YORKTOWN SETTLEMENT

Our visit at the Yorktown Settlement would best be told by Nancy. "Our third day and last stop of the Historic Triangle was visiting and touring Yorktown, VA. The Yorktown Victory Center museum and living history chronologically starts in 1750 through around 1783. For review of the last three days, Colonial Williamsburg shows what life was like during the Colonial times, Jamestown replicates the early settler’s struggles and lastly Yorktown’s Victory Center tells the stories of the French Indian Wars to the American Revolution.

Similar to Jamestown’s museum when you finish the Yorktown’s Victory Center you go outside and see the Continentals Army encampment. There are many demonstrations and my favorite one was learning about the surgical procedures of that time for major battlefield injuries. Many would think that a high percentage of deaths in the army were caused by battlefield wounds but it was actually from the diseases that were spread among the men at camp. Just looking at the tools used by the so-called surgeons of that time era you can’t imagine the pain these men went through after being hit by bullets. A total of six surgeons would be needed, but four to hold you down and two to do the surgery. There was no hygiene or anesthetics except for biting down on a stick!

Leaving the encampment we were then led to how a middle class farm would be set up during the time. We were shown how vegetables from the garden would be preserved and meats too! I really loved the wattle fence! It brings such character to the garden."

I interviewed a few people for my radio show. One was the woman who ran the "kitchen" and the other was the woman who was the "manager" for the encampment area and at that time in the "hospital".

Photos by Nancy Kozicki