Yorktown Victory Day celebration gets loud with hands-on artillery demonstrations

October 19, 2013|By Ryan Murphy, rmurphy@dailypress.com

Cannon fire ripped through the still air and smoke hung over the Colonial encampment as modern-day sightseers flocked to Yorktown to celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the battle that won America's independence.

History buffs young and old had come from far and wide to get a taste of the triumph that saw a British commander lay down his sword and gave American forces a decisive victory. During a weekend full of events, including a parade and a memorial wreath laying to honor the American soldiers who fought against the British, some visitors got their hands dirty during some explosive demonstrations.

Sally Stook is a historic interpreter at the Yorktown Victory Center. She said during special events like Yorktown Victory Day, far more people come through than usual and the demonstrations are more hands-on.

Stook was acting as the gun captain in charge of a Colonial Army artillery unit on Saturday afternoon when she drafted members of the crowd to get the authentic Revolutionary War soldier experience by preparing a cannon to fire.

Sarah Gonzalez and her father, Ray, were plucked from the crowd to man the Colonial Army battalion gun — a huge brass canon capable of shooting a 6-pound cannonball into enemy ranks more than a mile away.

"It gave me some perspective," Gonzalez said, of helping to load the cannon. Gonzalez and her family came from Ventura County, Ca., to tour the Historic Triangle and see things like the artillery demonstration. "We like to see where our roots came from as Americans."

Gonzalez called stepping into the shoes of a Revolutionary soldier "nerve-wracking" — all eyes were on her when she was ordered to stand near the front of the gun and clear the barrel while other volunteers pretended to prepare the gun to fire. Gonzalez and the other volunteers were allowed to retreat back to the safety of the barricades before the fuse was lit for real.

The Victory Center's historical interpreters reloaded the gun and fired it off with an earth-shaking boom, one of three artillery demonstrations slated for the day. They also did quieter musket firing demonstrations and interpreters throughout the Victory Center grounds showed what life was like for infantrymen, surgeons and cooks in America's Revolutionary era.

Stook said the Victory Day celebration brought out bigger crowds and large school groups. Crowds of dozens of curious visitors gathered around the artillery and musket demonstrations and many, like the Gonzalez family, had come from outside of Virginia to tour the area and celebrate the day Americans finally won their independence.

Stook said the groups were twice as large earlier this week, when the federal government shutdown closed other nearby attractions like Historic Jamestown and the Yorktown Battlefield. The Yorktown Victory Center, a state park, was open for the duration of the shutdown and enjoyed a major attendance boost.

"People were thankful to find an alternative that was still open," she said.


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