JAMES CITY-Jamestown Settlement is working harder than ever to keep history alive for new generations through extensive research, conservation, and preservation and by providing immersive programming and authentic resources for learners, educators, and researchers.
As The History Channel/A&E Networks chief historian and senior vice president for corporate social responsibility, Dr. Kimberly Gilmore has been conveying some of the most compelling documentaries, mini-series, and dramatic films on the small screen for more than 20 years. The public is invited to a discussion at 7pm on Wednesday, March 15, on how to join the creative and historical realms to hook viewers onto history.
Reserve your seat to enjoy these thought-provoking conversations for $10 per program either in-person or virtually. Because admission is limited, both in-person and virtual tickets must be purchased in advance. For questions, call (757) 253-4572. Click here to purchase tickets.
Get ready for centuries of military history all in one weekend during Jamestown Settlement’s time-honored Military Through the Ages event on Saturday and Sunday, March 18-19.
Military Through the Ages features hundreds of re-enactors portraying armed forces from 500 BCE to modern-day soldiers with the Virginia Army National Guard. As one of the most unique chronological displays of military history, Military Through the Ages invites visitors to explore military encampments and interact with re-enactors to learn how uniforms, weapons, and tactics progressed through the centuries.
Nearly 600 re-enactors will portray soldiers and military encounters across the globe from Greek and Roman times, the medieval period, Hundred Years’ War, War of the Roses, American Revolution, War of 1812, Napoleonic Wars, and American Civil War. Re-enactors depicting World Wars I and II, the Vietnam War, and Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada will take visitors through the 20th century. The National Museum of the Marine Corps and the Virginia Army National Guard 111th Field Artillery will represent the present day.
Music will be performed throughout the weekend, featuring the sounds of the Ladies for Liberty reminiscent of the World War II era. Ladies for Liberty is scheduled to perform at 11am and 2:30pm Saturday, March 18, and 11am and 1:30pm Sunday, March 19. The Federal City Brass Band, re-creating a Union Army regimental brass band from the 1860s with period instruments, and Field Musick Virginia, offering a mix of American Revolution military music and instrumental history, will present roaming performances during the two-day event.
Comparative artillery-firing demonstrations will be presented at noon Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19, with weapons ranging from a 17th-century swivel gun to a modern-day howitzer. A military pass-in-review will take place at 3pm Sunday, March 19, and will feature recognition of the Best Unit Impression.
Click here to purchase tickets for the two-day event.
In partnership with the Virginia Tourism Corporation and the LOVEworks program, Jamestown Settlement will feature the life-size LOVE artwork in the museum’s Quadricentennial Plaza, offering re-enactors and guests an opportunity to take photographs and share their love of history on social media using #LOVEVA and #JYFMUSEUMS and #MTA.
Arms, armor, and military equipment of 17th-century Virginia can be viewed year-round inside Jamestown Settlement’s extensive galleries and in the “Reign & Rebellion” special exhibition. The permanent galleries feature interactive exhibits and films that tell the story of America’s first permanent English colony and of the convergence of the Powhatan Indian, English, and West Central African cultures in 1600s Virginia.
Visitors also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in life of early Virginia in outdoor re-creations of a 1610-14 English fort, Paspahegh Town and three re-created ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607.
Military Through the Ages is made possible in part by grants from James City County and the Virginia Tourism Corporation, with additional support from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Inc. Annual Fund.
Jamestown Settlement is located at 2110 Jamestown Rd.