General George Washington: He came. He saw. He conquered.
With a bit of help from the French, General Washington’s army surrounded the British army that was entrenched in Yorktown. Commanded by General Charles, Earl of Cornwallis, George Washington accepted his surrender on October 17, 1781. Following this victory, peace talks were started and in 1783, America was free from England’s rule.
Yorktown, Virginia is a thriving modern city, so it was off to the Yorktown Visitor Center to view the recreated Yorktown Continental Army encampment of General Washington.
A soldier’s field accommodations are similar no matter what time period you visit or what area the campaign is conducted.
I would like to believe that today’s soldiers have it a bit better than Washington’s troops. Simple tents with straw for bedding, invited biting insects likened to sand fleas, to take up residence with the soldiers. Did they have anti-itch cream back then?
Manning the armory in such a humid and damp climate had to be a challenge. Keeping the powder dry must have been a full time job!
The “mess” was a make-shift oven, fueled by a fire in a vented covered pit, with access holes where the soldier could bake his meals.
Each person was given a daily ration of grains and beans from which to make their meals.
Grates for the fire were fashioned from lengths of iron and some of them were quite decorative!
We watched a demonstration of how a typical canon was fired. It was quite a process with several people involved.
They enlisted a Commander from the crowd….
and canon masters, as well, to load the canon, charge it with powder…
and then fire. KaBoom!
Most of us thought that the top reason for visiting the infirmary or hospital was battle injuries. Turns out….it was disease. In the 1700s germs and viruses were a mystery. Doctors and scientists didn’t fully realize the microscopic world and had limited knowledge, by today’s standards, of the workings of the human body.
Diseases carried by mosquitoes from the nearby swamp, were thought to have come from the stinky air or food or water. Diarrhea was thought to be the body’s way of flushing toxins, so medicines were given to encourage the purge instead of stopping the dehydrating symptom….yeah not a good time.
There was no anesthesia for operations and amputations, they used the old leather strap or woodblock and a bunch of men to hold the patient down. Yeah….
There were some upsides though to being the Doctor: Your own tent, and a cot. Downsides: Disease exposure, and a reduced life expectancy because of it.
We wandered around the rest of the camp to see how life was for farmers in the 1700’s. There was livestock, food gardens and a typical one room house.
The woman of the house was preparing a meal for the soldiers and it smelled wonderful!!
Speaking of good smells and good food, we were ready for the Blues festival. Yeah I know, we should have gone on to the Yorktown battlefield, but to tell you the truth….all 4 of us were done site-seeing.
I guess it will have to wait for out next trip. We saw a lot, but there is much, much, more to see and do in the Williamsburg area!
Our next stop….Pennsylvania and family!
