philosophies come out, does he like to read about them? Washington said he prefers to stick to the old, proven philosophies.  After answering several questions as Washington, he stepped out of character so he could answer any question. He asked if we knew who Cincinatus was and my kids and I acknowledged that we did. We learned all about him when we studied Ancient Rome a few years ago!  He seemed surprised that we knew about Cinncinatus, but he told the story of this Roman general who returned to the plow for the others. That was great because it's an interesting story everyone should know.  We did learn something new about Cinncinatus. We didn't know he was originally from Spain!  Washington often refers to Senaca so I asked who he was. He was a Greek stoic philosopher, opposite an epicurean philosopher.  He gave exellent comparisons of the stoic Washington to the epicurean Jefferson. We learned a lot that morning. 

     Then we took the 75th anniversary tour of the Capitol, again about the archaeology and restoration.  I got into a discussion with the tour guide about the different monarchs of England. We had studied them, but they all sort of blur together.  He gave extra information I did not remember studying. We learned a lot. 

      We took a visit to one of my favorite places, the milliner. We actually talked with the tailor and I analyzed, as usual, the garment he was sewing. My son told him I needed to make a new costume for him, since he's outgrown the old one. (He's grown 5" since moving to VA!) Then my husband told him I needed to make one for him. I was getting worried about all of the ideas the tailor was offering.  Fancy buttons, fancy vest, yikes! I made a mental note to visit the tailor without the guys next time!

     After some refreshment, my son borrowed some hoops from the Kings Arms Tavern and played up and down the Duke of Gloucester Street. Then he asked me to participate. How can I say no?  I had never played this before, but it was fun. Then my daughter got into it and the three of us were hitting hoops up and down the street. 

Then we went to the Geddy House to tour the home and his Silversmith shop. In the backyard are games like mancala, ring toss, hoops and nine pins.

Once again, you never know who might come by...

The last two days we spent time at the weaver's.  On Saturday he spun thread, gave samples to the kids, and told stories that had the kids mesmerized. Did you know the red dye comes from a bug called a kocheneil (sp?) bug? I learned that on my first trip to CW years ago.  This time I learned that it is the secret ingredient to various popular items and I couldn't take it.  He was having a lot of fun with my reactions! 

On Sunday he demonstrated weaving. He also told an interesting story, referring to my daughter's costume which has a flounce below her elbow.  In that era, a lady did not expose her elbows.  (In fact, one of the coachman has teased me about not being properly dressed and not covering my elbows. Apparently, elbows are a big deal!)  The weaver was saying that men back then must have had a thing for elbows, because the flounce was to tease a man, that they might get a peak at the elbow, but of course they wouldn't.  I never knew that about the flounce.

Well, it was another incredible time in CW. On the way back to the visitor center, my husband remarked at how subdued we all were.  We're looking forward to another trip back.          

     We left the Mariner Museum in Newport News early enough for the 30 minute drive to Colonial Williamsburg to have dinner before we did an evening program.  On the way to the Capital for the concert, we saw an artist painting a scene from the Duke of Gloucester Street of the Capitol and Raleigh Tavern. I walked over to peek over his shoulder. I am fascinated with the idea of painting but can't imagine how an artist makes strokes of paint look like the real thing.  I wanted to see how it was done. However he is an extremely sort of chatty fellow.  He'd load his brush with paint, then put it down and talk. Then he'd load his brush with other colors, put it down and say more. I thought I was going to bust! I just wanted to watch him paint!  LOL  My husband asked him what color he was going to paint the flag over the Capitol. (For Revolutionary City, different flags fly depending on the timeframe of the storylines.)  Somehow we got on the topic of his country's flag and my husband asked what country he was from. He pointed to his shirt and said his flag would be orange! Oh! The kids and I knew what country that was!  Holland! Frans van Baars gave me his brochure, after writing down a title of a book he thought I should purchase. He teaches painting and he highly recommends Drawing from the Right Side of the Brain.  I think I've heard of that book before.  I looked up his website and the paintings are gorgeous. The brochure has his phone number and he told me to call him anytime if I have questions.

     This evening program was Capital Concert.  A historical interpreter, portraying Peter Pelham, who was the town organist, harpsichordist and jailer, played the harpsichord for us and sang.  We sat in the assembly room where the burgesses used to meet.  The room was lit with candles in the chandelier and throughout the room.  There are no electrical lights, only candlelight, which emitted a lovely ambiance.  The musician came out as himself first to give us historical background on Peter Pelham, who really did these things in CW.  In fact, he taught the colonial governor's children and played at official concerts for the governor.  He also playd duets with Thomas Jefferson...Pelham on the harpsichord and Jefferson with the violin.  Jefferson had high regard for Pelham's musical abilities.

     After the introduction, the interpreter walked behind the giant chair (What is that called? I saw one at the contemporary state capital in Richmond the other day.) and became Peter Pelham. For each piece he played he had a story. Not just any story. These were interesting stories.  Unexpected stories. The one I remember best was so fascinating, that he wouldn't tell us who wrote the piece until after he played it.  he did tell us to think about who might have composed it about 200 years before (he was portraying 1774). He told us it would be someone completely unexpected!  I was guessing William Shakespeare, James I, Queen Elizabeth....no, I was wrong! I suppose I shouldn't tell the answer, but we were all shocked although everyone does know this historical figure.  This musician is so good, he said he was in a certain museum when he saw the score this historical figure had written and he memorized it.  He was playing from memory.  My son was amazed at all the pieces he had memorized.

       Peter Pelham played "Hail Britannia" two different ways. The first time he played the popular way of the time, and the second time his "new" and improved way! LOL  At the end of the program, he taught us the chorus and we all sang a few verses of "Hail Britannia." 

     Afterwards he took queries from the audience, then he met us outside to answer any other questions. My son had a question for him, which now I forget what it was.  But the musician asked my son if he plays music and I nudged him to say yes...and when he only mentioned the pianto, I nudged him again to mentioned the fife as well. The musician had stories about that! He said to love us and to play his fife outdoors and told us hilarious stories about fifes played indoors.  He was really fun and engaging. I started to take a picture of him talking to my son when he saw the camera and he asked someone to take a picture of all of us together!

      The next day we went to the brickyard where they were setting up the tarp for the kiln.  Some of these handmade bricks were used in the rebuilt Coffeehouse.  My son asked a great question. Why did they not use straw like the Hebrews in Egypt needed?  There is so much rain in Virginia, if the bricks do not go through a kiln, they'll eventually return to mud. As long as the kiln is used, straw is not needed.  In Egypt, there is little rain, so they did not need a kiln. Therefore straw was needed for structure.

      Next stop was the blacksmith shop.

These are locks for the rebuilt Coffeehouse. We spent a lot of time learning how locks are built around a key and how this knowledge goes back to the Middle Ages.

      Then we went to the Mary Stith house to meet Ann Wager, who taught African American children. It was 1774 and I asked her if she had any concerns as to the future of the Bray School, due to the politics of the day. She told me that my husband was keeping me very well informed of the current events.  Everyone started laughing, especially my family because I am the one who keeps my husband informed of the history/politics of 1774!  However he stays pretty well abreast of today's politics and I keep up but he gets me all worked up because I don't like to rock the boat.  LOL  Times have changed because back then ladies stayed out of politics and weren't considered capable of that type of knowledge. Anyway, for the rest of the time, she kept alluding to me and how informed I was with politics due to my husband. At one point, in answer to a question, she said my son was the perfect age to attend the grammar school at the College of William and Mary and proceeded to give us directions to the building.  We were all laughing and my husband said the kids were homeschooled.  She kept curtseying and alluding to my homeschooling too. It was fun. At the very end, I was excited to find an opportunity to talk to her in the 21st century!  I told her we especially enjoyed the program, because my daughter portrayed Ann Wager for a project for the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip, "Make History Live."daughter portrayed Ann Wager for a project for the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip, "Make History Live." She was absolutely delighted to hear this!  We had a good time talking about it. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

     One of the neat things I've always liked about walking about CW, is that you truely do feel as though you are in the 18th century. People go about the day in authentic dress, no cell phones, no watches, etc.  We stepped outside and were about to cross the street to go to Raleigh Tavern when we stopped to let a horseman have the right of way. Carriages go down the street.  Horses hooves are heard...clip clop, clip clop. We are not touring monuments of dead people. We have gone through a time machine and are in the past. It's wonderful.

         At Raleigh Tavern we attended "Music for a Revolutionary Generation.".  We listened to a violinist and pianist.  The piano fortes were new to the century and shaped smaller and more boxy.  There are differences between a harpsichord and piano.  In a harpsichord, the strings are plucked; in a piano forte, a hammer hits the strings.  With a harpsichord, there is one volume; with a harpsichord, there is a range a volumes. Due to the range of piano fortes, music was written with new ranges, from pianissimo (soft) to forte (loud). Once again, we heard lots of interesting tidbits of history to go with the songs.

       After this we walked out into the rain and quickly ate lunch under our umbrellas.  The rain lasted a short while.  It was an extremely cool day. There was a hint of autumn in the air.  A few of the leaves are turning. This is a completely new experience for me and the kids. In Texas the blazing heat roughly continues through September, with an occasional cold front. Here in Virginia it is different and delightful.

     At long last we got to take the Bits and Bridles tour. While waiting for everyone, we met a family we had seen the night before. They were all in costume and I think they do some historical reenacting themselves. We got to talking about my son's fife playing and I found out the man plays too. I seized the opportunity to seek a tip. I told him of my son's struggle with the fife.  I wasn't sure how to explain it, except that someone suggested he doesn't have the holes completely closed when he plays, so it doesn't sound right. But he insists he does have the holes covered. The man gave a terrific tip to play with the fingers flat.  

     In the Bits and Bridles tour we learn about the rare breeds program and get a tour of the horse stables. We saw the area where the horseshoes are stored and how the horses are taken care of with various shoes. Then we toured the different carriages. All of them were there, as it was lunch hour. Two different saddles were on display, an English saddle and a side saddle for ladies.  My daughter got to try out the side saddle.

Then the barn kitty came to sniff our bags.

We saw the baby goats.

Then we got to see the horses. They have their names on their stalls.  The ones that team up have names that fit in a pair. There's Matthew and Mark. Luke and John.  Brigadier and General.  I forget the other teams but I love this creativity. You know how I am with names! Then there were two horses which are rode either by a rider or pull a small cart individually. One  of them is Bob.

The last horse we met at the end of the stable is the other individual horse, and we were told he is a favorite for those who ride the horses. And his name? Well, I'm not telling, because it is the same name as my son! I tried to get a picture of the horse, the name and my son...but the horse was busy eating so we couldn't see his head since he was reaching down for his food.  Now we are trying to distinguish this horse from Bob. We couldn't get a good enough look at them to really know the difference, to know when we are about town.  The stable was impeccably clean.  Only the horses used for the day in town or who are ill stay in the stable.  Normally they stay in the fields.  Also they are off duty in the winter, when their shoes come off and they are foot loose and fancy free in the fields.

     Then we saw the various chickens.  Only one was the meatiest, used by the middling sort. 

The wealthy showed off their wealth with the fancier chickens, not caring if they were meaty or not.

As the guide talked about the downside of this Sikie, the chicken kept cocking her head from side to side as if she knew more than she was given credit for.

     After watching the horses get hooked up to the carriages, we followed the last one out and went to the Tucker House.  We had just missed a private audience with Gowan Pamphlet, the recently freed African American Baptist preacher. However we were in time to view traditional rug hooking, which is completely different from modern methods. My daughter had lots of questions, because she had done a latch hook rug a year ago.

     Then we went to Revolution City's Monday program, Building a Nation. On Monday's the theme is vignettes of various people during the revolution. After some music, dancing, and theatrical performances,

Alexander Purdy, who runs the newspaper, showed us his latest edition which has recently printed "The Declaration of Independence."

Then someone cried out "Lafayette!"  Lafayette was coming!  I had no idea! He wasn't in the program! Nor did we see him for this program last summer. But then last summer we were touring the capitol when RC started so we missed the first part of the program. 

Lafayette told us that victory had been secured at Yorktown.  I think that's what he said. I was busy setting my camera to action because neither he nor his horse stand still!

The horse is beautiful and it's fun to see him move around a lot. Also Lafayette always tells interesting stories.  I'm still fascinated by the idea of a Frenchman coming to America and adopting America as his second home.

He gave us a bit of background as to how he came to America to fight in our revolution.  Then he took off.

   Remember Monday is the day for stories of the people. They aren't sequential in time. "This Freedom Ain't for Me" is the story of a slave who has frustrating concerns. She holds the Declaration of Independence in her hand, and questions the freedom the patriots are seeking, while owning slaves.

Then we went to the Capital to meet Lady Washington. She arrived with a military escort.

The printer of the Virginia Gazette, Alexander Purdy, asked Edmund Pendleton if he could have the honor of helping Lady Washington step down from her carriage himself. He was beside himself with the honor of helping the General's wife. (We had never seen this in the scene before.  It made the scene more real.) She was going to tell about her time in the winter camps. Then she helps a disabled veteran.

   Next we met with Gowan Pamphlet who told us about his recent freedom and his pastorate, which was now able to join the larger group of churches.

It was starting to rain before the program when these actor interpreters sat next to me.  She was talking to me about the rain when Gowan Pamphlet started speaking. She felt compelled to interrupt him because she feared he was forgetting his people and his past.

 RC ended with President Washington with an announcement suggesting we elect him for his third term.

 He discussed his 8 years in office, his hopes for the future of our country, and his desire to step down and return to the life of a citizen.  Then he actually stepped off the stage, walked over to Lady Washington who had been standing near me, kissed her hand, then escorted her down the street.  This final part of stepping down and walking off with his wife was new to me.  We had not seen this last summer.  I thought it was a perfectly symbolic addition to the scene. My daughter mentioned the symbolism to me later.  I love it when the kids make connections on their own!

 It was raining again and time for dinner.  We went to Chownings which has light inexpensive fare. Being a drizzly chilly day, I was hoping for a good soup.  I don't like most soups, but liked the idea of potato leek soup and so did my husband.  I asked if we could have cornbread on the side, instead of the toast, so that worked out. My kids decided to share a plate of ribs. While waiting for our food we have peanuts to shell to eat while listening to period music. They had us help them sing a labor day song.

 We all got plenty to eat which was delicious.  That is the best potato soup and cornbread I've ever had!

     As we left the historic area, my son played his fife using the tips he had learned that day. Wow! What an improvement.  He still needs refinement but we could definitely tell a difference. As always, it was another wonderful day full of different adventures.  To top off the day, as we drove by one of the pastures, 4 of the CW horses were playfully chasing each other around the field.  Ah, it was a cozy evening...the sun was setting, it was drizzling, the air was cool and brisk, the fields are surrounded by large trees, mostly in verdent green but a few leaves are a bit anxious and are providing an autumnal splash of color. The horses running in this setting added to the aura of the 4mph society. Sadly it was time to return to our time machine and return to the present.  My husband told me to go ahead and let out that sigh. Sigh.  I could live here. I could work here.        

     On Friday, the kids and I drove down to Colonial Williamsburg for the day.  Despite a 2.5 hour drive, we managed to see the first program we had hoped to attend.  

    George Mason, Richard Henry Lee and Archibald Carter were in the time period of late June 1776.  They were answering questions about two important documents they had recently written with the Virginia Delegation, the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Constitution.  

     Since we had studied the Virginia Declaration of Rights in preparation for meeting Thomas Jefferson last week, I knew the kids would get more out of this event than they had previously.  Wow! Did we ever! We were sitting in the second row and the men were in front of the stage, and they got into a heated debate over the slavery issue. It was so realistic, I was beginning to wonder if we should move! 

The kids knew it was acting and enjoyed it. Obviously, they were showing how heated the debates got, over different points in the documents during the assembly.  A major point that was made, was that this representative government that they were forming, allow us to choose our representatives to voice our views.  Also, they said that debate in assembly was a good thing. The time to worry would be when everyone in congressional session agreed on everything. 

     The scene was interrupted for a slave auction.  They left to free the area for the slaves to wait for auction. Carter looked over one of the slaves, as if he was prepared to buy him.  The hypocrisy was stark. The slaves proceeded to share their fears about their future.  They were roughly treated in the scene (again acting). This scene is not recommended for children.  The scene bitterly brings slavery to the forefront, in juxtaposition to the men who sought freedom from England. 

     Then we did a little shopping. Since my husband was at work, I purchased peanuts in the shell from Chownings Tavern for him. Finally I got my colonial blank book so I can take notes! It came in handy that day when I visited the quilter and Lafayette.   

      Then we went to see the Revolutionary City scene for the reading of the Declaration of Independence. This is a new temporary setting, while electrical work is being done at the Coffee House.  It was interesting to see some of the changes to the program, in a different location. One of the lines struck me as funny, perhaps because of how one of the actors recites it.  Do you realize the words "manly firmness" are in the Declaration of Independence?  When I brought it up to the kids afterwards, they said, "Oh Mom, you always say that whenever you read it or hear it." I do?

     After that we had lunch. The kids wanted to see RC, so I suggested we eat under the trees at the Courthouse, so we could catch all of the midday scenes. No they wanted to go to their favorite spot on Botetourt. That meant we'd have to miss at least one scene, but they like Botetourt, so off we went. As we ate our lunch there, a carriage driver parked his coach and hitched his horses in front of us. He was extremely friendly and chatty. These horses are the ones who drove the Queen of England around CW a few years ago!  He found out we had recently moved to Northern Virginia from San Antonio. We chatted about familiar places in San Antonio. Then he found that we homeschooled. He told me about some resources which he highly recommended I inquire about with the CW.  Really?  Then he found out how much I love CW.  The coachman gave me lots of ideas about my dreams to be in CW. He was very nice!

    Then we went back to the Courthouse to see Benedict Arnold. It seemed that he engaged with more of the townspeople than what I had seen in the past.  His arrogance never ceases to amaze me. One of his lines caught my attention that day, that I hadn't caught before.  I was ready to pick a bone with him!

     After this scene, we went to the St. George Tucker House.  They were extremely friendly greeting us and learning all about us.  They were taken with the kids and their costumes. As I overheard some of the ladies mentioning a need to have their picture taken, another lady was chatting with me.  When she found out I had just driven down from Northern Virginia that morning, they asked how many days we'd be staying in the area. I told her we were driving back that evening. In shock, she asked in disbelief, "You can do that?"  I laughed and said yes.  (Can't afford a hotel room every time we come.) I told her that I CW is my favorite place in the world. She said I was just like her and she got a good look at my name on my pass.  She told me her story of how her dream to live and work in CW came true. I was loving all of this encouragement!

     She took us to meet the quilter, who showed us an eighteenth century piece that she was working on. Although we call this pattern a Grandma's Flower Garden today, it went by another name in Britain in the 1700's, and the pattern dates back to the 1400's.  It was considered a mosaic pattern back then.  As I looked at it, yes I could see that.  This was the era of the NeoClassical movement, where they renewed ancient Greek and Roman art and ideas.  We had studied and created mosaics when we studied the Ancient Romans in Year 1 Unit 4.  It was interesting to think of this quilt piece in that perspective. I learned not only history but also practical quilting tips for today. I told her what my weaknesses were in quilting and she gave me great ideas that I jotted in my new colonial blank book to easily reference later. She also named a great fabric shop in my area.  I told her about my poor pathetic sewing machine and about the costumes I make.  I also told her about the recent idea I had for my son's character for our upcoming Year 4 Unit 1 celebration, who could represent someone in WWI that reflects someone in CW!  Any guesses to what event and to whom I am referring?

     Finally it was time to go to Kimball Theater to meet the Marquis de Lafayette.  We had not been able to see him give a full speech since the summer before when we were on vacation.  Then he was in the time frame September 1781, telling us about how he had cornered Cornwallis at Yorktown and the ultimate victory the Continental Army foresaw.  Well today he surprised us, changing things up! I was completely taken by surprise.   

He said it was a year after the signing of the Treaty of Paris! 1784! The American Revolution was over! Therefore, we got to hear him talk about completely new things! During his speech, he talked about his role in the American Revolution. During the Q&A, he answered questions about what he had been doing since he returned to France. This was new information to hear from him! He talked about the need to help the poor in his country, about the rumblings and need for change, and his hope to keep the monarchy, yet to institute a representative government for the people. Oh, I knew exactly which question I wanted to ask! It had everything to do with this line of talk, and reflected our government studies last year. Alas, I wasn't brave enough to raise my hand.  That was okay, I was having fun listening to some of the other questions and seeing his reaction. He got some funny questions from the audience and we were all laughing and laughing. The funniest seems to reflect our school year. Someone asked if he had met Napoleon! (Napoleon has been part of our previous school year, every single week of our studies of the 19th century, and even at Chincoteague this summer.) I wonder if the man who asked the question had any idea that this actor portraying Lafayette also portrays Napoleon in Europe in his free time.  The reaction of the actor was classic, but he pulled off a great answer, as always!  Apparently,  they did bump into each other, literally, as Napoleon had his nose stuck in a book while walking down the street.  But Lafayette tells the story much better than I ever could!  My son kept raising his hand to ask a question, but Lafayette never saw him.  He had a lot of questions to answer!

After the Q&A, the actor stepped down from the stage for more questions and pictures.  We went down and my son got a chance to ask his question. My son said he knew Lafayette did great things for our country, but what was the red medal for? It was  presented to Lafayette by the King of France for his service in America.  It was fascinating, listening to some of the questions and hearing the answers. I would never think of some of those questions and the answers were amazing. People who were crowded around, filtered out and we found ourselves last to be with Lafayette. (gulp)  Suddenly, I could not think of anything to ask. I smiled and nodded my thanks and fled.  As usual, I was too shy. My daughter later told me she had a question. Why didn't she ask him?  I couldn't understand it. Ahh, our children are mirrors to our own selves.

    Our next stop was the Colonial Nursery. I have a narrow area in front of the house that has tiger lillies which only bloom a few weeks in the year. I thought of transplanting them in the midst of other plantings in the larger garden, and replacing them with boxwood.  I saw some at Mount Vernon recently and loved the idea of boxwood that were propagated from Washington's gardens. However there are no gardeners there to talk to and I needed guidance. How big do they grow?  I wasn't sure of how many to get or if they'd fit in the space.  I got precisely the help I needed at the Colonial Nursery and I now have some English Boxwood propagated from the CW historic area! 

     Then we went to the Palace Kitchen and the kids spent their time guessing all the food that was setting out on the table.  I can easily pass on most colonial food, but the dark chocolate pudding definitely looked tantalizing.

     Then we went to the Palace Garden to meet with General Lafayette and Colonel Ennis about war plans at Yorktown. As the meeting neared an end, and it began to rain, and there began to bewere sparse questions, I dared to ask a question: What did the French soldiers think of General Lafayette, a Frenchman, wearing an American uniform? His answer matched precisely what I had read, (it's good to know the Lafayette biographies I have are on the right track) but I was wondering if he had inside information I might not be aware of. I guess not. Basically, there were other Frenchmen who fought in the Continental Army and it was not seen as treason, but as an opportunity. He named several Frenchmen and their positions in the Continental Army.   

     Afterwards we made our way to the cobbler

   and my son had lots of questions for him. He even told him how he sewed his own boots for unit celebrations. The cobbler was quite impressed so we explained how we cheated and he was still impressed, and told us he made pieces in a similar style! Really? That was fascinating!

     Then the rain had let up and we went to see the review of the troops. To our surprise, Lafayette arrived galloping across the field on his horse!  We had never seen him on his horse for this scene before. Being taken by surprise, I wasn't ready for the picture.  I think the horse livens up the already terrific review of the troops scene.

Before I knew it, he galloped away. Oh no! Where's the action setting on my camera? Gotta use that with Lafayette on a horse. I couldn't remember where the setting was, so I just took the picture. It's blurry but there he goes!

    It was the end of another incredible day at Colonial Williamsburg. Even though we had seen all the scenes before, each one was different from what we had seen before and we learned many new things.  When I told my husband about how we didn't ask Lafayette any questions, he exclaimed, "What? You've waited a year to see him and you passed up that opportunity to ask questions?" My kids and I are now brainstorming questions and writing them in the back of my blank Colonial notebook.  Now I am bugged that I didn't ask one question in particular, that reflected our government studies last year.  Next time.

     Colonial Williamsburg has a new feature in their programming. We can now meet with Thomas Jefferson about how he wrote the Declaration of Independence.  Before meeting him, I decided to prepare the kids for getting the most out of the presentation, which would include a question and answer session.

     We studied the Declaration of Independence for an entire week over a year ago.  That Fourth of July we took turns reading it aloud.  Then at CW's Revolutionary City, we listened to a recitation of it and joined in on some of the parts that we remembered.  Therefore, my kids have a pretty good sense of the Declaration of Independence. I decided to bump things up a notch, in preparation for engaging with Mr. Jefferson.     

    We began with this video clip from CW.  The clip is of a little girl reading, apparently the Declaration of Independence, to her stuffed animals. (I love this commercial!) My kids quickly caught the mistakes. Actually she is reading from the Virginia Declaration of Rights, precursor to the Declaration of Independence. The two documents have similar wording. We compared the two. George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights while at the Virginia Convention in Williamsburg, Virginia in May 1776. Rough drafts were sent to Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia while he attended the Second Continental Congress. 

     Then we looked up John Locke, who wrote Two Treatises of Government in 1690, from which George Mason and Thomas Jefferson derived some of their ideas for the famous documents. A lot of these ideas of freedom are not new.  However the Declaration of Independence is the first document to put words to action.

     In fact, Colonial Williamsburg's Revolutionary City features the Virginia Declaration of Rights in their presentation of "Resolved: Free and Independent States May 15, 1776"

The new flag is raised in celebration of Virginia's declared independence.

In celebration of independence, the cannon is fired.

Another program, "The Challenge of Independence," is a question and answer session with the George Mason and others from the Virginia delegation who drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

Meanwhile, the colonies' delegates were assembling in Philadelphia, assigning the task of drafting the Declaration of Independence to a committee comprised of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston and Robert Sherman.  Thomas Jefferson did the actual writing of the declaration, which was later revised in Congress.  Jefferson had written "A Summary View of the Rights of British America," which paved the way for what John Adams called "the reputation of masterly pen."

      Saturday, we went to Colonial Williamsburg to meet with Thomas Jefferson. There was a table center stage set with props like his writing desk and many important documents.   President Jefferson arrived and told us many wonderful stories. I think my favorite was that if we want to see the original Declaration of Independence today, go to Washington City and knock on the door of one of his cabinet members. (I forget which one.)  He'll let you in and pull out the infamous document.  Perhaps that was true in 1809, but in 2009 one needs to stand in line at the National Archives like we did last summer, to see all the founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights along with England's first freedom document, the Magna Charta.  

     One of the most prominent features we noticed about the Declaration of Independence, when we saw it, was how faded it was.  Jefferson addressed that while explaining the new Declaration of Independence exhibit at the museum.  As with all significant events, the anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence brought a sweeping sense of patriotism over the country.  Marketing on the opportunity, engravers competed to produce an accurate copy of the Declaration of Independence. This is precisely the focus of the current display at the DeWitt Wallace Museum at Colonial Williamsburg.  As we looked at various copies of competing engravers a few weeks ago, we noticed a great deal of artistic license was taken.  Surprisingly, one of these artistic copies arrived in my snail mail box yesterday!  The kids and I were excited to get it!  This is the Binn version.

     However, one copy and one copy alone was historically accurate...that of William Stone. This is the version that we are all familiar with today.   President Jefferson explained how Stone accurately made it.  Stone knocked on the door of this cabinet official who kept the famed document in his desk drawer, took a wet piece of paper, laid it over the original, pressed it firmly onto the embedded ink, then carefully lifted it up. He now had an exact copy of the original Declaration of Independence.  Unfortunately the process remove much of the ink from the original,  leaving it much faded.  From this, Stone produced the official government engraving.  Two hundred and one copies were printed and given to various government officials, including all the living signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Marquis de Lafayette.  Imagine the reaction and feelings of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Lafayette, all men who risked their lives to make this statement of freedom a reality, when they received these historic vellum copies.

      In researching this article, I found at the website Principles of Freedom, that the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has one of these rare surviving vellum Stone copies of the Declaration of Independence. Actually, I already knew that, since I got to see it in the museum with my family a few weeks ago.   I wanted to share the proof, that Colonial Williamsburg is more than a living history museum, where we take our kids in costume to engage with costumed interpreters. Colonial Williamsburg, like other important historical institutions, is a preserver of our history...our history of freedom.  They have been gifted many other important documents to our country.  It is a real treasure to see our history as we meet with costumed interpreters and when we visit the museum. History is more than pages in a book and essay tests.  Now that we know all this, our own gift  from the CW Educational Outreach Department last December is all the more meaningful.

     While President Jefferson talked about the writing of the Declaration of Independence, he showed us different things. He showed us how he used his writing desk. He also used the same booklets I have pictured above. After seeing how beat up his are, I don't feel so bad about how ratty mine got Saturday, enduring the rain and humidity. I had purchased them the year before on vacation and until now they had been pristinely sitting on display near my desk. Now they are getting used...and perhaps that's a good thing! When Jefferson mentioned the Virginia Declaration of Rights and held it up, I pulled out mine to show the kids, so they would remember, "Ah-ha, we talked about that the other day." When he showed us his "Summary View of Rights of British America", I held that out for the kids to see. Funny, it was almost as if he knew I had my own copies, because he would mention a certain page number and read from it and I was able to reference mine as well!   

     When it was opened for question and answer, my son queried, "I know you support freedom for slaves, yet you own your own. What do you think of freeing them and paying them for their labor?"  It was interesting listening to the reply to that, basically that the south did not have a ready cash economy. Instead it was all wrapped up in labor and product. However he did hope for freedom of slaves. Jefferson in fact worked with William Wilberforce, and with Congress finally ended the importation of slaves.  He talked about how gratifying that was at the end of his tenure as president, when he first sought it at the Continental Congress as he wrote the Declaration of Independence.  He also talked of his landmark feat as president, purchasing the Louisiana Purchase. He envisioned new states opening in that new land, that would be free to all, no matter the skin color.  Sadly that became a hotly contested battleground in Congress in the nineteenth century, arguing whether the states would enter as free or slave. 

       Afterwards, we went to meet President Jefferson. He was wonderful with my kids and made us feel as though he always knew us.  He told my kids that they were very smart and after posing for pictures...

...my daughter asked her question, "How did he feel as he signed the Declaration of Independence?" President Jefferson said that was an excellent question, and if she had raised her hand, he would definitely have called on her. Then he qualified that by saying he must have missed her. No he didn't. She is extremely shy and this was the first time she ever asked a Founding Father a question.  She had her hand timidly raised at shoulder level during the Q&A, so of course he couldn't see that.  I told her when we waited our turn for pictures to ask him the question. The kids had formed these questions on their own ahead of time, when we prepared for this opportunity.  She is so quiet, I thought I'd have to be the one to bring his attention to her question, but I was so proud of her for speaking up! And I was truely glad that he affirmed her question.  He talked about how uncertain their future was when they signed that document, because they were commiting treason and were risking their lives and fortunes. 

     Then he asked if we knew who the Paul Revere of Virginia was. My kids immediately answered that it was Mann Page.   I knew that President Jefferson was referring to someone else, because we heard him tell about him during a Conversation in Democracy from Poplar Forest. I also knew that this was important to him, and I had planned on teaching this to the kids now that we are Virginia residents. Alas, I hadn't gotten to that yet! President Jefferson proceeded to tell the kids about Captain Jack Jouett who speedily delivered the news of Tarleton's hastening arrival so that Jefferson  could escape to safety. Then I told President Jefferson that we have recently moved here from Texas, so we were still learning our Virginia history. He found out we were in Northern Virginia now and he asked if we were from Fairfax. That seemed to throw the kids so I told him which county we were now in. If I had thought of it I might have mentioned the plantation on which our house (within our subdivision among many subdivisions) now stands.  I wonder if he knew the original plantation owner?      

     Then President Jefferson said something about Virginians in Texas and I said that I was aware...then I stopped. My next words would not be in Jefferson's life time, but I had backed myself into a corner.  Oh well.  I decided to proceed and see what he would do with it. I told him that I know that many Virginians fought at the Alamo in San Antonio, where we are from. (The Seige on the Alamo occurred after Jefferson died.) He smiled and didn't tease me about being tipsy from visiting too many taverns. One just never knows what these actor interpreters are going to say!

     It was an incredible time and definitely the highlight of our day!  We learned a lot of new things about the Declaration of Independence, America's Treasure!  

     After much hard work on the house, it was time for another weekend away. Honestly, I had 21st century overload and was more than ready for some time in the 4mph society. My husband agreed. 

     Since it was time to renew our season passes, our first stop was the Visitor Center to purchase passes and book reservations for special events of the day we wanted to see.  There is a special discount on season passes this month for Virginia residents. That's us! When the cashier found out that I was a homeschooler, she said that was the magic word, because educators get a better discount than anyone.  Now I recall that I got an educator's discount last year too.  Be sure to mention that you're  homeschooler when purchasing your passes!  It's a great value, good for one year, and you can tell from my blog articles that there is always lots to do and quite often, something new!

      We were prepared for a leisurely day.  My husband had been wanting to visit the cooper for some time, so that was our first stop. 

We'll never forget our first visit to the cooper when we were first married.  My husband's family had a tradition of making hand crank ice cream, so someone gave us an antique hand crank ice cream maker for a wedding gift. My husband thought it needed to be cleaned up, so he took it apart and freshened it up. He thought it was poorly made, because there were no nails or glue.  After cleaning up the wood and staining it, he used glue to secure the staves when he reassembled it. Well, at the cooper, we found out that these barrels are designed to not need glue or nails. Pressure of the rings on the wooden staves securely hold the barrel together. My son asked lots of questions about hogsheads today.  I was impressed when even my quiet daughter asked some questions!

     Then we had lunch under the trees on Botetourt St and it was s-o q-u-i-e-t.  Because of electrical work being done on the Coffee house near the Capital, Revolutionary City has been rescheduled to be spread throughout the town, throughout the day, for the next couple of weeks....and nowhere near Botetourt as it usual.  The usual hustle and bustle of the city was sorely missed. Although I thought it would be interesting to see the RC scenes in new venues, we missed most of the action.

     Eventually some families came over to pet the horses that were resting between carriage rides.  A little girl came over to talk to my daughter, thinking she was Tinker Bell.  The parents said they were walking by and their daughter saw my daughter in her long pink dress and said she was Tinker Bell.  I thought Tinker Bell had a short green dress but the parents gave me the look that said, "You know that and I know that but our daughter has her own firm ideas about it." LOL  So we went along with it!  She was really cute!

      We could hear RC scenes from "A Court of Tar and Feathers" in front of the Courthouse. We were not in the historic area in time to see the previous scenes.  Feeling a need for some action and revolution, we hurried over and caught the end of the dramatic scene. It was fun to see them in a different setting.  When it was over, we decided to go to the Coffee House for my husband to check their progress, since there wouldn't be another RC scene for a couple of hours.

    On the way we stopped at the printing shop where my son got to  card wool and all the kids got some of the cleaned wool to  try to pull into thread/yarn.

    As we walked further down Duke of Gloucester Street, my son went into the Silversmith Shop. I was surprised but followed him in. He went straight to the lady at the back counter, pulled out a sheet of paper with a sketch on it, and asked her for an estimate for it to be engraved on his historic compass/sundial from CW.   So that is what he was working on all week!  I've been so busy running up and down and through the house, trying to tackle projects, that I keep forgetting to peek over his shoulder to see what he was drawing.  Isn't it terrific?

 The lady wasn't quite sure, so she brought the machine engraver over. She wasn't quite sure, and they said the hand engraver would have to do this one, and she wasn't in that day. They gave us their business card so we could mail a revised copy for an estimate.  We all agreed there was too much for one side. I suggested he design this like one of the medals he saw at the "Washington and His Generals" exhibit last week. He could do the monogram on the front and the verse on the back. He liked that idea a lot! So he is going to redo this and we'll mail it in to the Silversmith.   

     On to the CoffeeShop and well, it looked good to me! LOL I was wilting. It was soooo hot and muggy. In Northern Virginia we had had some heavy thunderstorms, especially early Saturday morning and we got little sleep. I was exhausted. Surely none of that was due to Hurricane Bill, which remained in the Atlantic, proceeding north. In San Antonio, when we had hurricanes in the gulf, we usually saw little rain, if any. A lot depended on which side of the storm we were sitting. I still have a lot to learn about weather patterns in Virginia.        

     After my husband got his fill of the Coffeeshop construction, I voted to go to the milliner. I was glad that I did because I learned a lot! We talked about the difference between the milliner and the mantua maker, how stays and bustles were worn, the development of the bustle over time, and more. I was surprised to learn that the bodice is often pinned together, digging the tips into the stays. I have to hold a lot of our costumes together with pins, and safety pins at that.  I always lamented that I was not being historical.  I was glad to learn that I am not the only one who pins. That is my favorite trade. 

     Finally it was time to go to the museum, to meet with President Jefferson. We were excited about this program and was a key reason for visiting CW this day. He is giving a special talk on how he wrote the Declaration of Independence. This is only presented certain times and I wanted to be sure we attended.  The kids and I prepared especially for this session, which I will blog about next. For now I will just say that it was a wonderful time!

     After leaving the museum, we went to visit the St. George Tucker House for the very first time. This is open to donors to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. (I'm only one of the minor donors.)  As we entered we were immediately greeted by an extremely friendly volunteer, who made us feel quite welcome. He had me sign the register and he gave us a tour of the building.  Descendants of St. George Tucker lived in the house until the 1990's, when the CWF turned it into a donor reception center. Special historical characters like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington or the Marquis de Lafayette visit during the week.  We were shown the library for the donors like to use at their leisure. We were given refreshments of lemonade and cookies.  Then we were invited to sit and visit with the carpenter who told us about his work restoring outbuildings at the Randolph Peyton House. That was interesting, because my husband remembers a time when the outbuildings weren't there. 

     By the time we left, a storm had blown in. At least the temperature had dropped to a refreshing level.  I had hoped to at least see the final scene of RC, which features the Virginia delegation which drafted the Virginia Declaration of Rights. We had studied this in preparation for meeting with President Jefferson, since it was influential on the Declaration of Independence.  We stayed dry in shops near the Courthouse, but the rain never dissipated.  RC was canceled.

     My husband wanted to have dinner at Chownings, up the road. Our waiter was great! He had a Scottish accent and took our order with dry humor. When he gave us the drink menu, he mentioned tea that had floated in from Boston. I quipped that I hoped it wasn't British tea but that fell flat.  When my husband ordered tea, the waiter confirmed the order, saying he'd serve him the tea that had floated in from Boston. I got it!  This time I quipped, "I hope it's not from the Boston Tea Party!" The waiter grinned and said it was fresh with a salty tang.  Then my husband asked for Sweet and Low and the waiter said it looked as though someone sweet and low was sitting next to him. My husband looked at me and said something back. I forget now. But they bantered back and forth. There were lively colonial musicians and a magician. The magician gave us some of his equipment to inspect and that was fun, to make a big deal out of.  Chownings is the most affordable of the taverns.  I'm not a fan of most of the food outside of Texas (gasp). We think that is why I've lost a lot of weight. So I just nibbled off my husband's plate. I also nibbled off my son's plate. Their cornbread is great! And I do like Virginia ham.  I wonder if there's a way to create a new plate? Anyway, I had plenty of room for their tasty peanut pie. We usually get two slices to share.  Then our waiter gave my kids souvenir pins.  Then he taught us a colonial game with dice, called Ship, Captain, and Crew. You roll the dice and get three tries to roll a 4, 5, and 6. If you get those numbers, the remaining dice are your score. The one who gets to 100 first, wins. I was in the lead until the end, when my husband edged me out.

     It's nice to at least almost win, because my son usually wins. The other night we played Blokus. Influenced by Colonial Williamsburg, my kids have now named the colors.  They handed me yellow and I asked who that was.  They grinned and said Lafayette!  Blue is Washington, red is Cornwallis and green is Tarleton. My son had blue (Washington) and he kept blocking me. I kept saying, "General Washington, how can you do that to your adoptive son, Lafayette?" My son would grin and say they are just names of colors.  In the end, Washington won and Lafayette came in second!

     By the time we left, the rain had stopped but everything was wet and drippy. We walked through some shops at Merchant Square, then returned to the Lumber House for our evening tour, the Lanthorn Tour. Do you know why lanterns were called lanthorns? Instead of glass, they used the thin layer of cow's horn in the lantern.   My son got to carry the lanthorn for the first leg of the tour.

We went to four trades: the blacksmith, the cabinetmaker, the binder and the printer. We enjoyed the tour a lot, learning a lot more than we ever do when we visit the trades, unless we get a chatty tradesperson or know which questions to ask. The tour guide modeled how tools were used, but you really want to go back the next day, armed with great questions from newly found information from this tour, to see everything in action.  We liked going at night because it held a certain charm.  Most interesting, as my husband said later, we got to see for ourselves precisely why tradespeople only work from dawn to dusk. There were several authentic lanthorns at each trades shop and we saw very little. Definitely, sunlight was necessary to work by.

     Interestingly, during the tour, a huge fireworks show began behind the Governor's Palace.  When I asked what the fireworks were for, I was told it was a special reception for the governor. Dumbfounded, I just looked at her and then asked, "For the modern governor?" She smiled and said yes. We heard more than we saw because we were either in the building or walking in the midst of town. The sky was red in the distance and smoke wafted our way. It was easy to imagine that the Battle of Yorktown was in process. In fact all the guests pretended that was the case. We really got into it. As we walked down one of the narrow side streets from the carpenter shop to the binder, I caught a glimpse of the fireworks next to the cupola of the Governor's Palace. That was a Kodak moment! I tried to take a picture but it was the wrong setting, being at night. I have a special fireworks setting, but I couldn't find it in the dark and the tour group was leaving me behind. Alas, it would have been a terrific picture!

     Stay tuned for the highlight of our day, the Declaration of Independence and Thomas Jefferson. After that I will blog about Jamestown, which we visited the next day! 

   On recent trips to Colonial Williamsburg, I have been increasingly flabbergasted by the various reactions of the guests to my kids wearing their costumes.  Mistaking my kids for employees, guests often ask them questions about the historic area, which the kids can usually answer, although they always qualify the answer with the fact that they are not employees. Now the guests are so charmed, they are taking pictures of my kids!  I incredulously looked on as I wondered what in the world is going on?  

     The picture taking started on our last visit to Colonial Williamsburg a couple of weeks ago.  While we were sitting on the Duke of Gloucester Street, my son was playing either his fife or his tin whistle.  He is not great at playing either, but he is self taught and was working on a tune from his colonial tune book. Some guests were walking by and when they heard the music they were enchanted and took pictures of him playing.  I was sitting nearby and I was so shocked I couldn't think of what to do or say. It certainly made great dinner conversation that evening.

     When we visited the Colonial Nursery, a lady walked right up to my kids, took their picture, then gave them a big smile and a thumbs up!  Once again I was standing nearby, incredulously speechless.  What do  you say to something like that?  I have always enjoyed watching the actor/interpreters pose for pictures, especially when they do a historic pose. But my own kids????

     Oh, but the one that took grand prize was yet to come!  We were on Botetourt Street under the trees. Actually I left my kids there while I turned my back. When I returned my son was sitting on the hitching post, playing a tune on his fife, and he was getting his picture taken again.  This time the friend of the picture taker was posing WITH my son to have her picture taken with him!!!!  Well, just as that was about to do me in, something even more incredulous happened!  When the lady who had been taking the picture was done, she cried out to her friend, "It's my turn now!  Take a picture of me posing with him!"  They giggled and switched places and another picture was taken...while I stood there hopelessly speechless. 

    Had I any presence of mind , I would have taken pictures of them taking pictures of my kids.  Well, now that I think about it, we do have one picture that a few other guests have too. Last summer when we visited CW, my son posed with Lafayette.  My husband suggested that they shake hands and as my husband took their picture, the guests went, "ohhhhhhhhh." When my husband was done and my son was about to leave, the guests asked them to remain in pose so they could take pictures of them too!  I thought it was neat that Lafayette graciously allowed for this. I know my son enjoyed the moment.

     Is it any wonder my kids enjoy Colonial Williamsburg?

     Celebrating 30 years of the African American program, Colonial Williamsburg provided yet another incredible weekend with many new programs that were new to us.  Arriving around 11am, our first stop was to pick up the weekly schedule and hopefully successfully book reservations for 3 weekend programs.  Yea, there was still room for us!  (However we are still trying to get reservations for the always full Bits and Bridles Tour.) Since it was close to lunch, we went to our favorite lunch spot, Botetourt Street where we get to see all the horses pass by under the quiet shade of the trees.  Meanwhile I marked up our schedule, trying to plan the events we'd want to see. I was focusing on as many African American events as we could possibly do. Any extra time we'd feel free to leisurely fill with whatever we wanted. Finally we were refreshed and ready to go!

     Our first official stop on the African American tour was the Peyton Randolph House. 

 I have toured this house on different vacations, and always from different perspectives. This time primary source documents were used to show us the lives of the slaves who served this genteel family.  

We were also given tags of various slaves in the household. As their story was told, we identified them with our tags, making it seem more real.  If nothing else, we at least remembered the life of the slave our tag represented. 

 For those who do not know Peyton Randolph, we were told that had he lived, he would have been a household name.  He was president of the Second Continental Congress, but died of a stroke in early 1776.  John Hancock became the new president of the Continental Congress, noticeably signing his name to the Declaration of Independence.

     It is thought that if Peyton Randolph had lived, he would have become the first president of the United States.  He wielded that much influence in Virginia and later the other colonies/states.

   We also looked at the inventory, to see the value of the slaves.

   In the dining room, we talked about how the politics of the day were discussed between Peyton Randolph and other important men.  Who overheard all of this? The slaves who tended the dinner. Many of them received a terrific education from working in this household. They were often more informed of the politics of the day than slaves of other households. The personal attendant to Peyton Randolph worked so closely to him, going into town with him on business, that he received an education in Latin and Greek. He later ran away to Philadelphia. Because he was mulatto, with red hair and fair skin, it is thought that he successfully passed as a white man, using the education he had received merely by being around Peyton Randolph.     

      Outdoors there were many activities for the kids to experience the work the slaves had to do.  Could they haul water without any spillins?

This practice was to prove valuable later.

They polished buckles...

hung up clothes...

and swept oyster shells off the path.

Then we followed the junior fife and drum corps from the capital to the palace. How could we resist? We thought they played exceptionally well that day, surprising us with a different ending from what we were used to.

Then we went to one of the tours we had reserved tickets for. "In Their Own Words," is a walking tour through the historic area, where primary source documents are used to help us understand the attempts and struggles some of the slaves went through in attempting freedom.  This tour continues to be offered, so be sure to check it out! In fact, you can listen to a podcast about it from May 18, 2009.

 After this we went to Raleigh Tavern, 

for the "Politics and the Punchbowl" tour. Once again, this tour was different from one I had done in 2004.  This tour  used primary source documents, to see how far a day's wages would go in the tavern. 

 After touring many of the rooms, we entered the Apollo Room.  On a previous tour in 2004, which I'll blog about later, I failed my history. This time I redeemed myself, thanks to Revolutionary City! The guide asked us about the RC scene where Lord Dunmore got upset and did something to the politicians.  What was it? I was able to answer that he disbanded the House of Burgesses for protesting the blockade in Boston. No longer able to meet in the Capital, they met here, in the Apollo Room. Imagine the history that took place in this very room with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry.  I was especially pleased when the guide asked if anyone was a Latin scholar and my kids tentatively raised their hands.  The guide asked if any of them could read the saying over the fireplace. I said my daughter could...and she did!  Thankfully he did the translating for us. I only recognized a few words.  Perhaps my daughter recognized more.

Then we had dinner at the King's Arms Tavern.

After dinner, we went to our first evening program. This was part of the African American programming, called "Jumping the Broom."  This is a bit mature for children. Some of the content was emotionally difficult and I was torn apart. We were asked not to take pictures of the program. I wish I could have taken a picture of the couple jumping the broom. Here is a group picture afterwards.

After the couple jumped the broom, we celebrated with dancing! The men played the drums while the guests split into men and women. We faced each other. The men were led by the groom and the women were led by the bride. The women danced in unison towards the men, then just as we got close, we danced back to our original positions. Then the men did the same, dancing in unison towards the women with their special moves, and then danced back.  We took turns doing this, each time with different moves. It was a contest to see who was best.  My husband was dancing across from me. At the end, the men and women danced at the same time, up to each other and then around each other. So I joined the women in dancing our unique moves, towards the men, and then I danced around my husband. Then we had to dance back to our original positions, without touching each other. Well my husband was enjoying this so much he wanted to touch me and dance back with me! A few of the men did this with their wives too!  We were all laughing and the women won! We had the best moves, no instruction was needed, we merely followed the bride (she was really good), and we followed the rules. The men, on the other hand, needed word pictures from the groom to do their dances, and didn't follow the rules!  It was a blast!

     The next morning we strolled leisurely on Nicholson Street, towards the African American program at the Powell House. We were so early, my son suggested we go into the Cabinet makers shop. We hadn't toured that since 2008.  When we walked in, someone was tuning the harpsichord.

My husband started talking to the cabinet maker about this piece of furniture. In the discussion, my husband asked if there were any secret compartments. "Well," the cabinet maker said, "they were fond of such things back then. Look for yourself." So my husband and son searched all the drawers and compartments...

...and what do you know?  They each found secret compartments!

While they continued talking, I took the opportunity to play the harpsichord. I saw a doo-dad that I thought would hold music, but I couldn't figure out how it worked. So I just held music sheets I found in the pile in my left hand, while I played the melody with my right hand. Later, the cabinet maker set up the doo-dad so I could play with both hands!  Then my daughter took a turn to play. However, she is learning to play and all of the provided music was too difficult.  Therefore, I took the opportunity to show her how to play the C major chord.

After my husband went in to the actual wood working area, the cabinet maker and I started talking about the harpsichord. I told him it had a very different feel from our piano.  He showed me how it works.  I knew that a piano strikes the strings whereas the harpsichord plucks the strings. He showed me exactly how this works. He had models of the apparatus at his desk. The plucking part comes from the quill, as in the end  of the feather you can write with. Part of the mechanism is made with boar bristle, like hair from a type of pig. It works extremely well and endures well. It's amazing what they thought of back then.  The cabinet maker shop actually makes these harpsichords to sell to the general public.   

As we were getting ready to leave, I noticed the cabinet maker working on these renderings.

He showed us some of the work...

 He said that they had been to Mount Vernon to study the scroll work on the mantel.

     I told him we'd be back to check the progress.  It is exciting that we can actually come back more often than once every several years to see projects in development.

      We arrived for "Storytelling and the African American Oral Tradition" to find a big surprise.  The CWF was videotaping! My husband talked to one of the directors and we don't know when this will be available for viewing, but it will be on the CW website.  I'll let you know when it is available. This program was great!   The speakers alternated between a 21st century lady who told stories that had been passed down through her family...

...and an 18th century man who told of stories of the era. One of the stories he told was of "The Combustible Woman."  I looked at the kids and we started laughing. Two weeks ago we were in the apothecary and I was asking about treatment for my sore leg muscle.  When camphor was recommended, my daughter burst out laughing and said, "Oh no, Mom!  Remember "The Combustible Woman?"  You can hear him tell this story on a podcast dated September 15, 2008.  In fact, you can hear stories in one of the evening programs,  "Listen My Children." 

     We were encouraged to record our own family histories at the museum.  "Story Keepers" was a special program throughout the day for kids to interview family members and record memories on a CD to take home. There were even questions provided for prompts. We ran out of time to do this. There are so many wonderful things to do.  After the program we took tons of pictures of the gorgeous horses in the nearby field.  This one was a tease, coming close to us, then going somewhere else.

Then we did some children's activities at the Powell House. My son colored a cannon print.  He was never one to enjoy coloring books, preferring open ended play. But for some reason CW draws him in to coloring their prints.

Meanwhile my daughter and I played with a game of lettered dice.  The dice were tumbled onto the table, and the letters that were showing were for us to try to make words with. We each got a slate and slate pencil to list as many words as we could possibly form from the dice. This is my slate...

There was a puzzle to put together...

 While my son played jackstraw (like pick up sticks) and tops...

...my daughter and I played checkers.  Finally my daughter said she felt cornered like Cornwallis at Yorktown!  That must make me George Washington!

   Next we went to our favorite lunch spot, under the trees, on Botetourt Street.   That weekend we made friends with one of the coachmen and the horses he drives, Brigadier and General.

Then General Washington came by...

At one point, his horse came towards us. Well, we couldn't resist that! My son and I put our lunches down and went to meet his horse. You know that General Washington really did have a white horse, right?  Do you know the horse's name?  Do you know who gave him the horse?

 Our next African American program to attend, "Freedom to Slavery," was at the Milliner Shop.  Alexander Purdie, owner of the gazette, came to prepare us for the unusual story.

In short, Royal Governor Lord Dunmore had told the Shawnee Indians to return all the property they had stolen over the years.  An African American had been freely living with the Shawnee, married a man of the tribe, and together they had two children. In hopes that her children would remain free by her choice, she decided to return willingly to slavery.  The scene opens with the milliner...

...when a genteel lady walks in with her slave, who is dressed like a Shawnee.  The lady wants the milliner...

...to help her outfit her slave in "decent" clothing.

 When the milliner and the lady go to the back of the store, the milliner's slave talks to the Shawnee woman.  The milliner's slave is shocked to see the Indian woman, who is actually an African American.  Not understanding the woman's story at first, her heart finally softens.

 The next African American program was at the Courthouse, where once again, video taping was taking place! This is the first time I saw a "real" 18th century trial in the Courthouse. I've attended other programming where some of us (never me) qualify to be on the jury. My husband is the only one in our family who ever qualifies. Do you know why? (I could not take any pictures inside.)  The scene was highly dramatic and not suitable for young children. My kids were old enough to handle the material, which once again generated some good discussion. I was in tears by the end of the trial. At the end, one of the men, who prosecuted the slave for killing her master, stepped outside with us to answer any of our questions. During the trial I had heard that his name was Benjamin Waller. Once outdoors, I asked him if Waller Street (behind the Capital) was named after him. Yes! I also asked what the slave's daughter's involvement was in this crime. (The slave's daughter otherwise figured prominently in the trial.)  He said they don't know.  This scene was developed from primary source documents from an actual 18th century trial. They stick as much as possible to the primary source document in the scene, and anything they need to add, they do so out of what would logically fit in the era.  I told him that made sense to us, because we are homeschoolers who participate in the Electronic Field Trips and we had learned all about that in "Making History Live."   After he went back inside for the scene to be redone for other guests, the director (I think he is a director), whom we had met at the morning taping, came out to ask our opinion about the scene. While talking, I told him we were homeschoolers who do the EFTs and he got excited, because he works on those too. I thanked him for the wonderful job, since we greatly enjoy the EFTs. He told us how the EFTs opened to homeschoolers, for which I am extremely thankful.  He said he had no idea how we got wind of it and as I tried to tell him, he had to run in for more taping. I know I've been chomping at the bit to participate in the EFTs for years.  When they came available last year, I signed on without a second thought and we are looking forward to the new season!  Homeschool Buyer's Co-op will open registration for them soon. I'll certainly announce here when the registration is open!

     That was the end of our opportunity to see African American programming for the weekend. I wanted to enjoy some of the gardens, so we went to some off the Duke of Gloucester Street.  We found the experimental garden that I had been looking for for the last couple of months.  Now I don't remember why I knew about it, but I read about it somewhere! While here we met some chefs from one of the CW restaurants, gathering produce. We talked about how they were going to prepare the food.  I was glad to know the produce would not go to waste.

      Then we went to the Colonial Garden and Nursery, because I wanted to see if they had a little plant I might want to stick in my little garden back home. I saw lots of terrific herbs (much better than I've seen in the local nurseries) and I've been hungry to cook with fresh herbs.  I have a terrific sunny window in the kitchen near the sink.  The herbs were on sale and hopefully I can keep them growing throughout the winter. While there, one of the gardeners put my kids, and other kids, to work.  He asked them how they water their garden at home. With a hose. A hose???? What's that?  He took them to the well.

My son got to draw water...

...and then he used a yoke to carry the water to the garden. The gardener hooked a bucket to one side of the yoke while my daughter  hooked a bucket to the other side of the yoke.

My daughter hauled water up, then reached over to grab the bucket to pour water into another bucket to carry to the garden.  Whew! She was tired!

Then another gardener showed us something interesting about cotton. Do you know where cotton comes from?

It comes from this flower. I was surprised.  I told this gardener that it looked like a hibiscus. She said cotton is in the hibiscus family.  (Right now they are buds waiting to open.)

(sigh) It was the end of another wonderful weekend at CW. We made lots of new friends.  We got to do special things. I want to live there.  I want to work there.  Perhaps...someday. (sigh)

     The next morning, in contrast to the day before, was quiet, sleepy, cold and rainy.  Most mornings we are ready for the day early but don't want to sit in the hotel. We come out and visit with the animals while waiting for the sites to open. 

One of the cows came over to see us this morning.

Then we went to the Presbyterian Meetinghouse.

     We had not been here since our 2004 trip. At that time, I was confused about the differences between Presbyterians, Anglicans and Episcopaleans. I tried researching the church history, but ended up in a muck of confusion. Now that we've been through the TOG, learning history sequentially from the beginning of time, reading books on the Reformation, Inquisition, and King Henry VIII, it makes more sense now. When you walk into this building, Patrick Henry starts speaking, telling the story of the Presbyterians, of which he was a part. Presbyterian minister, Samuel Davies was a major influence on Patrick Henry's life. From him, Henry learned oratory skills.  Patrick Henry was also known to read his Bible everyday.

      Next we went to the Carpenter shop.  I knew my husband, especially, would enjoy that, since he has a degree in building construction. 

Here is my son looking at an 18th century measuring stick. 

They are working on pieces for the Coffeeshop.  

     The Coffeeshop is, in fact, an exciting new building project at CW. We first saw it as an archaeology dig in 2004, which was quite a bit deeper in 2008. 

     Last autumn a webcam was put up for the Coffeeshop and we've been watching this be built, from the preparation of the foundation, to the walls being raised the old fashioned way, to seeing the finish work going on today. 

On the way to the Apothecary, I met a lady knitting socks for a soldier.  

Then we went to the Apothecary Shop. 

     While everyone was talking, I went into the back to check on something. I laughed and said, "There's the skeleton!"

     My kids came over to see and we took pictures.  Everyone wanted to know what was so funny.  Well, in 2005, we read a wonderful series of historical fiction chapter books (dialectic level) on the Hutchison family by Nancy Rue. It traces the struggles of growing up in various historical eras, tracing the descendants of one family over time. There are six books to each location. The Salem Years is set in the 1600's in Salem, Massachusetts.  Due to severe persecution, the family leaves a year before the Salem Witch Trials for Williamsburg. (They were persecuted by the accused witches, and it shows where it was more meanness leading to extreme evil than witchcraft. Therefore, it doesn't get too heavy for kids, yet opens the door to discussion of the witchtrials.)  The Williamsburg Years opens a few generations later, during the 1770's, concluding with the victory at Yorktown in 1781.  Thomas Hutchison is the son of gentry. They live on a plantation near Yorktown, but have a house in the town of Williamsburg. They do not believe in slavery, but have indentured servants.  Because Thomas refuses to learn his school lessons and gets in trouble all the time, his father moves him to town and apprentices him to the apothecary.  Thomas arrives at the apothecary and finds this skeleton and takes the master's words, "work to the bone" quite literally! Scared to death of the skeleton, he obeys the master and starts to learn the trade quite ably (he becomes a doctor when he grows up), while dealing with adventures, struggles within himself, and deals with the likes of Banastre Tarleton and Benedict Arnold.   As he starts to mature, he attends the grammar school at the College of William and Mary and gets caught up in espionage for the Continental Army.  His father is one of the Burgesses, often out of town on business for the patriot cause.  His older brother, who had been attending the College of William and Mary, becomes a spy like his hero, Frances Marion, the swamp fox.  His best friend is a delightful girl whose father is a loyalist.  The lady who ran the apothecary wanted to know the name of the series so she could buy them at the bookstore and read them. Sadly, they are out of print. That is a shame, because these books are not fodder. They are deep. They have complex intermingling plot lines building interest, show the development of character building and teaches lots of history. (The story of the Hutchinson Family continues with the Charleston Years in Charleston, South Carolina during the pre-Civil War Years,  dealing with abolition and concluding with the firing on Fort Sumter and escaping slaves and abolitionists.  The Chicago Years is set in Chicago during the Roaring Twenties, dealing with mobsters, working with Jane Addams in the tenements, and ending with the beginning of the Great Depression.  The Santa Fe Years concludes the series during World War II in New Mexico, near the site of the atomic bomb test. The father of the boy in the book, is a victim of the Bataan Death March.)

     My kids asked about different items that were in the apothecary in the books.  The interpreter was able to show them each one!   The only location we have been to in the series is CW and the author was right on target representing the era, history, buildings, etc.  Too bad they are out of print, because they do a terrific job of getting kids excited and prepared for a full experience at Colonial Williamsburg.  

     I asked what the apothecary would have done to cure a cramped leg muscle, from which I've been suffering intensely all weekend. This has been a lingering pain for weeks and I wondered if an old cure would heal my leg.  The interpreter said the 18th century cure would have been camphor. Camphor? My kids laughed and said I'd better not become like the Combustible Woman in the podcast we listened to last autumn. (September 15, 2008) I think not.  I decided to do without 18th century treatment.    

     Then it was time for Revolutionary City! First we sang "Yankee Doodle." We sang the refrain while he did the verses. He sang several verses but never about the feather in the cap.  That was a stab by the British. 

 Earlier that morning, my husband had asked if we were going to do RC and I said definitely!  He hadn't seen all the new stuff since last summer.  Also, it would be a great wrap up to our Fourth of July weekend, understanding/remembering what we are celebrating.  Believe it or not, we were originally planning on going to upstate New York for the weekend to visit family, with plans to see Saratoga Battlefield.  My kids studied the Battle of Saratoga intensely a year ago and they have heard more about it during RC, so now I want them to go there. Unfortunately the plans fell through.  My husband is from the Saratoga area, has been to the battlefield numerous times, but scenes in RC made things click for him! Now he is ready to see Saratoga Battlefield with fresh eyes!  There is a scene where we are told the terrific news that the patriots won the Battle of Saratoga, thanks to General Benedict Arnold!  That is met with few, if any, cheers (of course, since we know the rest of the story). 

Then we get to meet the haughty turncoat Benedict Arnold when he arrives in Williamsburg.  

The highlight of the morning, is the arrival of General George Washington...

...in preparation for the seige on Yorktown. 

 Victory was near!

Huzzah! (My thanks to the horse, for continually turning around so we could get great angles of the general!)  

     By the end of RC, it was still cold and rainy.  We decided to save our packed lunch for the drive home that evening, and have some warm soup and hot tea

at Shields Tavern.

     Afterwards, we went to the museum to see the brand new display on the Declaration of Independence. (Note: This is sunny because it was taken the Friday before. We needed our umbrellas this day.)  

     I will blog more about this display later, because I hope to do it in conjunction with a future visit to meet with Thomas Jefferson about how he wrote this pivotal document. However, something funny was a detail my kids caught. They called me over to show me that one of the documents was on loan from the actor who portrays Jefferson!  I hope to soon have the kids study the Declaration of Independence in detail, in preparation for meeting Mr. Jefferson. There will be a Q&A afterwards and I'd like my kids to have great questions. My family also toured the furniture section, but that display will stay awhile, so I went into the room of the battle flags that Tarleton had taken. This display will be gone in a few weeks.  When I first saw them, the room had several people and I was anxious to get back on the streets to see the Redcoats. This time I was the only one there.  In the silence and stillness,  I reflected and contemplated on the emotions of the men carrying this flag, from the moment they entered into battle with hope...to the feeling of despair at losing it to Tarleton, if any of them survived the battle. 

     Then we went to the Palace Garden. It was rainy so my husband suggested we do something else, thinking General Washington would not show up in the rain. But what if he does?  We went and even though there was a small crowd of us, General Washington arrived and entertained our queries. 

     Because there were so few of us due to the weather, we each got to ask a lot of questions. Even I got brave enough to finally ask questions of a Founding Father. After the official Q&A, the actor stepped down from the stage, and answered more questions as the actor. This is always interesting and my husband and son asked lots of questions. Before long I realized we were the only ones left with him, and we were walking with him in the gardens.  I'm not quite sure how it happened, as this is rare, but talking to the actor (I was listening to my husband and son talk to him) seemed so natural. When guests started coming  out of the Governor's Palace, they got excited and started taking pictures. I have never been on this end of the picture taking and I quickly stepped out of the way so they could have their photos of General Washington.  General Washington!  We were walking in the garden with General Washington! What a memorable way to end our Fourth of July weekend!     

     The morning of the Fourth of July oozed with anticipation!  There were going to be some special programs from the Fife and Drum Corps, a public reading of the Declaration of Independence and fireworks! Where else to celebrate our country's birthday than the very place that was instrumental in the formation of our country?  While in Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson attended the College of William and Mary and studied law under George Wythe, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.   Furthermore, Thomas Jefferson was influenced in the writing of the Declaration of Independence by a document that was written and presented a few weeks earlier by George Mason to the Virginia Delegation in Williamsburg. Known as the Virginia Declaration of Rights, you will find much similarity between the two documents.  Furthermore did you know that some of the words in the Declaration of Independence, "That these United Colonies are and of Right out to be, Free and Independent States...", came from one of the Virginia Burgesses, Richard Henry Lee?  The Virginia Burgesses (like our Congressmen today) met in the Virginia capitol of Williamsburg.  Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Washington were also Burgesses during these turbelent years leading up to the revolution. The fiery Patrick Henry made his political debut in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, with his "Caesar-Brutus" speech. George Washington spent time in Williamsburg, reporting to the royal governor about the French and Indian War, where he began his military career.  Later he served in the House of Burgesses in Williamsburg, which was dissolved by the royal governor when they protested British tyranny in Boston.  Undaunted, he and other burgesses met in Raleigh Tavern to plan the next step, eventually leading to the American Revolution. 

      The first big event of the day was a salute to the original thirteen states by the fife and drum corps at Market Square.   

It was announced that when the Declaration of Independence was written, John Adams wrote his wife Abigail, "It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires, and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more."

The senior fife and drum corps played a special tune for each state.

There was cannon blast after each tune.

 Guests from each of the original states cheered when their state was saluted. The best was saved for last! Virginia! Since we have recently moved to Virginia from Texas, it was an absolute thrill to be able to cheer with the other Virginians!  (Besides Texans know all about revolutions!) They played "The World Turned Upside Down" which is traditionally thought to have been played at the surrender ceremonies at Yorktown.  

      Before, one cannon at a time was shot after each tune. For Virginia, all of the cannons boomed at once!

Then the fife and drum corps marched by...

Then we followed them in procession down the Duke of Glocester Street.

Then  we went to Revolutionary City. This was a day 1 event, which usually ends with the Virginia Declaration of Rights, precursor to the Declaration of Independence. Being that it was Independence Day, that scene was replaced with the public reading of the Declaration of Independence, which was done in grand style being the Fourth.   

      The entire fife and drum corps were there, which is rare for this scene. Excitement was building. Someone asked my son if he had a request. He asked for "Janizary" and  they complied, playing the tune, while marching to the capitol where the House of Burgesses met! Isn't that incredible? We were absolutely thrilled that they played his request and afterwards he sought out the gentleman who made it possible to thank him!   

    The Declaration of Independence was read aloud by various people, each taking a phrase to keep the emotions building.

     After the reading, the fife and drum corps led us out to the tune of "Yankee Doodle." Wow, after all that we were fired up! In contrast to the morning, we took a leisurely afternoon to see the auction, and then we toured Weatherburn's Tavern. As we toured the tavern, we were challenged to distinguish the public places from the private.  That was easy. My kids were pointing out all the appropriate elements. We even heard about Napoleon!

    Then we went to the Silversmith shop. 

They do personal hand engraving so my son asked lots of questions about that. At the auction I had bought a neat compass/sun dial for his birthday. He'd like to have it engraved. So we'll see about that for his gift. 

     After dinner we laid on a blanket on Market Square in preparation for the fireworks. I saw other families playing cards, and knowing how much fun we have with games, I made a mental note to bring cards if we come back another year for the Fourth.  I told my kids it was too bad they didn't bid on the 18th  century card  decks during the auction.  We could have played with those. The kids decided to go to the tent sale near the Magazine, across the road.  While they did that my husband took a nap and I read a book a friend had given me that day. My daughter came back with her purchases. She got the cards and a couple of bars of lavendar soap...one for her and one for me!  My daughter decided we should play with the fables deck. The cards are like our contemporary cards in that they have sets of diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades. The difference is that they are only in the top left corner, while the rest of the card has a picture and story and moral of a fable. The kids wanted to play "War" but I told them they were old enough to learn a more difficult game.  I would have liked to play "Nertz." I used to be the "Nertz" champion but I've had a hard time getting certain members of my family to dive into the game and speed up. Also each person would need a deck and we only had 2 decks.  Then I thought of Rummy. I haven't played this in years  but my kids have played Rummikube.  I taught them the differences and they all scored points except me.  I'm not sure what that says about me, but I told them they were excellent students!

   After a while,  a man came over whom we had seen at the auction the day before. He commented on my kids' costumes in such a way that it led to a conversation about our history studies and unit celebrations. He and his wife are 18th century reenactors from Ohio who come to CW every Fourth of July. He noticed us playing a game and asked if we'd mind him teaching us an 18th century game called 10 and 4. Wow! That would be wonderful! He asked the kids which of them were better at math. My daughter is but we found out this is more about strategy, which is my son's strength. So he played with the man first. We each took a turn and lost, many times. We had a good time talking and playing. He finally left us with the stones and well wishes. Left to ourselves, we knew that now one of us could win, obviously! He had told us we'd eventually figure out the strategy. My son thought he had it figured out but then I beat him (I have no idea why.  I can only figure the strategy towards the end but to guarantee a win the strategy needs to start at the beginning.)  I won several rounds  then my son took over the wins again.  Now he thinks he has the strategy figured out but he's not telling.

    Finally the fife and drum corps arrived with great fanfare!  They are so exciting to listen to!  They arrived from Nicholson Street and after a few tunes, proceeded to the stage.  First to perform was the junior corps. They did the salute to the original 13 states.

     After that a small group of the senior corps stepped to the stage to play complex pieces. Finally all of the senior corps came together to perform their tunes.  After an hour of music, the fireworks began!

This is the closest my kids have ever been to fireworks. My daughter is not a fan of noise but she is getting used to it from all of the artillery at CW. The kids had a lot of fun! We all did!  While watching the colorful explosions in the air, I thought back to all the people and events that Revolutionary City bring alive...Patrick Henry insisting that tyranny is at hand...the Burgesses making difficult decisions between loyalty to an old country or creating a new one...of Thomas Jefferson, using his classical education of ancient civilizations and philosophers on the freedom of mankind to write the pivotal document of not only American history but also of all the world.  I even thought of John Adams who had great foresight into the impact of the Declaration of Independence, prompting parades, fanfare and fireworks for generations to come, celebrating our country's birthday. A country born, for the first time in history, on the basis of representative government. Remember, as private citizens, we do have a say in our government.          

After the fireworks, the senior fife and drum corps started marching down the Duke of Gloucester Street, led by torch bearers!  Well, we had to follow them and they were going in the direction to the hotel anyway. As we marched down Duke of Gloucester Street, the junior fife and drum corps began marching behind us, also led by torch bearers. This must have been planned, to sandwich us in, because there was quite a bit of distance between us and them. It was a thrilling experience to be marching in the middle of the two corps!  At the other end of the street, in front of the taverns, everyone stopped and listened to the playing, since the fife and drum corps stopped too.  Finally it all came to an end and it was a jubilant ending to an incredible day! 

     We walked down some backroads to get to our hotel and finally looking up I saw a street sign that said, "Washington." The next one was "Adams" and the last one was "Jefferson."  I asked if we had crossed "Lafayette" and everyone said that was the first one.  As I cried to myself I thought, "How could I miss it?" everyone else exclaimed, "Mom/Laurie, how could you miss it?" Sigh. Oh well, at least I did not miss an incredible Fourth of July in the historic patriotic town of Colonial Williamsburg!  

     My friends and family can well imagine I was ecstatic!  They tease me that I was born to live near CW. I'm sure they understand that this was a dream come true for me.  I'll never forget my first Colonial Williamsburg experience.  I was a little girl and saw the fife and drum corps on television, marching through the historic area on the Fourth of July.  I was smitten! Ever since I would ask my parents, "What is that place where they live and dress like the American Revolution?"  The fife and drum corps has always sent a thrill through me!  Now I was going to experience our country's birthday at a key location where many of our Founding Fathers made key decisions in the formation of our country! Huzzah! 

    We left home Friday morning, taking a few back roads to try to avoid traffic, while getting in the mood with one of the fife and drum corps CDs.  While listening, we read the insert, learning the names to the tunes.  When we arrived later in the morning, we made our first stop to the archaeology dig on Botetort and Nicholson Streets. 

Every morning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they have hands-on activities for the kids. My kids got a close-up look at how history is unearthed and they got to directly interact with some of that history.  This is a good activity, basically putting puzzle pieces together, which represent broken pottery. Every other archaeology dig exhibit we have been to have this activity, so my kids were familiar with that. I liked the fact that these puzzle pieces were magnets. The other times my kids did this they worked with paper which blew away or didn't lay down precisely to get an accurate fit.

But there were two new activities to us.  This one was a wooden tray full of actual pieces that had been recently unearthed on-site. 

 I gathered my favorite pieces, once part of delft pottery.  It was neat to get to touch history, instead of looking at it catalogued behind glass.

Here the kids got to identify seeds that could be unearthed in an archaeology dig.

 I asked why these dug up seeds never germinated over all these years. The workers explained that usually these seeds are found in charred remains, which negates the opportunities for germination.  

One of the archaeology workers noticed my kids' costumes and asked me about them.  That led to a discussion of how we have been learning history in a 4 year cycle from the beginning of time, choosing our favorite historical figure to represent every 9 weeks. She was fascinated since she was also a history art major in college, having recently graduated with a degree in archaeology. She had shared information about Ancient Greece and Rome that was relevant to the dig, but now I forget what she said. I get so excited learning all kinds of new things when I am at CW, only to be frustrated later when I can't remember every detail. I've got to get a journal to take along.  Anyway, I told her that the information she gave me made sense and gave me a fuller understanding of the big picture, because of how we study history and incorporating representative art projects into the era we are studying. I told her that I have my kids do art representative of the cultures, to bring history alive. For our ancients studies, they made mosaics and friezes, not that they are works of art themselves, but so that they appreciate the real thing when they see it. Now that we are closing out the 19th century, we are learning about impressionists and she started telling me all kinds of things about impressionist painters. It was SO much fun to have someone to talk to about all these things we've been learning, in art, history and literature.    

     Further back, the dig was taking place.

The kids even got to touch some of the soil as it came from the dig.  They learned a lot about the use of history in determining soil layers and such. Participating in the dig would open doors to their imaginations when studying history.

 I was wilting in the sun so I went to the coolness of the shade and took pictures of the passersbys and the passing horses. When Lafayette arrived, I ran to see him in Revolutionary City. I had never seen Lafayette in Revolutionary City before!  

    My son has been outgrowing his current costume and has been wanting a more authentic one. We went to the Mary Dickenson shop to purchase authentic patterns.  Throughout the day I'd take a peak at the directions and begin to wilt. Additionally, my son has been campaigning for me to make a costume for myself. He says it would make the experience more fun. Hmmmm,  as much as I'd like to wear a costume, I would feel out of place since I am not an employee. Furthermore, how would I drive 2.5 hours one way while wearing it?  I told a friend of mine about this and she sort of challenged me to make a costume to wear, because she is making one for everyone in her family, including herself, husband and baby, when they attend homeschool days at CW in Sept.  W-e-l-l....

   As it is, guests are always mistaking my kids for employees and asking them questions. My kids explain that they are not employees but they know a lot of stuff and are usually able to answer the questions. Others (guests and employees) notice the costumes and ask who made them and that often leads into a discussion of our history curriculum and unit celebrations.  Because I was feeling quite overwhelmed with these authentic patterns, I paid a visit to the milliner shop to ask questions and look at some of the period clothing up close. The pattern I purchased has an English style and a French style. Because there are hardly any pictures included in the pattern, I wasn't sure which was which. The mantua maker laid out examples of each.  Wow, the French style dress (on the left) was gorgeous. The blue irridescent fabric was lovely and the drape in the back, which makes it French, was beautiful. I didn't think to ask how the dress closed up.      

The milliner seemed to have quite a bit of confidence in my skills to pull this off. I, however, don't feel so certain.  I may have met my match.  Somewhere in the discussion my daughter mentioned that her colonial dress is the most comfortable of the costumes she has worn in all the unit celebrations. I said that the costume I felt the most comfortable in was the Regency dress I had sewn. The milliner then dug out this set of stays, from the early 1800's.  This is quilted and the only "structure" to this is a wooden slat that goes down the center.

    Then we went to the auction. These are fun and you get a great bargain.  It's a reserve auction of items sold in one of the CW stores. That means that the low bid starts around half of what the actual retail price in the store would be.  There must be at least two bidders, unknown to each other. If the winning bid goes over the retail price, the price is taken down a bit, so you always pay less than retail. Anyone who made a bid on the item, can buy extras from the store, using a rain check, at the winning price.  On the Fourth of July the proprietor of the store, Mr. Greenhow, explained the rules and helped with the items. He explained that the sale proceeds would go to the widows and orphans in Boston, enduring the blockade  (after the tea party).  

Unfortunately, we do have to pay a tax. The first time we did this, my son asked who gets the tax.  The auctioneer explained the Commonwealth of Virginia. My son approved of that. We have done a few of these and have purchased a few nice things for the home or as gifts, and all at sale prices.  It's a great way to get the birthday and Christmas shopping done. Halfway through, a bell that is engraved with the capitol and the date, is auctioned. On the Fourth of July, the bell sold for the highest price I have heard, about $435.  That was so much fun to watch.

Later that afternoon we attended a staff meeting with General Lafayette (of France)... 

and Colonel Ennis (of Williamsburg)... 

During this time, the Continental and French armies are in Williamsburg, preparing for the seige on Yorktown.  After we hear an introduction from Lafayette, we get to ask questions about the armies' stay in Williamsburg and the upcoming seige.

     That evening we had dinner at Christiana Campbell's Tavern. This was George Washington's favorite tavern, partly due to their excellent  seafood.  We agree. Christiana Campbell came to meet us and told us about the politics of the day. She asked where we were from and my daughter said Northern Virginia. Mrs. Campbell was surprised to hear that, since she rarely gets guests from Virginia.To make things more interesting, I told her we recently moved here from Texas.  She said Mexico. I said Texas. She said Mexico. She said she can't understand why everyone from Mexico calls it Texas.  Technically it wasn't Mexico until 1810, due to Napoleon's defeat of the Spanish. Prior to 1810, Texas was actually New Spain.

Then we had delighful musical entertainment. They asked for requests of 18th century music. Hmmmm, what to choose?  We didn't know any! My son requested "Yankee Doodle" so he got that, even though it was originally written by the British to poke fun at the colonists. The phrase, "stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni" is not a compliment.    

     Not wanting to check into the hotel yet, since we have this beautiful area to explore, we walked around the historic area until nightfall.

   On a lovely summer morning, we walked through the Redcoat barricades into the historic area of Williamsburg, for the final day of "Under the Redcoat."  In stark contrast to the breezy, peaceful walk, the heady fragrance of the magnolias, the cheerful chirping of birds and the playful antics of the squirrels, was the entrance into town of spiny barricades, numerous coats of red marching in formation with muskets and bayonets,

 the woodsmoke from breakfast, and the steady beat of the drums.

The ominous drumbeats reminded us that our hoped for liberties were threatened.  Continually looking over our shoulders and peering around corners, we cautiously checked our words and chose our actions. If possible, we'd take more circuitous routes to avoid direct confrontation with a Redcoat, especially after the near arrest of my kids the day before.

     We were no longer confident guests.  Now we were careful partakers in a reenactment of history. This was merely a slice of the real thing. In 1781, the Redcoats were stricter, the drums and ammunition were noisier, three short days of occupation were actually ten long days, and the townspeople were more anxious.

     Since the sleepy town was not yet quite awake, we found an inconspicuous spot on a park bench across from Market Square, or so we thought. Before long we were approached by a Redcoat, with a surprising turn of consequences, as you will later read. I asked about his motivation and preparation to be a reenactor. My husband asked where he got his uniform.  We mentioned that our kids were nearly arrested the day before and he explained anyone in costume is fair game. He said other kids had come by the day before, asking how they could be arrested. When they found out they needed to be in costume, they rented costumes and came back to be put in jail. He assured us that kids are merely given a stern lecture at the guardhouse and then released.  

     After we talked a while, we went to the hospital at the Governor's Palace. We went to this display where we learned how the ladies helped. Nursing was not yet a profession. That began with Florence Nightengale and later with Clara Barton.  The ladies did not touch the patients.  But they did things like wrap bandages for the doctors to use on their patients.  The officers got the cleanest ones and the enlisted got the used ones.  Nothing was sanitized since the importance of that was not yet understood. The bowl with the spoon was barley water.  Although it's a bit slimy, it is nourishing for the weakest patient. As their condition improves, they can get oatmeal, in the next bowl. We learned a lot of interesting things about herbs, which I now forget.  (See why I keep coming back?  There is so much to learn! I also need that journal to jot notes in!)

Then we met the cook for the doctor. Officers got the best food and cooks, because they had the money for it. The most interesting thing that I remember from this table, is the sweet potato. White potatoes were not yet developed, not even in Ireland. Whenever you see a colonial receipt (recipe) that calls for a potato, it means a sweet potato.

We took the backroad (Nicholson Street) back to the Capitol, since we did not want to be captured.  Revolutionary City was about to start! We sat in front of Raleigh Tavern waiting for the "warm up" show to begin. It was nice to sit and rest without fear of Redcoats, when the friendly Redcoat quickly walked over to me.  He said he had been looking for me to give me something. After slipping some papers into my hand, he was gone. I barely had a chance to thank him. The kids asked what the paper was.  I excitedly opened it up.  He had given me a copy of the detailed scheduling for the British reenactors for "Under the Redcoat."  Wow! It was like receiving top secret paperwork!  

     Then we went to the Capitol for "The Army Attends Divine Service."

 All of the Redcoats came...

 The Anglican minister arrived to perform a drumhead church service.

What is a drumhead church service?  When my daughter saw that term, she thought of the same thing I did.  We recently read Billy Budd, where a drumhead court occurred on-board ship. The characteristics of a drumhead court is that it is unplanned and a drum might be used as a table.  We wondered about similarities. A drumhead church service takes place in the field, where there is no church building available. Drums might be piled up to represent an altar. Apparently this is a military tradition that goes back to the 1400's. I don't think drums were used for an altar at this service. We were surrounded by Redcoats and it was difficult to see everything. After praying, the chaplain read passages from a psalm, an epistle and from one of the gospels. Service ended with a hymn, "God Save the King."  We knew the tune ("My Country 'Tis of Thee") but not the words. We weren't about to sing it anyway, since we were loyal to the Patriot cause.  I kept looking over my shoulder to see if a Redcoat noticed.

     After the service, a carriage came through, which Col. Tarleton commandeered under much protest. 

Reluctantly they had no choice but to abandon their carriage...

...to the British.

Devastated, their beautiful carriage was now gone.

    Next we went behind the Coffeehouse in a lovely wooded area where squirrels like to frolic, chasing each other up tree trunks and across the branches.  While they played in the background, Benedict Arnold looked at maps, contemplating possible methods of attacking Lafayette.

   When General O'Hara arrived, he questioned Benedict Arnold as to why he chose this unusual location. Arnold said it was secluded enough that no one would overhear their plans.  We all laughed!  Then Arnold complained about Tarleton, as usual.  In the midst of the complaints, Col Tarleton and General Cornwallis arrived, escorted by several soldiers. This was feeling extremely realistic.

 The purpose of the meeting was to discuss strategy to attack Lafayette, who was about sixty miles away.  After some discussion among Cornwallis, O'Hara and Arnold, Cornwallis wanted to hear from Tarleton.

Tarleton hesitated to offer his ideas, knowing the resistance he'd face.  However, Cornwallis assured him he would listen.

Finally, Tarleton suggested that instead of attacking Lafayette, they should attack "Mad Anthony" Wayne.  That met with some positive feedback, since they had experience fighting him.  Wayne led the Pennsylvania Regiment and tended to engage his men with reckless abandon. If they could cripple Wayne, Lafayette's small army could easily be succombed. 

While we were completely riveted to this excellent scene, playful squirrels were running through the tree tops. Being chased, squirrel #1 leapt from one branch to another and tenaciously hung on, causing it to go b-o-i-n-g over Benedict Arnold's head, then he amazingly sprung to a branch in another tree.  Not to be outdone, squirrel #2 followed suit, leaping from the first branch to the next...except he missed the branch and fell onto the middle of the stage, causing a branch to crash in Benedict Arnold's face.  As we laughed, he immediately leapt up and scrambled up the nearest tree. Without missing a beat Tarleton said, "My Lord Cornwallis, I believe there are rebel squirrels about!" to which Cornwallis replied, "God save the King!"  My family and I laughed over that incident all day long. (Note:  No squirrels were harmed in the making of this scene. No squirrel was scripted to do this scene. No squirrel would ever listen to a human anyway.)

 Next we returned to the Capitol to meet with the Dragoons again, where we heard about warfare and horsemanship.

 Then we went to Raleigh Tavern, where men were recruited to join "In His Majesty's Service." Normally my husband would jump at a chance to do this. However, he was not going to change loyalties to the King. But these men did.

Then they marched to the Courthouse.  As we neared Botetourt Street, the Dragoons came around the corner and led the way.

Then they had to go through inspection at the checkpoint. At this point, I got on the sidewalk so I wouldn't have to deal with the Redcoats, all of whom were in the streets to check these recruits.

Finally they got clearance to pass through...

 ...and arrived at the Courthouse, where they were told to give their allegiance to the king. I bet none of them thought that would happen!  

After a rather leisurely lunch at the Courthouse, we went to the auction.  This was a lot of fun.  I'll blog about that separately, because this is an extremely unique auction for bargain hunters. However, it was interesting that one of the items up for auction was a replica liberty teapot, like one found in the museum. The auctioneer had second thoughts when he told us the details on it, and even looked over his shoulder while speaking softer.  No use stirring up those Redcoats, considering the jail was next door!

 As the end of the day neared, the troops assembled to be inspected by Cornwallis.

Then the troops prepared to leave town.

 As much as I truely enjoyed this weekend, that little part of me that emotionally experienced the ominous beat of the drums, the ever present Redcoats, the threat of being put into jail if I did not sign an oath of loyalty to the King...that little part of me felt a sense of relief as I watched them go.  Everything about British occupation (or occupation during any war) that I had read about in books or seen in movies had new meaning now...because this weekend, history had come to life "Under the Redcoat."

     We woke up bright and early to see Reveille at UTR. As we ate breakfast at the hotel, some Redcoats joined us. They are everwhere! 

     Arriving in time for Reveille, we got to see lots of action in the camp.

While walking around, a British soldier stopped us (uh oh!) to see if we had any questions. (Here's a picture of me talking to him, Pam!) Hmmmm,  I asked, "Why are all the uniforms different? (This has actually been a burning question in my mind, perhaps influenced by all the uniform costumes I sew for my son.)

 "What do you mean?" he asked. I said that some had racoon hats,

some had plaid,

and Banastre Tarleton has a green coat. This green coat has surprised me the most over the years.  I don't remember everything he told me, but it matched much of what I had studied on an excellent web site a few weeks ago. In fact, I'll be blogging about it in terms of costume making soon, since the article does an excellent job of illustrating the historical research that goes into historical costume design.  Additionally, talking to reenactors like this is a good source of information and I google their web sites all the time to gain information. In essence, each unit made their own choices.  Each commander received money from the government to outfit the troops according to his taste, if he did not pocket the money himself.

 After explaining the different things, he eyed my son and asked why he wasn't in the army. My son quickly said, "I'm only 13." (My son said that a lot that weekend!)  The soldier said, "You look 16 to me."  That's the way it was.  Lie about age and enlist them anyway. We managed to escape.  

     Soon it was time for Roll Call.  Uh oh, a few soldiers were missing.

     We met some ladies from Williamsburg who were baking pies for the British soldiers.  They were happy to be paid in gold coins, which the the Continental soldiers could not pay them.

    Then we went to the Governor's Palace to meet with the doctors who were caring for the citizens of CW.  (At this point in time, 1781, the palace lies unused because the seat of government is now in Richmond. When the British arrived, Cornwallis had the palace converted into a hospital.) We were told that we could see historic instruments, surgeries, dental extractions, and smallpox vaccinations. They were planning on actual dental extractions that day. I incredulously asked, "Surely not?"  "Of course," she replied. "Um, who in the world would volunteer for a dental extraction?"  "Oh there would be no volunteers," she explained. (gulp)  Did I dare walk in there?  We went to the smallpox table first and got all the gorey details. I started to feel faint. I was ready to leave.  Historically, it was interesting. The British doctors were vaccinating the citizens of Williamsburg, because they cared for their citizens.  When we pointed out the Declaration of Independence we got quite the lecture that that document was unrecognized by the British.

    We went outside and in the yard across the street at the Everard House, there were more displays. I enjoyed meeting the horner.  I had never met one before.

Every teacher knows what this is!   For those who might not have seen one before, it is a hornbook. This was the first "textbook" in the life of a colonial child. Shaped like a paddle, the alphabet and Lord's Prayer were typically printed on the board.  Then to protect it, it was covered with horn.  Basically it was 18th century laminating.  Many teachers have students make paper laminated copies of this while studying the history of the early colonies.  I was fascinated by his description of working with the horn and asked him how I could make a hornbook. 

After the paddle part is shaped and written on, find a green horn like this.  A green horn is the only type that you can see through. 

Then you heat some water in a crockpot (I forget to what temperature.) and soak the horn in it. It will shed layers and you can scrape the layers off with a knife and buff it with something. Now I forget. (I need to start carrying a journal with me to jot down notes.)   I don't think he told me how to stick it on. 

He had us analyze the difference between the British alphabet and our alphabet today. The letter "j" was missing. He asked us why. To tease him, I pertly suggested it was because the British did not know how to spell!  Uh oh, this British horner was not pleased with that answer.  He let it pass.  He said it's because of their mother language, Latin, which had no "j". Actually the English language was only influenced by Latin, later in its history. The origins of English are in the Germanic tongue. However, I did not think he wanted to hear all that. I decided to not press my luck with the British. since it was time to leave for the special UTR Revolutionary City.

     First we went to Raleigh Tavern to view "Declaration of Martial Law" where we listened to the terms of the occupation of the British army. Colonel Tarleton arrives with his Dragoons.

The rest of the staff arrive, including General O'Hara...

and Benedict Arnold, who reads the terms of occupation..

Afterwards, Col Tarleton left with his Dragoons.  We followed them to the Capitol...

At the Capitol we heard "The Dragoons' Story." The Dragoons were led by Banastre Tarleton. 

 He recruited many of his calvary men from loyalists he found in New York. 

One of the Dragoons told us how they got their horses, from commendearing them from nearby farms.  He talked about the injuries they receive in battle.  This wasn't as pleasant a talk as we had expected. The Dragoon invited us to visit them behind the Prentiss Store to see the horses and talk. My son wanted to do that.  Hmmmm, they aren't going to recruit my son into the Dragoons are they?  He likes the idea of riding on horses and always reenacts calvary officers in our unit celebrations.  If he has the opportunity to ride a horse, he might not tell them he is 13. Not to fear, we couldn't find the horses. 

     We walked back to Raleigh's Tavern to see "The Business of War" where the British officers had a staff meeting. 

They debated the most effective means of occupying the town.

During the meeting, Benedict Arnold expressed his discontent with Col Tarleton.

   Then the Phillipsburg Proclamation was read, which allowed slaves of rebel masters to join the British side. I'm trying to remember but I think it is here that we saw the scene where a free slave with previous sailing experience was basically conscripted into service by the British, ending his liberty.  It was a heart wrenching scene, not only because this man lost his freedom, but also because his friend, (a slave himself), was rewarded by the British for introducing them to the sailor. The slave himself was devastated by this turn of events.

    The next scene was behind the Coffeehouse where slaves discussed the possibility of going to the British side.  The final scene was behind the Capitol, where Cornwallis reviewed the troops. We did not get to see all of this, because we had an appointment at the museum to meet with Banastre Tarleton. Off we rushed!

     Colonel Banastre Tarleton was extremely interesting. I can't remember everything (I need to start taking notes) but I recall that he was not a great student nor was he interested in reading books. (I made a mental note to tell my son later this is a man NOT to emulate.)  He got caught up in gambling. He used money from an inheritance, as I recall, to recruit a legion in America. This legion is not like the legions of Ancient Rome. Instead it is a mix of men with varying abilities that don't carry heavy equipment, so they can move lightly and attack quickly and easily. Now, I am not doing Tarleton justice, because the man himself seemed to be one of the most pleasant men I have ever met. This was in direct contrast to almost everything I had ever read about him.  (If the source was correct, a couple of weeks ago I read that Lafayette was friends with Tarleton after the war. That surprised me.) When one of the guests queried him about his negative reputation, he told her not to believe everything she read in the newspapers. (I must admit, I do not believe everything I read or hear in today's media. I know that there are even biases in history books and that becomes the basis for some of the history Socratic discussions my kids have each week.)  Tarleton also explained his side of the story for his brutal reputation, by reading a few of his letters (primary source documents.) Tarleton told us about the four battle flags he had captured, and told us he hoped that they would stay in his family for generations and he hoped they would be in excellent condition 250 years later.  During the Q&A, my son asked him why he wore a green coat and why he had a bushy helmet. To demonstrate the lack of thickness in the helmet, he had one of the kids in the front row knock on his hat. Then a little girl asked him why the British and French did not get along with each other. Tarleton was played by the same man we met as Lafayette last summer, when my son asked him if the contentions between the British and French went back to the Hundred Year's War.  (Later I asked my son why he did not go further back to 1099?  What can I say? My son likes to take my lead for a bit then forge his own path.)  Whereas Lafayette gave quite the discourse on the Hundred Year's War, Tarleton went all the way back to....1099! You know, it just occurred to me why Lafayette may not have mentioned 1099.  That was the French Norman invasion and conquest on England, that put the Norman, William the Conqueror on the throne. Of course, the British Tarleton would go all the way back to 1099, because that is the source of their grief with the French. Even though I keep telling my kids about 1099, now my kids will definitely remember, since they have heard it from Tarleton himself.  

     After his talk, Tarleton left through the stage side door, instead of staying for guests to come up to meet him, as other speakers typically allow in such talks. No matter.  I sighed contentedly and looked at my son by my side and asked, "Wasn't that great?" As he agreed with me, we started to get up to leave, when the actor cheerfully popped back in and took off his hat and told us he had met Tarleton backstage and he had come back to answer further questions. Never have we seen him out of character before. 

He also mentioned that he,the actor, enjoyed reading history books while growing up. (Ah, I made a mental note to tell my son it is okay to emulate that characteristic!) He spent quite a bit of time talking to us more about the flags and Tarleton. Basically there are a lot of specifics we do not know about Tarleton. The facts they rely on are from primary source documents, since secondary sources might be biased or not as accurate.  He told us that Tarleton is in the movie, "Amazing Grace". He is? We saw that movie last autumn and missed that! We need to watch that movie again.  He is also in the movie, "The Patriot" but that is more Hollywood than factual. He told us lots of interesting things and now I have forgotten so much. This was a rare treat that we definitely treasured. Finally my husband asked him something off topic, about his equestrian skills, because we have been impressed with his horseback riding. Again his answer was extremely interesting. The kids brought it up later and we used the information to talk about goal setting in life.  

    After this incredible presentation, we went upstairs to finally view the four battle flags. (This link will only work for a short time, in relation to the flags, because they will only be at the museum until July 19.) These flags have stayed in Tarleton's family all these years, only recently being auctioned off. The new owner lent them to CW for the last couple of years and will be taken out of the museum in a few weeks.  The flags are indeed gorgeous. 

     When we left the museum and  went back to Market Square area, we saw Col Tarleton...

the Dragoons...

 and the British officers escorting Cornwallis around town.

 While near Market Square, we noticed a prisoner being taken in for questioning. We followed to see the action. When we got there, we saw another prisoner...the singer from Revolutionary City! 

 The crime? He had signed the oath of allegiance to the king...in pencil...twice!

We stayed to see what would happen next.

Another guy was brought in and they were put to work moving logs from one side to the other.

They were constantly yelled at. You cannot work as a team!

 Make the pile neater! Don't talk to each other! Take your coat off!  Make a neater pile by starting from scratch; start moving all the logs back! Finally the singer started...singing! He sang "Hail Britannia" and threw some of the words at the British. He wanted us to join him and we would have gladly, but we didn't know the words. He usually gives us an easy refrain to sing with him in RC. Nevertheless, that tune has been running in our minds all weekend.

Finally they were released.

     Then we walked to the back streets to see the new archaeology dig. There wasn't much action there that day, but we did see the entourage again...

We went to Raleigh Tavern for a snack.  While walking by the Prentiss Store, we found the Dragoon's horses in pasture. 

  Then we went back to Market Square to see Retreat. We had to go through a military checkpoint and at this point I was not in the least bit worried. No one had ever paid any attention to us all day, when we went through the checkpoint.  However as I neared the soldier, he seemed intent on someone behind me. I was not about to let him get in my way so I just ignored him and slipped by when suddenly he engaged his rifle and told my kids to halt! Where were their passes?  Passes? What passes? My daughter said they had CW season passes and pointed to the one on her dress.  My son said, "I'm only 13!" 

The soldier called another soldier over.  Soldier #2 came over, trying to suppress a smile and sort of whispering something to Soldier #1. 

Soldier #1 insisted that the kids were trouble makers. I suppose this was an invitation for the parents to step in and agree, but we have pretty good kids!  My husband was in control, yet silent, from his military training. I was flabbergasted and my husband said the range of emotions on my face was priceless. Finally he asked my husband if he could control the kids and he said, extremely seriously, that he'd take charge of them. My son says he recognizes Soldier #1 and I suggested perhaps he works for RC in the Benedict Arnold scene. My son agreed.  My husband said he thinks he recognized him from our trip to Mount Vernon in April when the British reenactors were there. I don't think it's the same guy in the picture. But I do remember our talking to a group from Scotland, who wore the same plaid uniform.        

    Retreat...

 After dinner we went to the Capitol for the Tattoo.

Remembering Drummer's Call, we were looking forward to this. However, this was nothing like Drummer's Call. We stopped in front of every Tavern, while men came out with their mugs of ale, acting a bit tipsy!  They joined behind the fifers and drummers and the group kept growing larger and rousier, as they were led back to Market Square.

   Hmmmm, well, this at least became an object lesson to my kids on what alcohol can do. The reenactors weren't really drunk, they were just acting like it. I didn't understand the value to this.  Later I found out this is exactly what Tattoo was.  In fact, it was originally called "Taptoo." (In Latin we've learned about assimilation of words into the English language, so this would be an example of that. "Taptoo" assimilated into "tattoo" because it is easier to roll off the tongue.) At dusk, the fife and drum corps would round up soldiers, indicating to the tavern owners to turn off their taps for the night.  

     We went back to the hotel, talking about all of our favorites of the day. In exhaustion we quickly fell asleep, in preparation for the next day of "Under the Redcoat."  (Stay tuned for part III.)

   Colonial Williamsburg has outdone themselves with special programming this past weekend, for a historic reenactment called "Under the Redcoat".  We got to spend the entire weekend in CW, participating in memorable events. My children were stopped by the Redcoats at one of the checkpoints and nearly arrested!   The looks on their faces were priceless. My husband says the looks on my face were priceless.  We got to meet the British soldier who wears a green coat.  Then we got to meet our favorite actor, as himself, for the first time.  While watching an incredibly riveting scene of the British officers scheming how to outmanuever General Lafayette, a squirrel made an impromptu appearance, literally dropping in and crashing leaves on Benedict Arnold.  Additionally I "befriended" one of the Redcoats and obtained "secret papers" of their schedule.  It's fun being a spy for the Continental Army!  Additionally, I got to speak my mind towards a few Redcoats!     

     "Under the Redcoat" is a yearly reenactment of the events of June 25-July 4, 1781, the final summer of the American Revolution. During this time, the Redcoats entered Williamsburg, putting the citizens under martial law. General Cornwallis and the turncoat, Benedict Arnold, were in town at this time. To reenact the event, British army reenactors from across the country arrive in Colonial Williamsburg. New to this year's event, Revolution City significantly tweaked it's schedule with new scenes to bring history alive about life "Under the Redcoats".

     A couple of weeks ago the official programming came out.  Guests entering the city needed to be prepared to sign an oath of allegiance to the king. (gulp)  When I relayed this information to my family, there were simultaneous exclamations of shock, excitement, disbelief, and denial. Knowing this is merely a reenactment, we were excited to play, yet mixed into our emotions was the struggle on how to remain faithful to our heroes, Generals Washington and Lafayette. Suddenly, pages we have read in history books and historical fiction and scenes played out on the screen, took on new meaning as we wrestled with how to accomdate being "Under the Redcoat," while retaining our loyalties to the patriotic cause.     

     A friend suggested that we act loyal to the British, while actually using my son's idea of being spies for Washington and Lafayette.  My son schemed that I should take him to Mount Vernon to get one of the invisible ink pens to sign the oath. I told him the Redcoats would not recognize that writing implement, likely forcing us to sign with quill and ink. Then my son planned on changing his name, or even writing his name extraordinarily small.  My husband absolutely refused to sign any oath.  He'd stand all day at the checkpoint first, standing on principles of liberty. (Remember he served in the USAF for 24 years. He was taught to do this if the enemy really did catch him.  This became real to him.  He also enjoys talking to people whereas I have a drive to conquer new events.)  I, myself, did not mind playing with the Redcoats, but if there was a scheduled event to attend, I was signing papers and going in as a spy. 

     After arriving in CW, we walked over to the encampment, where the Redcoats were setting up their tents. 

Actually camping in Market Square overnight, we watched them pitch the tents, dig fire pits

and start dinner.

Entire families were there, reenacting as well. 

     Unfortunately, we had to miss the previous events beginning "Under the Redcoat", while waiting for my husband to get off work so we could drive down to CW.  The usual schedule for Revolutionary City was slightly altered on Friday. Typically on Friday, the RC programs include Benedict Arnold taking the town in the summer 1781 and ends with Prelude to Victory, when Generals Washington and Lafayette arrive later. Because this timeframe of June 25-July 4, 1781 was being reenacted the entire weekend, RC ended with  Benedict Arnold arriving in town.  Then, according to the schedule, at 3pm the Provost Guard marched in to town to set up camp. They were still setting up camp by the time we arrived.

     Whereas the actual army was camped outside of town, the Provost Guard was a smaller group that arrived to restore order to the town. When one of the Redcoats told me this, I questioned the term "restore order."  Weren't the citizens orderly before the Redcoats arrived? For one the Redcoats required the citizens to sign an oath of allegiance to the king.  That was the next scene we missed on Friday afternoon, when the citizens of the town discoursed on the consequences of the arrival of the Redcoats. 

     We ate dinner at Chownings Tavern, and to our surprise we were joined by some Redcoats.  Even in 1781, some would have eaten in the encampment and others would have eaten in the tavern. Enjoying good food and entertainment, all the while, we kept a watchful eye on the Redcoats (seated at the table behind my son).

That night, all was well. Yet life would soon be very different, as we would see over the weekend.      

    As I mentioned in my previous post, the other night the phone rang while I was cooking dinner.  I picked up the phone and noticed from the caller ID, that it was Colonial Williamsburg.  Why would Colonial Williamsburg call me?  While juggling cooking tools, I gave a cheery hello!

     He was extremely friendly and chatty and I'm not quite sure if he was teasing me about my cheerfulness or distractedness, or what.  I then explained I was multi-tasking, filling dinner plates with food and trying to focus on what he was saying. He laughed and assured me he wouldn't take much of my time.  He was calling about my membership to the Colonial Wiliamsburg Foundation and asking if I'd renew my support. Of course! I just couldn't process any decisions at the moment and he assured me that paperwork was coming in the mail, for me to make final decisions with. He asked if I was still at the same address and I laughed inside.  I hope so!  We just moved in about 6 weeks ago!  I still wasn't sure if he was teasing me about my cheerfulness or distractedness, but he ended the phone call with a "God bless."  

     For some time I've been wanting to blog about CWF memberships, but I wasn't sure how to approach it. This phone call seems to be the perfect lead in. Having deliberated over becoming a member for years, I finally joined the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation last year. It is common for me to agonize with decision making, unless I have extremely strong feelings about something.  Well, something happened last summer that gave me strong feelings.  

     While planning our vacation to CW last year, I had received  a free copy of the Colonial Williamsburg Journal. With a busy summer, I had forgotten all about it. When we returned from vacation to CW, I was digging through my magazines and surprise! There it was!  I flipped through it and it was more fascinating now that I recognized some of the people in it.  My kids liked looking for their favorite actor. Watching them look for him reminded me of "Where's Waldo?"  I could subscribe to the journal, and at the same time support the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. It would cost $35. Apparently, I can also receive discounts on CW lodging. I've not tried this yet. Furthermore, I got a free gift. This cuddly stuffed animal represents Mary, a CW colt that was born a few years ago. 

      I also got a free Christmas ornament, a gold plated scroll work styled after the Palace Garden gate.  When the journals arrive in the mail, I've caught my kids scanning the pages, looking for their favorite actor.  I've also caught my husband actually looking through it and enjoying some of the articles with our son.  That is huge because my husband is neither a history buff, nor a bookworm. He is more of a hands-on guy. I've even used some of the articles for school lessons, because they have perfectly dovetailed with various topics. 

     Something I debated about for the last several years, was whether to donate $35 or $100.  Colonial Williamsburg Foundation offers us benefits for being members.  With at least a $100 membership, one can enter the St. George Tucker House. Apparently they have light refreshments and they even have special programs...perhaps Thomas Jefferson or the Marquis de Lafayette, baroque guitar, spinning, quilting, a garden tour, even art programs. I didn't know if we'd have time to use this with so much other stuff to do on our vacation last year, so I did not get the membership. But now we live in Virginia and we are averaging 2 trips to CW a month. I think this would be fun!

      I must admit, if it weren't for something we found out at Colonial Williamsburg last summer, I might still be on the fence about becoming a member. It can take me a long time to make a decision, while I think deeply about all the factors.  While we were at Revolutionary City, my husband chatted with one of the directors.  When he told me about the conversation, I was disheartened. To put it bluntly, Colonial Williamsburg, like all of us, have been hit hard by the economy.  Tourist numbers are down. All revenue is down.  I determined right then and there to do what I could to help preserve this incredible place that brings history to life, that teaches us how to look at the past so that we can make wise decisions for the future.  History is cyclical.  We don't have to sit around and be affected by our government.  In days of yore, people had no choice but to be subservient to the government.  The Founding Fathers put together our representative replublic, so that we can have an impact on our government. To paraphrase what Benjamin Franklin said, Can we keep it? It is our right and duty to have our government answer to us. Colonial Williamsburg helps the guests to see how they can do this, by giving examples of 18th century events that mirror current events.

     That is why I decided to join the CWF. My membership amount is not huge. It is what I can budget.  In addition, I try to help a little more here and there as I can. I am going to buy Christmas gifts anyway. I make purchases at CW. I am going to buy plants anyway.  I buy a few at the CW colonial nursery.  

     Even though I've tried to do these little things, I hoped I could do something bigger.  Hmmm, I have a blog. With the investment of a little time, perhaps posting about Colonial Williamsburg would help others see what a wonderful place it is to visit.  Simply because I love Colonial Williamsburg, I probably would have gone crazy posting about them anyway after last year's vacation.  Now I had a stronger purpose behind the posting. Amazingly, I've had several e-mails and comments from people telling me they've used my CW posts to help them plan their vacation to CW. Sometimes I get e-mails asking for more information. I know of two people off the top of my head who have purchased the CW Electronic Field Trips because of my blog.  Those are only the people I know about. I am always surprised when I get e-mails from various individuals, who finally decide to speak up and comment about something.  My family loves to hear stories of who have stopped by my blog. Who knows who is quietly reading behind the scenes?

    Like everyone else hit hard by the economy, Colonial Williamsburg has had to make extremely difficult decisions.  I was reading in the newsroom on their website recently, that they have had to tighten things on the employee side in order to stay within the budget.  Yet they want to continue to provide quality programs for the guests. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has high standards, knowing full well that they hold history, yesterday's and today's, in the balance of a fluctuating economy.  Pursuing excellence through programs, services and products, they have provided not only bountiful entertainment and memories for my family, but also they are teaching us applicable lessons from yesterday for the present.  Last night at dinner, my son started talking about some economic issues from his history reading in school.  My husband replied with some comments about the present economy. My daughter jumped into the conversation by saying, "Patrick Henry says that history repeats itself." She went on to make a connection between my son's topic and my husband's topic.

     Preserving our country's heritage through the restoration of the colonial capital, Colonial Williamsburg has given us a valuable treasure. At one time we thought a visit to the historic area and trades was merely a fascinating peak into the past.  Now that CW has allowed that treasure to spill out through Revolutionary City, we learn how to apply the lessons learned in the pivotal points of history today.  I do not want to ever lose this national treasure.

     With another unit celebration behind us, and wanting a break anyway from the move-in process into our new house/new area/new state, I was ready for a time of refreshment and rejuvenation.  That means none other than...a day at Colonial Williamsburg! A friend who works there highly recommended we visit on a day 2, since all three of our other visits, since we've moved to Virginia, were on day 1. She told me that there were many new scenes from what we  had seen last Aug.  Carefully checking the weather forecast, because there seems to be lots of rain in Virginia, I decided Wednesday would be the best day. Although Wednesday was looking to be hot and dry, Friday was looking to be cold and rainy.  

      My kids decided to wear their costumes this time.  As I handed my son his costume Wednesday morning, I told him to skip the stockings because the temperature would rise to 96 degrees.  Although he said okay, I found him at breakfast in full costume, stockings and all. He had a long list of reasons for wearing the stockings, which he summed up by saying if his favorite actor/interpretor at CW can withstand the heat to wear his full costume, so could he!  

     We did pretty well getting out of the house at 7:12am. It's a 2.5 hour drive and we got there just after Patrick Henry started speaking. My favorite time period in history is the American Revolution, partly because I see this as a pivotal moment in history.  Patrick Henry talks about this and I'm afraid I'm not going to get his words precisely correct. Before 1776, the people were servants of the government. After 1776, for the first time, a government was the servant to the people.  Yet it's not a democracy, which has always failed.  It is a democratic republic with three branches of government.  The branch with the greatest power is the people's branch, the legislative branch. Thomas Jefferson talks about this a lot too. 

     A question was asked about today's stimulus package put out by the government. Because history is cyclical, Patrick Henry explained one only needs to look at the past to see the future.  He told us about the stimulus packages of his day, known as the Stamp Act, Sugar Act and the Tea Act.          

     Did you know that Patrick Henry had lots of kids? He had 6 children by his first wife and 11 by his second wife.  He had 77 grandchildren. Then he thundered, "If some scoundrel in the future decides to portray me, he will meet at least one of my descendants every week!"  His presentation was standing room only and he had us all laughing throughout.

      Then for the first time,  we got to meet George Mason, who lives at Gunston Hall! Since we tried to buy a house on Gunston Hall Drive, we are now aware of George Mason!  George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was actually the precursor to the Declaration of Independence. We got to discuss different rights. A lot of the questions from the audience revolved around slavery. It was interesting to hear the perspective of each of the delegates of the best way to end slavery.  

     The next scene was "What Holds the Future", a poignant scene about slave families being split up and sold at the auction block.  We saw the process of this scene being developed and saw parts of it performed in our EFT "Making History Live." Now we got to see the program in its entirety...and have our hearts ripped out in the process. The actors get a bit rough, so it isn't recommended for children.  

      Then we walked down to the Courthouse for another scene we've never seen before.   While waiting for that to start, I called my husband.  Once again he told me to call him whenever we were in front of a webcam.  lol  This new scene at the Courthouse, "Blessings of Liberty", opens with the announcement that the Declaration of Independence has arrived in town. While some eagerly read it, others debate it. There are still Loyalists lurking about. There are even Patriots who are out to destroy every semblance of allegiance to the king.  

     After lunch, we had a few hours before Revolutionary City began. What to do? We went to the colonial nursery. I wanted to get a special plant for my new Virginia garden. I found a bleeding heart!  I  also got some seeds for sensitive plant. This is a lot of fun to play with. You touch the leaves and they close up.  There was one on display to have fun with. I didn't get pictures of these.  But I did get pictures of other flowers in bloom.

     Then we went to the Mary Dickinson Store where they sell colonial patterns, that are more authentic than what I have from the fabric store.  Although my kids really wanted me to buy them now, I told them I still need a new sewing machine, etc, etc, etc.  We'll be back!

     Then we went to the Prentis Store and my son found the Rosewood Fife.  We were told that the junior fifers start with the maple fife like he has and when they graduate to the senior corps they get the rosewood fife. I told my son that if he keeps working on the fife and uses the recent tips he got to improve his playing, perhaps he can graduate to the rosewood fife. He is motivated.  

     Next we went to the milliner and the millinr and tailor were working in opposite sides of the shop. Last summer we only got to see the tailor. This time I watched a seamstress try to equally pleat a petticoat to a certain measurement. 

     Next we went to the Print shop, which we didn't get to do last summer.  The printer was hanging up the sheets to dry as we walked in.

     We got to talking about the circulation of the gazette.  He compared the population of Williamsburg to the larger colonial cities of the time. He asked us which colonial city was the largest.  My daughter said "Boston".  Correct!  Then he asked for the second largest colonial city. My son said "Philadelphia". Correct!  Next he asked for the third largest which was between the other two. When no one else answered I said "New York". Correct!  Finally he asked for the fourth largest colonial city, south of Williamsburg. Once again no one else was answering, so I said "Charleston". Correct!   These larger cities might have a daily gazette, but Williamsburg had a weekly gazette.  He showed us how he prepped the ink...

...he applied it to the typeset...

...he pulled the press...

...he pealed off the paper...

...and there is one side to the gazette!

     It was 1pm, so we went upstairs to the store to get a demonstration on the use of the quill.  This is another activity we had wanted to do last summer but couldn't work it in.  The gentleman wrote my daughter's name on a card with a flourish underneath, then it was her turn to do so.  Then it was my son's turn.  The gentleman made comments with both of my kids because they write with their left hands. He told us that in his day, everyone writes with their right hand!  Then I had a turn and left out the swirl underneath my name. He told me I needed that because someone else might come along and add something else that I didn't want underneath my name. One of the guests heard our last name and asked if we were related to a certain someone in Hollywood. I laughed and said, "Oh yea, we're real close." and he laughed too! This guest had his name done before mine and it was fun to watch. He was really getting into the 18th century!

  Well, after this I had to have a snack. It was really hot, my blood sugar was dropping, and I was dragging. We went to sit on a bench in front of the Kings Arms Tavern and listened to the tavern owners banter back and forth with each other across the Duke of Gloucester Street.  One of the actresses got some Service Berries from the garden and shared them with us. I never heard of them before. They looked like a purple blueberry and tasted a bit tarter than one.  They were delicious! 

     The oppressive heat of the day must have caused the dark, ominous clouds in the distance and the threatening rumble of thunder.  Hopefully Revolutionary City would not get rained out!  The warm up program began with music and dancing!

     As we headed to the Capital for the reading of the Declaration of Independence, I was surprised to see the horses!  They weren't in the program I saw last year!

     After the horsemen arrived at the capital, my son ran over to take pictures.

Then the fife and drum corps arrived...

...leading us to the meaningful reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Everyone gets a part. By the end, my son joined in reciting it with them.  No, he did not have the words in front of him.

     As the fife and drum corps played and marched out, we were told to gather for a major announcement.   I don't know what was wrong with us but he asked us three times to gather closely to him for a major announcement. I finally got it and I moved closer, as did everyon else.  I had a difficult time concentrating, because I was thinking I should have toted our rain gear with us. The temperature had significantly dropped, the wind was rising, the sky was darker, the thunder was booming and the lightening was flashing in the distance.  Were we crazy people?  Actually we were proving that we were duds as actors. LOL As the guy told us about the major victory at Saratoga, which caused France to decide to support our cause, we weren't responding the way he expected.  He kept prodding us to say something. So we did!  We started "booing" when we needed to "huzzah!" and we "huzzah!ed" when we were supposed to "cheer".  The poor fellow was so patient with us.  We were laughing, then TRYING to get into the spirit of things when he told us to give three cheers for that selfless patriot who made the major victory at the Battle of Saratoga possible...Benedict Arnold! Um I confess we were a bit lame in our "huzzahs" over him. If only he knew what we knew.  =)  But that's the point of Revolutionary City...to get caught up in the events of the day, not the future. Why did people feel as they did and act as they did during certain events? What would we really have done, not knowing the future? These are pages of a history book come to life.

   We got a few rain drops during the next few scenes, and then it was time to head to the Capital because the Redcoats were coming, led by the turncoat, Benedict Arnold. Because of the lightening and thunder, the horses were not used.  The Redcoats came to us through the Capital.

      By the end of the Revolutionary City program, the storm had moved further out and the sun was in!  We followed the fife and drum corps to the Courthouse to meet with General Washington for the program, "On to Yorktown, and Victory!" 

 
 Generals Washington and Lafayette arrived...

...to assure the citizens of Williamsburg that victory is close at hand. 

The British are surrounded at Yorktown and the French have arrived by sea and land with men and provisions.

After the generals left...

we followed the General's staff and the fife and drum corps back to the Capital. 

     Sadly, it was time to go home.  As we walked by the windmill, my son took a picture of the cloud formations.

     I captured the more  forbidding clouds that indeed caused some challenges in getting home.  Downpours and deluges dumped on us south of Richmond, through Richmond and then again in Northern Virginia.  Finally we arrived home safely.  The rain could not damper our spirits and we deluged my husband with the events of the day when we got home!  We can't wait to go back!