Bonnie Roane

Fall 2009 History 216-02 From the Founding of Jamestown through the American Revolution

• Love is a Battlefield

  For our second week in Yorktown, we went to the Victory Center. This is a pretty neat museum with several interactive displays containing information about Yorktown during the
  American Revolution. Especially interesting to me was the display about the excavation of the British supply ship Betsy. This indoor display and partial reconstruction showed how the underwater archaeologists excavated the ship and many of the ship's contents were on display. This was one of the many ships that Cornwallis sank just off shore during the siege at Yorktown.
  Unfortunately the weather cut our trip a little short, the driving rain stopping us from seeing most of the Victory Center's outdoor displays.

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  • Wed, 11 Nov 2009
  • How Revolutionary was the American Revolution?

• Yorktown

  Our first trip to Yorktown included visits to the Visitor's Center and the battlefield. We were studying this area mostly in relation to the Battle of Yorktown fought during the American Revolution. From Ch. 1-5 of John O. Sands' book "Yorktown's Captive Fleet," we read beforehand about the campaign that turned out to be such a loss for the British. Most kids who were born and raised in this area have proudly been told by their parents or teachers about the time when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown and Yorktown is right down the street, you know. But reading about this battle and seeing the actual site made the concept so much more real for me. It was no longer a childhood story, but a real historical event.

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  • Wed, 04 Nov 2009
  • The World Turned Upside Down

• Patrick Henry

  This week we traveled to Scotchtown, the Hanover County Courthouse, and St. John's Church in Richmond, VA, to study a little more closely the life and times of Patrick Henry (1736-1799). First stop, Patrick Henry's home, Scotchtown. Patrick Henry lived at Scotchtown with his first wife Sarah from 1771-1778. She died there and is buried on the property and he went on to become the first governor of a free VA after the American Revolution, moving to the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg. While at Scotchtown, we got to see several pieces of 18th and 19th c. dress as well as a few pieces that can possibly be traced to the Henrys.

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  • Wed, 21 Oct 2009
  • Patrick Henry’s Virginia: Deference or Democracy?

• Shirley, Westover, and Powhatan Plantations: Getting Privy to the Details

  This week we traveled in the 18th century and became "privy" to the details of plantation life even down to the privies outside. We started our day off at Shirley Plantation. This beautiful house with its impressive flying staircase was built in 1738 by Elizabeth Hill and her husband, Robert "King" Carter's son, John. This house is still in the possession of the Carter family with provisions for it to remain so in the future. The house has great traditions such as all of the Carter brides "proving the stones" in their rings by carving their initials into a glass window to ensure it is a true diamond.

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  • Wed, 14 Oct 2009
  • Pride & Prejudice: The Rise of the Georgian Elite

• Rosewell, Christ Church, and Corotoman

  The 18th century saw many changes in Virginia. A long way past the 104 colonists who first landed in Jamestown, Virginia was a growing and thriving colony. By the 18th century, social divisions were becoming very distinctive. As many of the slaves and indentured servants became poorer, the gentry landowners became increasingly wealthy. On our trip Wednesday, we visited the ruins of the homes of some of these wealthy gentry men.
  Our first destination was Rosewell, the house of Mann Page I, the son-in-law of Robert "King" Carter. Rosewell was built between 1726 and 1737 by Mann Page I and, upon his death, his son Mann Page II. The house was made out of brick with many details to showcase their wealth and status.

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  • Wed, 07 Oct 2009
  • River Gods & Culture Wars: The Ruins of Rosewell & Christ Church

• From Church to Rebellion

  Historic St. Luke's Church and Bacon's Castle were our two main stops when we ventured on the ferry to Smithfield. First stop, St. Luke's, where we were taken over the grounds and given an inside view of this 17th c. church. St. Luke's, according to the literature, was founded in 1632, but the building's gothic architectural style points to its most likely being built later in the 17th c. Either way, this beautiful church is still the oldest surviving English church as well as the oldest representation of gothic architecture in America.
  Leaving St. Luke's, we proceeded to our lunch destination, the Smithfield Ice Cream Parlor, followed by a discussion in the Smithfield Courthouse of 1750.

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  • Wed, 23 Sep 2009
  • After the Fall: Virginia from the Dissolution of the Company through the Era of Bacon's Rebellion

• Historic St. Mary's City

  What I got when I went to Historic St. Mary's City, MD was not exactly what I expected. I honestly had no idea that such a place even existed. Maryland was not settled that long after Jamestown – 1634 as opposed to 1607 – but few people around here have even heard of St. Mary's City despite its similarities to Jamestown. My sister just moved up to that area of Maryland recently and seeing where she lives, I never would have known that a historical site lay just around the corner. Since Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement, many of the later settlements, though important, just don't catch the public eye in the same way. It seems this is the way with most historic sites nowadays.

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  • Wed, 09 Sep 2009
  • Founded Wholly on Smoke: The Tobacco Culture of the Early Chesapeake

• Worlds Colliding: Jamestown Settlement vs. Historic Jamestowne

  A few summers ago, my mother and I took a day trip to Jamestown Settlement, eager to see the history of our country's birth come to life. Neither of us had been to Jamestown since the nice new museum had been built and I was excited to see what I had been missing since my obligatory fourth grade field trip to the site. Well, I guess you can count my mother and me into the masses of people who visit the site not really knowing what to expect. I'm not entirely sure if either of us knew the difference between what is known as Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestowne at that point.

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  • Wed, 02 Sep 2009
  • Worlds Colliding

• Jamestown

  You're standing in Jamestown, fairly close to the river, and someone shoots you in the leg. Long story short: you die. This may sound a little callous, but it's not too far off what a lot of people think happened to a man found buried in Jamestown, now known as "JR." It would appear that JR, probably a young gentleman fairly new in this side of the world, was shot by another Englishman. While we may never know if his death was an accident or the purposeful effect of social unrest, it seems that not a lot was done to save this man.

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  • Wed, 26 Aug 2009
  • Outpost of Empire—What really happened at Jamestown