YORKTOWN, Va., June 11, 2009 – The Yorktown Victory Center will join in saluting the 233rd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a “Liberty Celebration,” Saturday and Sunday, July 4-5, at the Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both days, visitors can observe tactical and artillery drills, take part in a variety of military exercises, and learn about the sacrifices of our nation’s founders, including those who signed the Declaration of Independence. The event also features Revolutionary War military re-enactors and a first-person interpretation of legendary Continental Army hero Peter Francisco.
From the beginning of colonial unrest to the formation of the new nation, the American Revolution is chronicled at the Yorktown Victory Center in gallery exhibits and outdoor re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and 1780s Virginia farm.
During Liberty Celebration, visitors also 
can take part in a variety of military drills at the encampment. At 11:05 a.m., visitors can join in an 18th-century artillery crew to learn the steps toward firing a brass battalion gun, and then observe its actual firing. A daily program at 1:05 p.m. will examine the role of the mortar, a type of artillery that can fire explosive charges over obstacles, at the Siege of Yorktown. At 3:05 p.m. each day, visitors can watch costumed historical interpreters take up arms for a tactical drill and then participate in a wooden musket drill.
At the 1780s farm, visitors to the kitchen at 11:35 p.m. each day will learn about the contributions of European, American Indian and African cultures to American cooking, and about the origins of apple pie and other “American” dishes.
In special classroom presentation, held each day at 12:05 p.m. and 2:05 p.m., Travis Bowman, a sixth-generation descendant of Peter Francisco, will present the dramatic story of a five-year-old boy abandoned near Hopewell, Virginia, who was raised as an indentured servant and went on to join the Continental Army at age 16. Legend has it that Francisco carried away a half-ton cannon at the Battle of Camden in 1780 and inflicted 11 British casualties at Guilford Courthouse in 1781.
During “The Price of Liberty,” a daily program held at 4:05 p.m. at the farm, visitors will learn about the sacrifices of Americans who declared 
independence from Great Britain – from the individuals who signed the Declaration of Independence to farmers, merchants, women and slaves.
Daily programming concludes at 5:35 p.m. in the 1780s farm, where visitors can try 18th-century games, such as quoits, mancala, and hoop and stick.
Yorktown Victory Center visitors can start their experience along an outdoor timeline to gain insight to the events that led to the conflict between the American colonies and Britain.
A Declaration of Independence Gallery explores the document that articulated radical ideas inspiring decisive action. Among objects on exhibit is a 1792 copy of Thomas Paine’s 1776 “Common Sense,” a pamphlet that turned the tide of public opinion in favor of independence.
In the Witnesses to Revolution Gallery, visitors can hear firsthand accounts of the war’s impact upon everyday people of the 18th century, including Africans, American Indians and women – for whom the concepts of liberty and equality did not apply. Visitors also can learn about the movements of British, American and French troops that converged on Yorktown in 1781 and take in “A Time of Revolution,” a film shown every 30 minutes in the museum theater.
Admission to the Yorktown Victory Center is $9.25 for adults and $5.00 for youth ages 6 through 12. A combination ticket and annual pass are available with Jamestown Settlement, a museum of 17th-century Virginia. Event activities are sponsored in part by the York County Arts Commission.
The Yorktown Victory Center is located on Route 1020 near the Colonial Parkway in Yorktown. For more information, call (888) 593-4682 toll free or (757) 253-4838, or visit www.historyisfun.org.
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Learn about Yorktown's Fourth of July festivities and evening fireworks at www.yorkcounty.gov/fourth.
