The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Earned Media Coverage

April 10, 2014

Come Home to Virginia

The state's Historic Triangle adds new attractions just in time for a big homecoming.

Colonial Williamsburg

• The 411: The capital of Virginia moved to Williamsburg in 1699. In 1926 John D. Rockefeller donated the money to restore the historic area and create a living-history museum

• What's new: Become part of the political events and discussion during a fast-paced, two-hour program called "Revolutionary City." Visitors witness the collapse of the royal government and listen in as citizens get ready for war with the British.

• Don't miss: Peek behind the gates of the houses to see spectacular gardens and newborn farm animals.

• "Wow" factor: The colonial governor rides into Revolutionary City in a hand-crafted, gold-trimmed coach.

• For kids: The Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitors Center sells hats and rents costumes.

• Price: Ticket prices vary with the seasons. Visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.com for current prices.

http://www.southernliving.com/travel/south-east/come-home-virginia/come-home-virginia-james-river-boat

Family Road Trip to Williamsburg Virginia

4/7/14

It’s like you are going back in time to nearly 250 years ago- a chance to meet Patrick Henry, Johnny the slave to Peyton Randolph or William Holt the merchant and entrepreneur in Williamsburg.

A family road trip to Williamsburg Virginia is a way to showcase living history to your family members of all age groups. Williamsburg is more than just the historic area. Visitors are close to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Water Country USA, Virginia Beach, Yorktown Civil War Battlefield and Williamsburg Winery.

The nearest major airport to Williamsburg Newport News/Williamsburg Airport is 17 miles away. In fact you have access to three airports all within 50 miles from Colonial Williamsburg.

Whether you are driving from your hometown or picking up a rental car at the airport, Williamsburg is easy to get to. It is between two major cities in Virginia on I-64- 53 miles from Richmond and 45 miles from Norfolk.

Colonial Williamsburg This 18th century Revolutionary City stays true to its roots where cars are not allowed in the historic area during busy times at 8 am to 10 pm. Visitors can either park their vehicles at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center or take the trolleys and buses.

The historic area has special footpaths that takes you to events where you can take part as an American colonist and join an angry mob as they storm the Governor’s Palace to demand the return of the colony’s gunpowder. Or get caught up in the stories of struggle and hardship. Join the debate over the meaning of “All men are created equal” and much more.

Information: Colonial Williamsburg

http://www.travelmath.com/blog/family-road-trip-williamsburg-virginia/

When you are hungry and tired, take a break and dine at one of George Washington’s favorite taverns. You may want to give your tired legs a rest by taking a carriage ride through the colonial town.

Check out Colonial Williamsburg’s calendar of events before your departure to find out evening events for your family. Did you know that when the sun goes down, Colonial Williamsburg has visitors from another world? Join a group of ghost hunters on a tour of haunted houses and sites.

Williamsburg Busch Gardens and Water Country USA Prince Elmo’s Spire, Grover’s Alpine Express, Sesame Street Forest of Fun and Apollo’s Charlot are some of the fun rides for the whole family. Williamsburg Busch Gardens caters to family fun even non-roller-coaster riders would feel safe and enjoy the rides.

When the temperature outside rises, go splashing and sliding in Water Country USA. This resort-style water park has over 25 water rides and attractions including Colossal Curl, the one of a kind family thrill ride in North America. Families have access to lazy rivers, children’s play areas and swimming pools.

Information: Williamsburg Busch Gardens Water Country USA

Yorktown Battlefield Yorktown was an important town during the Revolutionary War siege of 1781. Yorktown Battlefield is under the National Park Service (NPS) and is part of the Colonial National Historical Park including Jamestown (the first permanent English settlement in North America) and Williamsburg.

While in Yorktown take a 23-mile scenic route on The Colonial Parkway from York River at Yorktown to James River at Jamestown. Yorktown is 13 miles from Williamsburg and Jamestown is eight miles from Williamsburg.

The parkway was constructed to unify these culturally and naturally distinct sites. It is a great place to see how nature and history are conserved for the next generations to enjoy.

Caution: Speed limit is 45 miles per hour.

Information: Colonial Parkway

Williamsburg Winery Williamsburg Winery is also known as Wessex Hundred. According to the company “the use of Hundred to name a property dates to the Colonial era and describes parcels of land sufficient to support a hundred families regardless of actual acreage.”

This 300-acre farmland was founded in 1606 by a Virginia Company. The land was converted by Patrick and Peggy Duffeler to Williamsburg Winery in 1983.

Wine tasting starts at $6 per person. Tour and tasting is available year round. No reservations are required for groups of less than eight people. Williamsburg Winery offers tours daily every half hour for $10 per person.

http://www.travelmath.com/blog/family-road-trip-williamsburg-virginia/

Information: Williamsburg Winery

Tips for family road trips to Williamsburg Virginia: 1. Have cash in hand for tolls. 2. You have to be 25 years and over to rent a car. Be prepared to pay a higher price if you are below 25. 3. Hotel reservations in Williamsburg. 4. Read 5 Things to Do Before Taking a Family Road Trip with Kids. 5. Get our free guide to help plan your road trip.

http://www.travelmath.com/blog/family-road-trip-williamsburg-virginia/

LE JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC MARDI 8 AVRIL 2014MARDI QUÉBECM12

WiLLiAMsBurG, Virginie |située au cœur du trianglehistorique colonialaméricain, entre les rivièresJames et York, la coquetteville de Williamsburg attireles amateurs de tourismehistorique, les familles, lesvoyageurs en quête d’unehalte agréable vers les Étatsdu sud, les golfeurs, lesamateurs d’art et les foodies.il y a tant à faire qu’onpourrait y passer unesemaine sans jamaiss’ennuyer. cette villeagréable et dynamique,pleine de surprises, se trouveà 100 km des plages deVirginia Beach.

VENDREDI19h

Great Wolfe LodgeLe1 Great Wolf Lodge est uncomplexe thématique épatant oùtout est pensé en fonction des pe-tits loups: superbe parc aquatiqueintérieur où l’eau est maintenue à84 °F, spa pour enfants Scooops(Scooops Kids Spa), boutiques desucreries et chambres à la décolodge. Un resort très animé et fa-milial. (549 E Rochambeau Drive)www.greatwolf.com/williamsburg

19h30

Souper en villeWilliamsburg compte plusieurstables excellentes et les gourmetsviennent de loin pour déguster lacuisine de2 Fat Canary,3 PeterChang,4 Blue Talon Bistro,5Whaling Company,6 Treillis,7Giuseppe’s Italian Grille,8Brickhouse Tavern,9 Berret’sSeafood Restaurant & TaphouseGrill…

SAMEDI8 h 30

Jamestown SettlementEmpruntez la magnifiqueColonial Parkway, une route scé-nique construite entre 1930 et

1957, pour vous rendre tranquille-ment jusqu’à0 JamestownSettlement, une reconstitutionhistorique de Jamestown àl’époque coloniale doublée d’unmusée de très grande qualité.(2110 Jamestown Road) www.his-toryisfun.org

11h

MAD about Chocolate! Dent sucrée? Le chef émériteMarcel Desaulniers – dont la fa-mille est de Trois-Rivières – pro-pose dans son café un assortimentirrésistible de desserts à base dechocolat. Vous allez craquer, c’estcertain, pour ses brownies, sesbiscuits, ses gâteaux au fromageet son chocolat chaud, véritablepotion magique! L’artiste ConnieDesaulniers signe la déco.(204Armistead Avenue) www.ma-daboutchocolate.us/welcome.html

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m13LE JOURNAL DE QUÉBEC MARDI QUÉBECMARDI 8 AVRIL 2014

12 h

Colonial WilliamsburgVéritable musée d’histoire vivante,

@ Colonial Williamsburg recrée uneville coloniale américaine du 18esiècle,avec figurants en costume d’époque et vi-sites guidées. L’immersion historique estparfaite: apothicaire, palais du gouver-neur, tavernes, forgerons, campementsmilitaires, etc. Amateurs d’histoire, pré-voyez beaucoup plus de temps. (301 1st

Street) www.colonialwilliamsburg.com

14 h

Lunch façon 18e siècleLes tavernes de Colonial

Williamsburg proposent une cuisineinspirée des plats du 18e siècle et desspécialités régionales. C’est l’occasionde déguster le fameux Brunswick Stewde la # Josiah Chowning’s Tavern, lessandwiches au porc effiloché et autresdélices. (109 East Duke of Gloucester)

15 h 30

Ripley’s Believe it or not !$ Ce musée propose toutes sortes

d’objets insolites provenant des quatrecoins du monde, des miniatures aux ar-mures de samouraïs, en passant par unkit de voyage «antivampires». Se com-plète par un film en 4D. Étrange et di-vertissant! (1735 Richmond Road)www.ripleys.com/williamsburg/

17 h

Busch Gardens% Busch Gardens Williamsburg est

considéré comme l’un des plus beauxparcs thématiques au monde. Avec rai-son, car le design à l’européenne mariele 17e siècle au monde contemporain.Ses manèges vertigineux commeApollo’s Chariot et Alpengeist côtoientdes restaurants, des boutiques de sou-venirs. Animation et spectacles. Leparc se décore au gré des événements,comme Halloween et Noël. (1 BuschGardens Boulevard) * Le parc aqua-tique Water Country USA se trouvetout près.http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgar-dens-williamsburg

22 h 30

Williamsburg LodgeLe ?Williamsburg Lodge est par-

fait pour séjourner à quelques pas dela cité coloniale. Ambiance chic et dis-tinguée, très calme, service impecca-

ble, spa, piscines, resto, accès auGolden Horseshoe Golf Club. (310 SEngland St) www.colonialwilliams-burg.com/stay/williamsburg-lodge

DIMANCHE8 h

Petit-déjeuner buffet auWilliamsburg Lodge pour déguster lesspécialités locales: jambon, grits, bis-cuits and gravy, fruits frais, omelettesà la demande. Délicieux!

9 h

ShoppingWilliamsburg est une ville agréable

pour le shopping, que ce soit à &

Merchant’s Square, près de Colonial

Williamsburg, à New Town ou dans lesPremium Outlets. Si vous allez à NewTown, faites un arrêt au WilliamsburgCupcakes, à la librairie William &Mary et au Candy Store.www.merchantssquare.org

11 h 30

Williamsburg WineryProfitez d’une visite de la *

Williamsburg Winery pour vous res-taurer au Gabriel Archer Tavern. Lemenu s’harmonise avec le Viognier, leVidal blanc, le merlot, les vins de des-sert et les vins de spécialité, tous pro-duits sur place. À savourer: le sandwichGrapevine Salmon ou le Crab CakeSandwich. (5800 Wessex Hundred)www.williamsburgwinery.com

13 h

YorktownSi vous avez encore du temps devant

vous, prenez le temps de visiter( Yorktown, fondée en 1607. C’est làque les Américains et leurs alliés fran-çais ont gagné la bataille décisive de laRévolution contre l’armée britannique.Un nouveau musée – AmericanRevolution Museum at Yorktown – esten construction et l’ouverture est pré-vue pour 2016. (200 Water Street,Yorktown) www.historyisfun.org

Shirley PlantationÀ quelques kilomètres de

Williamsburg se trouvent les fameusesplantations de la James River, établiesau début de la colonie. Quelques-unesoffrent des visites guidées, dont) Shirley Plantation, où le Marquisde Lafayette lui-même fit halte pendantla Révolution américaine. (501 Shirley

Plantation Road, Charles City)www.shirleyplantation.com

Ce reportage a été réalisé en collabora-tion avec le Bureau de tourisme de laVirginie, de Greater WilliamsburgChamber & Tourism Alliance et de laVille deWilliamsburg. Il est possible deparler avec leur représentante québé-coise, en français, au 1 800 671- 4195.

Hôtels

Restos

Achats

Culture

Achats

Restos

Activités

avec figurants en costume d’époque et vi-sites guidées. L’immersion historique estparfaite: apothicaire, palais du gouver-neur, tavernes, forgerons, campementsmilitaires, etc. Amateurs d’histoire, pré-voyez beaucoup plus de temps. (301 1Street) www.colonialwilliamsburg.com

14 h

Lunch façon 18

La Semaineprochaine42 heures enBeauce

Williamsburgen bref∫ Fondation: 1699, à titre de capitale

de la colonie de la Virginie. La ville futnomméeen l’honneur du roiWilliamIII d’Angleterre, qui régnait à l’époque.

∫ Population: environ15000 habitants.

∫ Coordonnées GPS: 37°16 15 N76°42 25 W

∫ Information touristique:www.virginia.org ouwww.visitWilliamsburg.com

S’y rendre∫ Prendre l’I-95 en direction sud

jusqu’à Richmond, en Virginie, puisl’I-64 en direction est jusqu’àWilliamsburg (sortie 238).

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jdeq.com/williamsburg

Williamsburg: A Colonial Christmas

By Vikki

4/7/14

Looking for a change of pace this holiday season? Start a new tradition and follow in the footsteps of America’s Founding Fathers. With its rich history and unique shops, Colonial Williamsburg is the perfect blend of the traditional and the contemporary. So, grab your family and friends and check out what this historic Virginia town has to offer for the holidays.

Discover adventure in America’s favorite family destination, where historical attractions, museums and the cultural arts combine with theme parks, restaurants and shopping. Bring your family to Williamsburg this Christmas and make your vacation one for the history books. Trace the steps of Presidents and statesmen from pre and post-war eras, visit the historical re-enactments and walk along the cobblestone streets of Colonial Williamsburg.

http://www.globaltravelerreview.com/williamsburg-a-colonial-christmas.html

It’s a perfect time to discover the story of the American Revolution. Visit the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution, to gain an understanding of events that led to America's war for independence. Visit Jamestown Settlement and board a replica of one of the three ships that sailed from England to Virginia in 1607. Be sure not to miss Busch Gardens Christmas Town Celebration. This one of a kind event combines the magic and merriment of the season with stunning Broadway-style show, unique gift ideas and millions of twinkling lights.

You will need a place to stay this Christmas In Williamsburg and I have just the place. Greensprings Vacation Resort, 2 bedroom Dec 19-26 for just $649 for the week. This is a Private Vacation Club price for this resort. If you book on Expedia for the same dates, room size it is $1954.12 for a week. As a member you will save $1305.12. Are you tired of paying retail for your vacations? You don't have to, join the club and never pay retail again for life. Take a look at your Christmas Condo.

http://www.globaltravelerreview.com/williamsburg-a-colonial-christmas.html

Seth Numrich on AMC’s ‘Turn’

By Fred Topel

4/7/14

AMC’s latest drama “Turn” takes place during the American Revolution. Abe Woodhull (Jamie Bell) joins the Culper Spy Ring to serve George Washington in the espionage that led to independence from Britain.

The leader of the Culper Ring was Ben Tallmadge, who is played on “Turn” by Seth Numrich, a theater actor from New York. During a lunch break from AMC’s presentation to the Television Critics Association earlier this year, I got to sit down with Numrich to learn about Tallmadge and his role on “Turn.”

CraveOnline: Tell us about your role on “Turn.”

Seth Numrich: My role, I get to play a guy who’s named Benjamin Tallmadge, who was a real guy, who was a soldier, a captain and then a major… so an officer of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. He basically had the task of the ringleader of the Culper Spy Ring. He was sort of the person who put it all together.

Ben Tallmadge grew up on Long Island in a place called Setauket which all of our main characters are from. All of the American characters of the show grew up there. We all grew up together and when Ben was charged with the task of gathering intelligence, he went back to his oldest, closest friends from the place where he grew up, and those were the people he employed to be his spy operatives. That’s where I fit into the whole story.

Since Ben Tallmadge was a real person, did any of the research you may have done conflict with anything that was written in the script?

You know, there are little things. There are things they needed to take artistic license to make more dramatically accessible. But for the most part the things that I’ve read, even if they don’t necessarily specifically correspond to the actual history, it’s all incredibly useful, getting perspective and information

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interviews/672273-seth-numrich-on-amcs-turn

about who this guy was. I was able to read, Ben Tallmadge wrote a memoir late in his life, an actual autobiography of his life.

So that was one thing I went to immediately when I discovered it, but then read the whole thing and realized there wasn’t a single mention of spying or of gathering intelligence, any of that because all of it was still deeply classified, even well after the war when Tallmadge was an older man. A lot of that information stayed top secret until well into the 20th century when historians began uncovering it.

There were certain things I could read that would give me some information about who the guy was but then getting the actual meat of the information of what he did and how much of truly an American hero he was that a lot of people don’t know about, that was a little bit more difficult. I relied on people like Alex Rose who wrote the book Washington’s Spies that a lot of our stuff is based on, to learn more about those efforts and really how much of an impact he had on the war.

What’s an example of a particularly useful piece of Ben Tallmadge information?

For me, a big part of it was learning about the events that led up to beginning the Culper Ring. So when Ben first joined the army, he had an older brother who was also a soldier in the army. There was a big huge battle called The Battle of Brooklyn which was one of the places where the British really took the upper hand early on in the war. Ben was in a group of soldiers that was not deployed to the battlefield, but his brother was and his brother was killed in that battle. So imagining what that would have been like for Ben, positioned in a place where he could see the battle going on but couldn’t participate and then learning later that his brother had been killed there, I think that was something that really fueled his passion.

Then just shortly after that, a guy named Nathan Hale, who is sort of the spy that people might know about from history books, was the first spy caught and hanged for treason by the British. Nathan Hale was a very close friend of Tallmadge’s. They went to Yale together and even acted in plays together and

were very close. That would’ve been another huge blow to Ben, learning that his best friend had been killed and was a big part of what spurred him on to try to pick up that baton and keep running and make an effort to make a difference in the war. Learning about those things about where Ben is coming from when our series begins was extraordinarily helpful.

The pilot is obviously about how Abe gets involved in the Culper Ring. Where does it go from there?

So many places. Part of what’s great about the show is that the story is so multifaceted and there are so many characters that are intertwined and interwoven. For my character, the natural progression is setting up these efforts of gathering intelligence and then figuring out how to use that intelligence. Particularly figuring out, for Ben, how to convince his superiors that the information was useful and that the spying efforts were a good idea. He’s trying to convince his superiors that I’m doing this, I’m getting this intelligence and first of all we need to trust it, second of all we need to use it. We need to launch military campaigns based on this information.

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interviews/672273-seth-numrich-on-amcs-turn

That’s a difficult challenge for Ben in the first couple of episodes. With any story like this, what’s exciting is the challenges that come up along the way that are unexpected. Running into obstacles that Ben and Abe and Caleb couldn’t have seen coming, and then the audience gets to watch how they deal with that and figure it out. So there’s a lot of fun stuff like that.

Did Tallmadge ever interact directly with George Washington?

Yeah, oh, quite a bit. There were a lot of letters sent back and forth between them. More than likely they would have ended up in the same places pretty frequently. So they no doubt would have had meetings together, met in person and discussed these things. It’s hard to know that through history, but there are a multitude of letters exchanged back and forth between them.

Ben Tallmadge was responsible for creating the codes with which they would correspond. So Ben would write a code book and basically issue one to everyone who needed one, and then the letters that went back and forth were coded. You would need the book in order to know what was being said, so that went between Washington and Abe Woodhull and Tallmadge and some of the other spies.

Like the copper plates they place over the letters?

Exactly, that was one version of a technique that they used. Another would be replacing words with numbers, so each of the Culper members had a number that meant things. We also had code names. The name Culper comes from Abe Woodhull’s spy alias was Samuel Culper, but his number alias was 722. My alias was 721. Washington was 711. So we had these different ways of encoding and keeping the information secret in case it was intercepted by the enemy.

Those copper plates really interested me. Did they make a set and distribute them amongst each other to send them back and forth?

Exactly, they would do that, but same with the codebooks, those things would have to change frequently because if anyone ever got ahold of one of them, then the whole system was compromised. So every few months, Ben was creating a whole new codebook of new numbers or a new template for them to cut out of what words were used just in case anything were to be intercepted.

It must have been hard to come up with an innocuous sounding letter that would match up to those tablets.

Yeah, it was really difficult. What’s interesting to me about learning about this time period and these spy efforts is how much they were able to accomplish with very little resources. Nowadays, you think of spies, you think of James Bond having every gadget you can imagine and money and cars, whatever he needs to get the job done, he’s got it there at his fingertips.

These guys, there was barely money to pay them for their efforts so they certainly weren’t using any high tech means of spying. It was all relying on these very low tech and very unsophisticated methods but getting the most sophisticated results that they could out of them. It’s fun to watch that as well on the series and how those techniques developed.

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interviews/672273-seth-numrich-on-amcs-turn

Did you ever as a kid, or even more recently, go to historical parks like Colonial Williamsburg?

Yeah, I’ve not been to Colonial Williamsburg yet although where we’re filming is quite close to there, so I hope to make a trip out there at some point. Yeah, it’s something that ever since I was a little kid has always fascinated me, going to those types of things. I’ve always been really interested in history so getting to work on a job like this is sort of a dream come true.

When there was an audition for a new AMC show, how much weight was on that given the potential of their past shows?

For me, some. Obviously I had heard about “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” and known that those shows had been very successful. There’s obviously the excitement about the potential of working at a place that’s clearly done good work. Beyond that, my real response was just to the script. I thought it was so smart and so well written and fully realized and the characters were real people. I thought that any network that’s interested in producing a show like this, because it’s not necessarily a sure thing.

There’s nothing like it on television as far as I know. There’s not really a precedent for this type of show yet so I think that they’re taking a big risk in terms of producing something like this and I have a lot of respect for that. A network that’s going to take those risks and put in the resources into making it really great, which so far my experience on set, they’ve been doing that. They’ve been really interested in the highest quality and really letting us, as the artists involved in creating the show, letting us work and letting us create and giving us free reign to run with it. That’s really all you can ask for as an actor.

http://www.craveonline.com/tv/interviews/672273-seth-numrich-on-amcs-turn

AMC's 'Turn' TV Series Motivates Virginia to Debut New Revolutionary War Trail

By Christine Bord

4/7/14

AMC is hoping it will have the same luck with its newest series, Turn, that it's had with the pop culture phenomenons Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.

Turn is a Revolutionary War period drama based on Alexander Rose’s book Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring.

The state of Virgina is also hoping the show is a hit and taking full advantage of its connection toTurn by launching "TURN: The Trail", a series of Revolutionary War attractions and Turn filming locations across the state.

Among the trail stops is Virgina's first plantation Shirley Plantation, the home George Washington bought for his mother Mary in 1772, and Centre Hill which was built by Revolutionary War veteran Robert Bolling IV.

Colonial Williamsburg has jumping on the Turn bandwagon too with the spy game, RevQuest: The Old Enemy. Williamsburg visitors will be able to get their "top-secret orders" at the park this summer and use their cell phone to find and solve clues.

Get the complete Turn:Trail at virginia.org/turntrail.

http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/4/7/144317/0565/travel/AMC's+'Turn'+TV+Series+Motivates+Virginia+to+Debut+New+Revolutionary+War+Trail

http://www.jaunted.com/story/2014/4/7/144317/0565/travel/AMC's+'Turn'+TV+Series+Motivates+Virginia+to+Debut+New+Revolutionary+War+Trail

Pocahontas' wedding celebrated as a union of cultures at Historic Jamestowne

By Ryan Murphy

4/5/14

A young woman with long, straight brown hair and an elaborately embroidered jacket approaches an altar clutching a bouquet of rosemary. A tall, pale man in a red-orange jacket and trousers stands opposite her. And then, two cultures are joined.

Hundreds turned out to Historic Jamestowne to witness the marriage of English settler and tobacco farmer John Rolfe to the legendary Pocahontas, favorite daughter of Algonquian Chief Powhatan.

The re-created ceremony, held on the very spot where the couple would have stood in 1614, was part of a series of events meant to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the wedding and explore the world surrounding it.

"I very much wanted to use this occasion to get attention for the intermingled histories of the English and local Powhatan peoples," said Jim Horn, Colonial Williamsburg's vice president of research and historical interpretation. "You put the name 'Pocahontas' in there and it gets people interested. ... We're using that hook to explain a larger story."

Re-enactors in the wedding party took small asides during the ceremony to give modern viewers a window into the differing meanings of the high-profile wedding to different groups at the time.

The Powhatan peoples would have seen a marriage of this magnitude as a political tool to create alliances between tribes.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-pocahontas-wedding-20140406,0,3214727.story

"Kinship is the currency in the Chesapeake," said cultural anthropologist Buck Woodard, who helped coordinate some of the events with Virginia's Pamunkey Indian Tribe. Pamunkey Indian Wendy Taylor portrayed Pocahontas at Saturday's reenactments, the first time in 100 years a woman from Pocahontas' own tribe has played the part.

Woodard said this marriage would have been like the many unions Powhatan undertook himself to consolidate many tribes under one banner. For Powhatan, the wedding of his favorite daughter to Rolfe would bring the English into the fold, elevating the Powhatan Confederacy even further and ending the clashes between the settlers and his people.

"No one can argue with the seven years of peace that resulted from the wedding," Woodard said.

The English, however, would have seen the union as the first step toward bringing the Indians into the Anglican Church.

"The settlers hoped (Pocahontas) would be the instrument of conversion, not just of her family, but of the whole Powhatan people," Horn said.

Horn said Rolfe's writings have led historians to believe he was a serious and devout man who was dedicated to guiding Pocahontas, called by her Christian name Rebecca during the ceremony, into the faith. But the marriage may have earned him a powerful branding tool for his tobacco business as well.

Rolfe brought Pocahontas to London after the birth of their son, Thomas, where she was an instant celebrity. Rolfe may have leveraged that celebrity to push his new-world tobacco. Whether the couple was truly in love, Horn said, it's difficult to say.

"There's certainly evidence to show Pocahontas was amenable to the wedding, but it's one of those open-ended questions people love to debate," Horn said.

Penny Schiesser, a James City County resident with a Native American heritage, watched the day's second wedding re-enactment and felt a strong bond with Pocahontas. She said she believes the wedding was based in love and forged through sacrifice.

"It's rejoicing and it's heartbreaking. I feel for her. ... She knew that she was leaving her family behind," Schiesser said. "But when you find love and you're willing to give your heart completely to someone, that's what you do.

http://www.vagazette.com/news/va-vg-pocahontas-wedding-20140406,0,3214727.story

Pictures: "A Rich and Varied Culture: The Material World of the Early South."

A groundbreaking Colonial Willliamsburg exhibit of 350 objects explores the often unheralded richness and depth of the furnishings produced and used in the early South, including furniture, painting, prints, ceramics, metals and other media.

4/3/14

By Mark St. John Erickson

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Historians Debate Site of Pocahontas, John Rolfe Wedding 400 Years After Ceremony

By Brittany Voll

4/4/14

Children grow up learning about Pocahontas, either in history class or the Disney movie about an imagined union between Pocahontas and John Smith, but the facts of Pocahontas’ life and marriage to John Rolfe are blurry.

The 400th anniversary of Pocahontas’ wedding to John Rolfe will be commemorated Saturday with a re-enactment at Historic Jamestowne, but four centuries of study has not settled a debate among historians about whether the wedding took place at James Fort.

For Dr. William Kelso, Historic Jamestowne’s director of research and interpretation, and his staff, evidence points to Pocahontas’ wedding being held in a 64-by-24-foot church inside the original 1607 fort at Jamestown.

Nancy Egloff, a Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation historian specializing in the 17th century, believes it happened at a settlement outside present-day Richmond.

Any details known about the wedding have been discerned from few documents written in the 1600s. The most information about the wedding was written by Secretary of the Colony Ralph Hamor, which he sent back to England after the 1614 wedding. Along with his writings, Hamor sent letters written by Sir Thomas Dale, deputy governor of the colony, and John Rolfe.

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/04/historians-debate-site-of-pocahontas-john-rolfe-wedding-400-years-after-ceremony/

With certain details missing, including where the wedding took place, historians have to fill in the gaps using clues in the writing.

In 2010, archaeologists uncovered evidence of a church inside the original James Fort. The wood-walled church, anchored with wooden posts driven deep into the dirt, stood from about 1608 to 1616 inside the walls of the original fort. The dimensions of the church matched Hamor’s description of Pocahontas and Rolfe’s wedding site, so Historic Jamestowne historians surmised the wedding took place there.

No evidence the church was used for Pocahontas’ wedding was uncovered, but Kelso said archaeologists did not expect to find any artifacts.

Anglican tradition dictated religious items be preserved, so the church was cleared out before being torn down in 1616, Kelso said. All artifacts uncovered at the church site are Native American and predated the fort.

“It’s like a time capsule of that period that was preserved by what was done in 1608, ironically,” Kelso said.

With no archaeological proof the wedding took place at James Fort, Historic Jamestowne’s Manager of Public Education and Programs Mark Summers relies on bits of information found in the few documents written by English settlers in the 1600s.

Several written accounts describe the wedding ceremony and Pocahontas’ life in the months before the wedding. Because none are in her voice, historians question whether the documents accurately portray her feelings. The documents leave much up to interpretation.

At the time, the wedding was viewed as a political one that would bond the colonists to the tribes surrounding their settlements, so letters and writing from the time focused on the prospect of peace, not the details of the wedding, Summers said.

No person living today is likely to ever know how Pocahontas wore her hair or if she wore a dress sewn for the occasion, nor will anyone know whether she married Rolfe willingly or for love.

Reading documents to determine historical events requires the same educated guesses scientists make when preparing to execute an experiment, said Egloff, who theorizes Pocahontas and Rolfe married just outside of present-day Richmond at the English settlement Henricus.

“Historians make their best hypothesis based on the documents they read,” Egloff said, explaining she has read the same letters and writing from the 1600s as Summers but cannot definitively say where the wedding took place.

The events leading up to the wedding, beginning with Pocahontas’ capture by Samuel Argall in 1613, make Egloff believe they wed at Henricus.

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/04/historians-debate-site-of-pocahontas-john-rolfe-wedding-400-years-after-ceremony/

Pocahontas was taken captive while on land near the Potomac River, with her release hinging on her father returning prisoners and tools he was accused of taking from the English. Powhatan did not return all of the items, so Pocahontas was not released.

Egloff drew conclusions from the writing about what happened during Pocahontas’ time in captivity, when she was educated in Christianity and baptized, likely by the Rev. Alexander Whitaker of Henricus. John Rolfe petitioned Dale for the right to marry her, which was granted.

“It was a big step; it was the first recorded marriage between an English person and an Indian person,” Egloff said.

Summers interpreted the wedding story and events leading up to the ceremony differently.

Deputy Gov. Dale wrote a letter to England from Jamestown on June 18, 1614, in which he explained Pocahontas’ uncle gave her to Rolfe in the church, but does not specify which church.

Dale’s presence in James Fort a few months after the wedding leads Summers to believe the wedding took place there.

“Without that letter it would be very tough to make the call we’re making,” Summers said.

Summers also argues it would make sense the wedding occurred at the then-capital, Jamestown, because the wedding was political.

Summers recognized historians have different opinions about what happened – and where – during Pocahontas’ captivity. Powhatan’s tribe was moving villages away from the English, so Summers said Pocahontas could have bounced between Henricus and James Fort.

“It’s very difficult to actually pinpoint where Pocahontas is on every single given day while she is a captive,” Summers said.

To Summers, Jamestown is a logical place because it was more secure against a Powhatan raid. Egloff believes Henricus to be the more defensible site.

Though Summers stands by his Jamestown theory, he believes the Henricus reverend Whitaker had been a key figure in Pocahontas’ conversion to Christianity. Rolfe’s friendship with Whitaker likely led to him meeting Pocahontas.

Rolfe wrote letters telling stories about getting to know Pocahontas, likely while she was being converted to Christianity. He wrote about being in love with her, but said he could not marry her because she was a heathen.

“Likewise, adding hereunto her great apparance of love to me, her desire to be taught and instructed in the knowledge of God, her capablenesse of understanding, her aptnesse and willingnesse to receive anie good impression, and also the spirituall, besides her owne incitements stirring me up hereunto,” Rolfe wrote in a letter to Dale in 1614.

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/04/historians-debate-site-of-pocahontas-john-rolfe-wedding-400-years-after-ceremony/

Once Pocahontas was baptized, Rolfe was comfortable with the idea of a wedding. Whether Pocahontas loved Rolfe, or wanted to marry him, is unclear.

“We don’t really hear her own words about this. We do have a quote attributed to her, where she is upset with her father for valuing her little more than broken tools and guns … the English are quoting her, so that’s the tricky thing here,” said Summers, who is cautious when interpreting quotations attributed to Pocahontas because the English could distort her comments to suit their purposes.

Pocahontas’ anger toward her father for not returning the stolen English tools to earn her release could have led her to marry Rolfe out of spite, Summers said.

The ceremony’s officiant is also the subject of some dispute. If Whitaker performed Pocahontas’ conversion, he was likely present at the wedding. If it occurred in Henricus, he would have officiated the ceremony. If the wedding happened at Jamestown, the Rev. Richard Buck could have performed the ceremony, as it took place in his own church.

“History is actually a very muddy business. It’s tricky, especially the further back you go,” Summers said.

Despite the debate, Historic Jamestowne is re-enacting the 1614 wedding Saturday on what would have been the altar site under the Jamestown theory.

“It’s kind of cool. We can almost do a time machine situation on it,” Kelso said.

All the 1614 characters will have a time to shine; Buck and Whitaker will be represented, and Buck will likely perform the wedding.

“As with all re-enactments, it’s an interpretation,” Summers said. “In the end what we’re really trying to show you is the value of John Rolfe and Pocahontas’ wedding.”

The wedding will be re-enacted at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at Historic Jamestowne. A regular paid admission ticket is required for the re-enactment. For more information, visit Historic Jamestowne’s website.

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/04/historians-debate-site-of-pocahontas-john-rolfe-wedding-400-years-after-ceremony/

Colonial Williamsburg Celebrates Religion Month with Daily Programs, Two Lectures

4/6/14

Colonial Williamsburg is celebrating Religion Month with a series of programs exploring the relationship between faith and government in April.

In the 150 years leading up to the American Revolution, the Church of England – the Anglican Church – was lawfully the official church of the colony. Presbyterians, Baptists and other dissenters were limited, and non-Anglican Protestants, Catholics, Jews and Muslims were barred.

With the American Revolution, the state’s connection with any church was abolished.

Colonial Williamsburg’s exploration of “Revolutions in Faith” includes several programs throughout the month with 18th-century men and women giving their accounts, as well as scholars talking about historical context.

The month’s events and lectures include:

• Advice and Dissent, 1:30 p.m. Sundays in the back yard on the Printer and Bindery: Baptist preacher James Ireland talks about his conversion, as well as trials and temptations prior to the revolution.

• God Hath Made Us Free, noon April 7 and 14 in the Wren Chapel: College of William & Mary President and Anglican Rev. John Camm, will deliver a sermon about liberty.

• Pray Without Ceasing, noon April 21 and 28 in the Wren Chapel: Anglican minister Devereux Jarratt will deliver a sermon and talk about the sermon’s message.

• Faith of a Nation Builder, 11:30 a.m. Tuesdays on the stage at the Governor’s Palace: Patrick Henry will discuss his religious views, supporting a relationship between church and state.

• The Case Against Toleration, noon Tuesdays in the Wren Chapel: In 1776, James Madison explains his reasons to include religious freedom in the Virginia Declaration of Rights.

• Faith, Enlightenment and the Revolution, noon Wednesdays in the Wren Chapel: Anglican minister and William & Mary Prof. Robert Andrews talks about religion in education.

• Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry Debate the Relationship Between Church and State, 11:30 a.m. April 10, 17 and 24 on the stage at the Governor’s Palace

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/06/colonial-williamsburg-celebrates-religion-month-with-daily-programs-two-lectures/

• Duty and Faith, 1:30 p.m. Thursdays in the Secretary’s Office near the Capitol: Robert Carter III explains his journey to evangelical Christianity and baptism in the Baptist Church. Carter was a slave-owner, but his faith caused him to free his slaves.

• God is My Rock, 1:45 p..m Fridays in the Hennage Auditorium of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg: Gowan Pamphlet, a slave and popular preacher, talks about slavery, freedom and religion.

• Faith of a Nation Builder: Thomas Jefferson, 11:30 a.m. Saturdays on the stage at the Governor’s Palace: Jefferson, who wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, will talk about his beliefs.

• “Religious Liberty in the Virginias of Jefferson and Gabriel: Its Importance and Limitations,” 4 p.m. April 18 in the Hennage Auditorium of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg: Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Rice University James Sidbury will discuss the movement toward religious freedom in Revolutionary Virginia, including the roles of Evangelical Baptists, Methodists and black Virginians. Sidbury will sign copies of his books – “Ploughshares into Swords: Race, Rebellion, and Identity in Gabriel’s Virginia, 1730-1810” and “Becoming African in America: Race and Nation in the English Black Atlantic, 1760-1830” – following the lecture.

• “America’s Second Revolution: How Our Founders Won the Battle for True Religious Freedom,” 4 p.m. April 30 in the Hennage Auditorium of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg: Wilson H. Elkins Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law Michael Meyerson will talk about the debate over religious freedom and how the Constitution writers envisioned religious freedom. Meyerson, author of “Endowed by Our Creator: The Birth of Religious Freedom in America,” will sign copies of his book following the lecture.

http://wydaily.com/2014/04/06/colonial-williamsburg-celebrates-religion-month-with-daily-programs-two-lectures/

The Marriage of Pocahontas

4/6/14

Commemorate the 400th anniversary of the marriage of Pocahontas to Englishman John Rolfe on April 5, 2014. Visitors will have a unique opportunity to experience Pocahontas's marriage to Rolfe at the original church site where the 1614 wedding took place. In 2010, archaeologists uncovered the location of the 1608 church, the site of the marriage, inside James Fort. Visitors can also participate in a series of eyewitness living history programs, lectures, and tours throughout the month of April and the spring season. These programs explore the politics, culture, beliefs, and material world of the region's indigenous peoples and English newcomers. In addition, archaeological finds illustrating the life ways of Chesapeake's Indian peoples will be highlighted in a new exhibit, The World of Pocahontas', at the Voorhees Archaearium, Historic Jamestowne's archaeology museum. This exhibit will reveal new details about the material world of Virginia's native peoples and their adaptation and social interaction with the English colonists. Preservation Virginia and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in collaboration with the Pamunkey Indian Museum and Cultural Center and the Patawomeck Heritage Foundation will host the commemoration. Admission Fee: Free with paid admission to Historic Jamestowne; Youth 15 & under are free

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