The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is a privately-run museum about the American Revolution in general and the Battle of Yorktown in particular. The parking lot features flags from the original colonies as well as the belligerents in the Battle of Yorktown (the Americans, the British, and the French).
The museum has a copy of Winged Victory, a famous Greek statue from the Hellenistic period depicting Nike, the goddess of victory. The original is on display at the Louvre in Paris.
When we visited, the special exhibition gallery had a display on The Forgotten Soldier. The exhibit looks at the lives of Africans or descendants of Africans during the Revolutionary War period.
One display shows an engraving of the Boston Massacre made by Paul Revere. One of the three colonists who died was Crispus Attucks, a former slave then working as a sailor.
Another display shows items found by archeologists excavating a slave quarters. Included are a shoe buckle, a plate, a bone comb, and half of a Spanish silver coin. They are all objects owned by both slaves and free people.
Many groups of enslaved residents petitioned the Massachusetts government to free them, since slavery is incompatible with the freedom that was being fought for. The below petition was signed by Prince Hall in 1777. Slavery was not abolished in Massachusetts until 1783.
Another exhibit has a statue of Patrick Henry made by Lawrence Sully in 1795. Henry was famous for his "give me Liberty or give me death" speech at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775.
The colonies traded with Europe, developing many industries and selling their products abroad.
Many iron forges (including the ones at Valley Forge) provided raw materials for construction and local industries, as well as shipping back to the Old World.
One of the colonial protests was over stamps that had to be affixed to documents, effectively taxing the written word. My daughter tried out stamping a document. It's not as easy as it looks.
King George III was not happy with the behavior of the colonies. The British had just financed the French and Indian War and expected the colonies to pay their due for their protection. The colonists did not feel the same way.
A life-sized diorama shows entrenched American and French forces repelling a British charge!
One hall is dedicated to the Declaration of Independence. Inside, Thomas Jefferson looks on his iconic work. The statue was made for the opening of the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, in 1895 by Edward Virginius Valentine.
The exhibit also includes several weapons from the war.
In the back of the gallery, displays of different homes and outfits are found.
A fun interactive exhibit lets visitors answer questions to discover what sort of person they would be during the War for Independence.
The USS Raleigh was one of the thirteen original ships commissioned by the colonial government. It served the colonies well until it was grounded in 1778; the captain and crew abandoned the ship. The British were able to free the ship and relaunch it as HMS Raleigh. It was part of the fleet that captured Charleston, South Carolina.
The museum has a replica of a French siege gun used at Yorktown. The French army had 16- and 24-pound siege guns that blasted the British defenses at Yorktown. The gun was difficult to move because of its size and weight.
A highlight of the museum is a film about the Siege at Yorktown. The movie has an extra wide screen and simulates wind and smoke with blowing fans and mist machines. The enhancements give a heightened experience of what it was like for the Americans and French to capture two of the defensive redoubts in hand-to-hand combat on the night of October 14.
The next part of the exhibit is a display on the Treaty of Paris which officially ended the war between the American colonies and the United Kingdom.
A nearby interactive table lets visitors refight various battles by changing formations of troops and tactics of the commanders. The idea is interesting but the execution is a little clunky. I am not sure what they were trying to convey, other than having another bit of fun technology in the museum.
We then headed outside to the outdoor exhibits, the topic of our next post!
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| Colonial Flags |
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| National flags |
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| Museum entrance |
The museum has a copy of Winged Victory, a famous Greek statue from the Hellenistic period depicting Nike, the goddess of victory. The original is on display at the Louvre in Paris.
 |
| Winged Victory |
When we visited, the special exhibition gallery had a display on The Forgotten Soldier. The exhibit looks at the lives of Africans or descendants of Africans during the Revolutionary War period.
One display shows an engraving of the Boston Massacre made by Paul Revere. One of the three colonists who died was Crispus Attucks, a former slave then working as a sailor.
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| Crispus Attucks display |
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| Closeup of the wounded man |
Another display shows items found by archeologists excavating a slave quarters. Included are a shoe buckle, a plate, a bone comb, and half of a Spanish silver coin. They are all objects owned by both slaves and free people.
 |
| Items on display |
Many groups of enslaved residents petitioned the Massachusetts government to free them, since slavery is incompatible with the freedom that was being fought for. The below petition was signed by Prince Hall in 1777. Slavery was not abolished in Massachusetts until 1783.
 |
| Petition for freedom |
Another exhibit has a statue of Patrick Henry made by Lawrence Sully in 1795. Henry was famous for his "give me Liberty or give me death" speech at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, on March 23, 1775.
 |
| Patrick Henry |
The colonies traded with Europe, developing many industries and selling their products abroad.
 |
| Colony-crafted commodities |
Many iron forges (including the ones at Valley Forge) provided raw materials for construction and local industries, as well as shipping back to the Old World.
 |
| Working in iron |
One of the colonial protests was over stamps that had to be affixed to documents, effectively taxing the written word. My daughter tried out stamping a document. It's not as easy as it looks.
 |
| Stamping a book |
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| Half a stamp meant half a tax? |
King George III was not happy with the behavior of the colonies. The British had just financed the French and Indian War and expected the colonies to pay their due for their protection. The colonists did not feel the same way.
 |
| The king looking at the colonists |
A life-sized diorama shows entrenched American and French forces repelling a British charge!
 |
| Defenders under cover |
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| Redcoats not faring well |
One hall is dedicated to the Declaration of Independence. Inside, Thomas Jefferson looks on his iconic work. The statue was made for the opening of the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, in 1895 by Edward Virginius Valentine.
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| Thomas Jefferson, looking stately |
The exhibit also includes several weapons from the war.
 |
| Replicas of British uniforms and weapons |
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| Cavalry equipment |
In the back of the gallery, displays of different homes and outfits are found.
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| A middle-class home |
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| An upper-class home |
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| Clothing for women, children, and dolls |
A fun interactive exhibit lets visitors answer questions to discover what sort of person they would be during the War for Independence.
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| Who was I? |
The USS Raleigh was one of the thirteen original ships commissioned by the colonial government. It served the colonies well until it was grounded in 1778; the captain and crew abandoned the ship. The British were able to free the ship and relaunch it as HMS Raleigh. It was part of the fleet that captured Charleston, South Carolina.
 |
| USS/HMS Raleigh |
The museum has a replica of a French siege gun used at Yorktown. The French army had 16- and 24-pound siege guns that blasted the British defenses at Yorktown. The gun was difficult to move because of its size and weight.
 |
| French siege gun |
A highlight of the museum is a film about the Siege at Yorktown. The movie has an extra wide screen and simulates wind and smoke with blowing fans and mist machines. The enhancements give a heightened experience of what it was like for the Americans and French to capture two of the defensive redoubts in hand-to-hand combat on the night of October 14.
 |
| Not coming to a theater near you |
The next part of the exhibit is a display on the Treaty of Paris which officially ended the war between the American colonies and the United Kingdom.
 |
| Treaty of Paris results |
A nearby interactive table lets visitors refight various battles by changing formations of troops and tactics of the commanders. The idea is interesting but the execution is a little clunky. I am not sure what they were trying to convey, other than having another bit of fun technology in the museum.
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| Fighting the Battle of Cowpens |
We then headed outside to the outdoor exhibits, the topic of our next post!
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