The Jamestown Story

Last weekend, I had a history marathon with good friends.  On Friday night, we went on the Charlottesville Ghost & Murder Walking Tour, which follows the murder of ex-mayor Sam McCue's wife Fannie that happened in 1904; we even got to go to their house on Park Street.  Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the local history here.  It was so much fun; I learned a ton about Downtown Charlottesville, and I recommend it to everyone.

Then on Saturday, H., C&K. and I went to Williamsburg.  H. and I had lunch with his folks at the Cheese Shop, and then when C&K arrived, we all meandered around for the Prelude to Victory event happening in Colonial Williamsburg.  The Prelude to Victory was a reenactment of Williamsburg's receipt of Generals Washington and Rochambeau and their troops on their way to Yorktown to, in short, win the Revolutionary War.

For the record, we did not run into either General while meandering, but we did see a cow's utter being cooked over an open fire (interesting choice), a soldier sleeping in his tent, some Colonial crafting/mending, horse-drawn carriages and much more.  There were some kids playing with the muskets, and one soldier jumped out of character to tell the parents to have them be careful, as the guns cost about $800 each.

Then, C&K, H. and I headed to the Jamestown Settlement.  Many people have recommended that going to the Historic Jamestown (as in, the place where they actually set up camp) is the best place to go, but I really wanted to get on a seventeenth century replica ship, so we went to the Jamestown Settlement (replica village).  We didn't get there until 4:00, and they close at 5:00, so we only had an hour to take it in. 

The replica Ships at the Jamestown Settlement (we were standing on the Susan Constant, looking at the Godspeed and the Discovery).

Apparently, the Susan Constant carried about 70 passengers.  We were trying to imagine how difficult it must have been for all the passengers to pass time in a small ship like this one for almost five months!

Here is me in a bed aboard the Susan Constant; I figured out very quickly that it was stuffed with hay (dang you, allergies).

Here is the church at the Jamestown Settlement.  I thought it was very pretty.

I found it very difficult to take pictures of the historical reenactments without modern, 2010 people being in the shots, but this one was one of my favorite images from the day.