Trend & Tradition Spring 2026

GARDEN MAKEOVER

WASHINGTON’S INNER QUEST

CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION

TIES SEVERING

A Century in the Making: An Exhibition Celebrating Colonial Williamsburg’s First 100 Years

This exhibition, made possible through the generosity of Don and Elaine Bogus, will be on view in the Henry H. Weldon Gallery.

In 2026, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation celebrates its one hundredth anniversary. C Colonial Williamsburg: The First 100 Years explores how the nonprofit educational institution that operates the world’s largest U.S. history museum has evolved over the past century, shaped by the people, innovations and experiences that welcomed generations of visitors.

From the opening of the Information Center in 1957 as a gateway to the Historic Area, to the introduction of the free bus service that carried more than one million riders in its first year, transportation played a key role in how guests began their journey into the past. Through stories like these, visitors will discover how access, progress and preservation worked together to shape Colonial Williamsburg as we know it today.

It is as true today as it was in 1926 –“That the Future May Learn from the Past.”

4 BUILDING ON A FOUNDATION

6 ON THE WEB

About Town

8 COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG: THE FIRST 100 YEARS EXHIBITION

See highlights from the new exhibit celebrating Colonial Williamsburg’s centennial

15 2026 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Key dates to keep track of

17 AT THE MUSEUMS

19 MODERN HISTORY

26 A REVOLUTIONARY PRESENTATION

A new program examines the Fifth Virginia Convention in an unconventional way

30 PHILANTHROPY AT WORK

The Palace gardens get a long-overdue restoration By Ben Swenson

36 CHRONICLES OF THE COLLECTION

A portrait of Daniel Parke II: hero to some, scoundrel to others

ON THE COVER: Reimagine the Fifth Virginia Convention in a 21st-century way on Page 26. PHOTOGRAPH BY BRENDAN SOSTAK

Live & Learn

COLONIAL

WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION TRUSTEES

Carly Fiorina, Chair, Mason Neck, Va.

Cliff Fleet, President and CEO, Williamsburg, Va.

Kendrick F. Ashton Jr., Arlington, Va.

Frank Batten Jr., Norfolk, Va.

Geoff Bennett, Fairfax, Va.

Catharine Broderick, Lake Wales, Fla.

William Casperson, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Mark A. Coblitz, Wayne, Pa.

Ted Decker, Atlanta, Ga.

Walter B. Edgar, Columbia, S.C.

Neil M. Gorsuch, Washington, D.C.

Conrad Mercer Hall, Norfolk, Va.

Antonia Hernandez, Pasadena, Calif.

John A. Luke Jr., Richmond, Va.

Walfrido J. Martinez, New York, N.Y.

Leslie A. Miller, Philadelphia, Pa.

Steven L. Miller, Houston, Texas

Joseph W. Montgomery, Williamsburg, Va.

Steve Netzley, Carlsbad, Calif.

Walter S. Robertson III, Richmond, Va.

Gerald L. Shaheen, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Larry W. Sonsini, Palo Alto, Calif.

Sheldon M. Stone, Los Angeles, Calif.

Y. Ping Sun, Houston, Texas

Hon. John Charles Thomas, Richmond, Va.

Jeffrey B. Trammell, Washington, D.C.

Alex Wallace, New York, N.Y.

CHAIRS EMERITI

Thurston R. Moore, Richmond, Va.

Richard G. Tilghman, Richmond, Va.

Henry C. Wolf, Williamsburg, Va.

TREND & TRADITION

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Catherine Whittenburg

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Katie Roy

DESIGNERS

Katherine Jordan Lauren Metzger

PHOTOGRAPHER

EDITORIAL MANAGER Pete Van Vleet

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Paul Aron, Ronald L. Hurst, Eve Otmar, Rachel West

COPY EDITORS

Christopher Calnan, Patricia Carroll, Amy Watson

MEDIA COLLECTIONS

Tracey Gulden, Jenna Simpson, Brendan Sostak

RESEARCH

Erin Lopater, Marianne Martin, Douglas Mayo

PUBLICATIONS

COORDINATOR

Grenda Greene

DONORS Please address all donor correspondence, address changes and requests for our current financial statement to: Signe Foerster, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 or email sfoerster@cwf.org, telephone 888-293-1776.

Donations support the programs and preservation efforts of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, a not-for-profit, tax-exempt corporation organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, with principal offices in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Address changes & subscription questions: gifts@cwf.org or 888-293-1776

Editorial inquiries: editor@cwf.org

Advertising: magazineadsales@cwf.org

Trend & Tradition: The Magazine of Colonial Williamsburg (ISSN 2470-198X) is published quarterly in winter, spring, summer and autumn by the not-for-profit Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 301 First Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185. A one-year subscription is available to Foundation donors of $50 a year or more, of which $14 is reserved for a subscription. Periodical postage paid at Williamsburg, VA, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Trend & Tradition: The Magazine of Colonial Williamsburg, Attn: Signe Foerster, P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776. © 2026 The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. All rights reserved.

NOTE Advertising in Trend & Tradition does not imply endorsement of products or services by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.

Building on a Foundation

Setting Independence in Motion

The Declaration of Rights laid the foundations of American liberty

One of Virginia’s most important voices during the Revolutionary era has more recently been called a “forgotten founder.” Known for his taciturn nature and impatience with politics as well as the bureaucratic tedium of governing George Mason counseled his own sons to avoid “the troubles and Vexations of Public Business” if they could. Mason never sought high office and seldom left Virginia, where he clung to the refuge of his rural estate on the Potomac River. That measure of historical obscurity, however, cannot mask his enduring vision for self-government or the skill with which he interwove Enlightenment ideals and English tradition into a uniquely American road map for governing.

Mason was the chief architect of the Virginia Constitution, which the Fifth Virginia Revolutionary Convention adopted in Williamsburg on June 29, 1776, establishing an independent new government that other colonies would emulate. But it was the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which the convention adopted weeks earlier, that most clearly bore Mason’s imprint and in which he took deepest pride as an author. As the 250th anniversary of this extraordinary meeting draws near, I have been contemplating its far-reaching impact as well as the legacy of the Virginia Declaration of Rights in particular. While most people know even less about the Fifth Virginia Convention than they know about Mason, its historic actions set in motion the great American experiment that changed the course of world history.

Williamsburg’s role in the formation of our nation can hardly be overstated. From its halls of government to the back rooms of its taverns, the colonial capital city served as an essential marketplace of ideas, where the colony’s most renowned statesmen like Mason, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, James Madison, George Wythe and Peyton Randolph contemplated and vigorously debated the colony’s future and best courses of action in the face

of an increasingly oppressive royal regime. The House of Burgesses passed Henry’s bold resolves against the Stamp Act here at the Capitol in 1765, fanning flames of outrage across Virginia and beyond. At the Raleigh Tavern in 1773, Jefferson, Henry and others led the creation of the first intercolonial Committees of Correspondence to improve communication and coordinate responses to British threats. Virginia lawmakers called for the convening of a “general congress” the following May, and in August 1774 the colony’s first Revolutionary convention met in Williamsburg’s Capitol, where its members selected Virginia’s first representatives to what became known as the First Continental Congress.

But it was the fifth and final Virginia Convention, convened here in May 1776, that catalyzed America’s independence movement. It was during this gathering, on May 15, when the convention’s representatives instructed the colony’s delegates at the Second Continental Congress to call for independence for all 13 colonies. You can read more about this historic chain of events on p. 50 of this issue. Virginia’s Richard Henry Lee followed the convention’s instructions and introduced the bold resolution on June 7, directly precipitating the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. As Jefferson set to writing that document in Philadelphia, the Fifth Virginia Convention was continuing its historic work in Williamsburg.

The remarkable mirroring of events in these two capital cities reflects the inextricable connection between Virginia’s founding and that of the nation. Illness had kept Mason from Williamsburg until May 17 and thus from casting his vote for the resolution to declare America’s independence. On arriving, however, he was soon leading the effort to create Virginia’s declaration of rights. The resulting document was far more pragmatic in nature and purpose than the rousing political manifesto that would emerge from Philadelphia soon thereafter.

Nonetheless, the documents share considerably similar and even overlapping language likely reflecting the fact that Jefferson possessed a copy of Mason’s draft when he wrote America’s declaration.

The Enlightenment philosophies echoing throughout both documents firmly grounded the new nation and its government in core concepts of human rights and popular sovereignty. Mason evoked John Locke’s philosophy of natural rights in the first section of Virginia’s declaration, asserting “that all men are by nature equally free and independent” and thus possess inherent rights to “life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” The American declaration would similarly state “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The declarations also made another Lockean departure from centuries of tradition by asserting the notion that the power to govern flows upward from a consenting people, not downward from an imposing ruler. In Mason’s words, “All power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the people” or, as Jefferson soon worded it, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” who have the right to alter or abolish their government when it threatens rather than upholds their inherent rights. Despite the limitations on suffrage at the time – in Virginia and most of the other colonies only white men with property could vote – the concept of popular sovereignty was a radical one that permanently shifted Americans’ relationship with their government.

Building on a Foundation

ration of Rights thus contained thoughts and even words that later framed not only the Declaration of Independence but also the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Fleet

For all of their eloquence, both declarations tragically failed to reconcile the noble ideals they espoused with the reality of slavery. As wealthy Virginia planters, Mason and Jefferson were both enslavers even as they criticized the institution on moral grounds. Mason lodged no objection when the president of the Fifth Virginia Convention proposed limiting man’s “inherent rights” to those who “enter into a state of society” an insertion that, in the eyes of those present, excluded the enslaved. Difficult as this is for us to read today, at the time it was judged to be an acceptable compromise, enabling the convention’s members to support Mason’s framework while preserving the institution of slavery. In Philadelphia, meanwhile, Jefferson’s colleagues in congress struck his denunciation of slavery from America’s declaration. At no point did either document attempt to address the rights of the Indigenous, or of women. Such was the paradox of the “American mind” that Mason and Jefferson both captured as they articulated the path forward toward liberty for Virginia and the nation. Understanding this complex history, with all of its complications and contradictions, remains key to understanding our social, cultural and political selves and for 100 years The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has been doing this work. As we mark this semiquincentennial year, we invite all Americans to our Historic Area, where our nation’s journey began, and to recommit themselves to the unending and inspiring work to form a more perfect union.

Only Mason, however, included a core principle that would come to define America’s system of self-government: the separation of powers. The concept owed largely to Baron de Montesquieu, France’s champion of dividing government into distinct legislative, executive and judicial branches. Mason also included the rights to limit the power of government and preserve freedom by detailing the rights to free elections, taxation only with representation and the free exercise of religion. The Virginia Decla-

Sincerely,

Cliff Fleet President & CEO

Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Distinguished Presidential Chair

Cliff

On the Web

Scavenger Hunt

Junior historians can win a prize as they explore everyday life in the 18th century colonialwilliamsburg.org/ scavenger

Revolutionary Documents

Read the acts, taxes and responses that strained ties between the colonies and Britain and incited the Revolution colonialwilliamsburg.org/revolutionarydocuments

250 Years Ago

Take a step-by-step look at all of the key events of 1776, from the burning of Norfolk to the battle of Trenton and everything in between colonialwilliamsburg.org/1776timeline

About Town About Town

EXPLORE COLONIAL SITES AND HISTORY . PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES . PURSUE AND PLAN p. 08 Centennial Exhibition Opens

New exhibition explores Colonial Williamsburg’s history

This year is not only the 250th anniversary of America, but it is also the 100th anniversary of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Colonial Williamsburg: The First 100 Years is open in the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg’s 2,500-square-foot Henry H. Weldon Gallery. The exhibition showcases more than 200 objects including decorative art, folk art and archival materials. It examines the origins, evolution and impact of Colonial Williamsburg a story that reflects a century of change in America itself. From its groundbreaking preservation efforts to its evolving interpretations of America’s rich shared history and founding ideals, the Foundation has often mirrored and sometimes led national conversations.

Motor Oil Sign

America, early 20th century | Metal, enamel

As more automobiles hit the roads, Williamsburg’s landscape began to change. Some of the city's historic buildings were converted into gas stations and garages. Medians lined with telephone poles and fire hydrants sprang up in the center of the newly paved Duke of Gloucester Street. By 1924, there were plans to run a highway from Richmond to Norfolk down this main street. Many embraced these new conveniences while others saw them as threats to the city’s historic fabric. This sign was found buried in the woods near the site of a former gas station off Lafayette Street, close to the train station.

Railing Prototype

Hampton, Virginia, 1920s | Iron

Blacksmith Ferrante “Fred” Ferrari created much of the ironwork for the Palace, including the weather vane and balcony railing. This pattern for the balcony, which appears throughout the Historic Area, is based on a railing in England. Ferrari, who was born in Italy and settled in Newport News, produced metalwork for the 1926 restoration of the George Wythe House.

Paint Sample Board

Williamsburg, Virginia, ca. 1950 | Wood, ferrous metal, copper alloy, paint, paper, textile, plastic

As early as the 1930s, Foundation painters tracked paint colors throughout the Historic Area. They painted wooden panels with historic colors on one side and, on the reverse, wrote specific pigment mixing instructions. This paint sample board was the first of 10 mounted in the paint laboratory in the early 1950s. The lab also contained keys to paint boxes, stepladders and ladder racks. Along with the other nine boards, over 1,000 samples document paint use throughout the Historic Area.

Wine Cooler Fragment

Chowning’s Tavern Sign

About Town

Williamsburg, Virginia, ca. 1985 | Tulip poplar, yellow pine, metal, metal leaf, paint

A Chowning's Tavern eye-catching sign looked as if liquid was pouring into this tankard. Eighteenth-century signs often used imagery rather than words in a society where literacy was limited.

After the success of the Travis House restaurant, Colonial Williamsburg opened more eateries on the sites of 18th-century taverns. Visitors enjoyed dishes based on 18th-century recipes tailored to modern appetites in spaces decorated with reproduction furnishings and tableware. In 1941, Chowning’s Tavern opened as a casual eatery with an alehouse atmosphere.

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, ca. 1770 | Creamware | Recovered from the Governor’s Palace site

Lord Botetourt’s estate inventory lists “60 Plates,” but what did they look like? Archaeological evidence offers a clue. Fragments in a pattern known as “Liverpool birds” were found at the Palace site, suggesting there had once been a large set on the site there. The pattern dates to around the time Botetourt occupied the Palace. Curators purchased intact 18th-century examples and furnished the building with reproductions.

About Town

George III Coat of Arms

England, ca. 1760 | Wood, paint, gilding

The Governor’s Palace reopened in 1981 after a three-year closure. For the first time, the Palace was interpreted to reflect the occupancy of a single royal governor, Norborne Berkeley, fourth Baron de Botetourt, rather than focusing on all of the building’s occupants and their various furnishings over the course of 60 years.

When the reinterpreted Palace opened, guests could take a variety of guided tours that explored the history of the entire site during Lord Botetourt’s residence. The new installation and tours brought the building to life using furnishings, architecture, landscape and interpretation to discuss the private and public role of the governor and the daily routines of household staff, both free and enslaved. This holistic approach, first taken at the Palace, is still practiced in the Historic Area today.

This coat of arms was part of the 1981 reinterpretation. It greeted visitors in the front hall and was surrounded by an impressive display of swords and guns mounted on the walls and ceiling. The display of arms was based on similar arrangements at Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and Chevening House in Kent, England.

Close Helmet Model

NASA’s Langley Research Center, Advanced Fabrication Processes Section, Hampton, Virginia, 2009 | Polycarbonate, pigment

The discovery of Wolstenholme Towne, a lost 17th-century settlement adjacent to Carter’s Grove, turned out to be one of the most important events in American archaeological history.

Among the most notable finds at the site were two intact face-covering helmets (known as “close helmets”) the first of their kind discovered in the New World. An old-fashioned holdover from medieval warfare, close helmets were worn with suits of armor, parts of which were also found at the site. In order to document the condition and help preserve the fragile original helmet, conservators worked with NASA to create this 3D-printed replica, which is exact to the millimeter.

Tin Chocolate Pot

Williamsburg, Virginia, 2024 | Tin-plated iron, wood

Opened in 2013, the tin shop is the only example of a practicing preindustrial tinsmith’s operation in a museum setting. Tinsmiths make a variety of objects, including coffee and chocolate pots, tinderboxes, camp kettles and even speaking trumpets.

2026 Calendar of Events

“Colonial Williamsburg: The First 100 Years” at The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg

Now Open

Centennial exhibition opens, celebrating a century of discovery, interpretation and preservation of Virginia’s colonial capital.

Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center Weekend

April 25–26

This weekend celebration marks the debut of a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to advancing archaeological research and deepening public engagement with Williamsburg’s rich history.

American Mosaic: Williamsburg Symphony on the Palace Green

May 9

Celebrate the American spirit with a concert that honors history, resilience and the power of music to tell our nation’s story. Peter Boyer’s American Mosaic , a newly commissioned work, weaves together images by renowned photographer Joe Sohm, music and the voices of America in a powerful meditation on the nation’s past and future.

Flame of Revolution: Commemorating the Fifth Virginia Convention

May 15–16

On May 15, 1776, all eyes were on Williamsburg and the Fifth Virginia Convention. The nation held its breath in anticipation as the issue of declaring independence was debated. Follow the journey and discover why Williamsburg stood as the crucible for a new nation.

250th Anniversary of the Virginia Declaration of Rights

June 12–13

Commemorate this landmark document that established a framework for protecting individual liberties and limiting government power. Hear from the author on what inspired the document and its enduring impact on the foundation of the country.

Independence Day Weekend

July 2–5

Celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s birth in the place where it all began: Williamsburg.

African Baptist Meeting House and Burial Ground Dedication

Oct. 9 –10

Join the Let Freedom Ring Foundation, the Historic First Baptist Church of Williamsburg and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to commemorate the reconstruction of the African Baptist Meeting House at the site of the original permanent location of the First Baptist Church, one of the earliest African American congregations in the United States.

For more information on 2026 programs and events, please visit colonialwilliamsburg .org/2026

Williamsburg 100th Anniversary Event

250th Anniversary Event

Our success is because of you. And that’s no

If you have generously named The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in your will, let us know. Some secrets are meant to be shared.

Col. Patrick Henry’s success as a champion for liberty was very well known. Your legacy — through a gift in your will or estate plan — helps to preserve the very place where Henry and others forged the ideals that would shape America.

To learn more about including a gift in your will to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, or to let us know we are already in your will, contact the Office of Gift Planning at 1-888-293-1776 or legacy@cwf.org.

Nation Builder Nat Lasley portrays Col. Patrick Henry

A Century Worth Celebrating

New exhibition puts the spotlight on the restoration

CURRENTLY OPEN

Colonial Williamsburg: The First 100 Years

Henry H. Weldon Gallery

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Colonial Williamsburg. In 1926, the Rev. Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Bruton Parish Church, received a telegram from “DAVIDS FATHER” approving the purchase of a house built on Duke of Gloucester Street in 1752–1753 for Philip Ludwell, today’s Ludwell-Paradise House. This first property purchase was the beginning of Goodwin’s dream to see Williamsburg restored to its 18th-century appearance to honor the historic events and people in Virginia’s colonial capital.

In 1928, Goodwin revealed that David’s father was philanthropist and financier John D. Rockefeller Jr. and that it was Rockefeller who was providing the support to make the restoration possible.

Since that first purchase, the Historic Area a National Historic Landmark District has grown to 301 acres that contain more than 600 restored or reconstructed buildings, of which 89 are original historic structures. The reconstructed Governor’s Palace and Capitol are now two of the most iconic buildings in town.

The exhibition Colonial Williamsburg: The First 100 Years explores the rich history of the Foundation. It is not just the buildings that draw people but also the gardens, hotels, souvenirs, reproductions, programs, special events and collections. Through objects and images, the exhibition highlights all of these and more.

On display as part of the exhibition on Colonial Williamsburg’s first 100 years are a zinc and iron alloy cash box circa 1930 (top left), a 1941 tabletop made from yellow poplar (top right) and the copper Bodleian Plate, which was instrumental in the restoration of Williamsburg (above).

See the Bodleian Plate, the keystone of the restoration. Also on view, among many other treasures, are archaeological fragments from an early dig at the Raleigh Tavern, a cash box that collected the 25-cent entrance fee to the Governor’s Palace, a Chowning’s Tavern tabletop in which patrons carved their names, a tombstone used as a movie prop in Williamsburg: The Story of a Patriot, a drum from the Fifes & Drums, the 1991 Felicity doll that introduced hundreds of young children to Colonial Williamsburg, Emmys for Electronic Field Trips that reached classrooms across the country, and an 18th-century window sash from the Bray School through which young enslaved children once looked.

On view in the Henry H. Weldon Gallery, the exhibition was made possible through the generosity of Don and Elaine Bogus.

About Town

Just Arrived

The 1763 Cyder Act in Britain evoked the same outcry that the Stamp Act did in the colonies two years later.

The tax of four shillings on every hogshead of cider produced in England was designed to help pay for the Seven Years’ War. However, newspapers in England and in her American colonies reported on the widespread disgruntlement over the tax. Cider was a dietary staple that employers frequently offered as part of a worker’s daily wages. William Pitt, a statesman at the time, rallied against the cider tax and garnered support on both sides of the Atlantic, and the tax was ultimately repealed in 1766.

This teapot, like Colonial Williamsburg’s famous “No Stamp

Act” teapot, offers clear material evidence of a divisive government policy.

Fashioned of lead-glazed earthenware, commonly called creamware, the teapot was produced about 1763 at one of the many pottery factories in Staffordshire or Yorkshire, England. It survives in excellent condition, retaining both its fragile gilt decoration and its original lid. The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg will exhibit the pot following minor conservation.

Its purchase was generously funded by the Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections.

Modern History Modern History

NEWS AND EVENTS of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

New Arrival Area Underway

Will ease traffic, parking problems

Construction has begun on the Lafayette Street Arrival Area, which will be a new entry point for visitors to the Historic Area. The first phase, planned for completion in June, will include a bus loop and bus drop-off area as well as parking for visitors.

“The area will enable us to coordinate arrivals for school and other groups and will provide a tailored entry for visitors,” said Matt Webster, the Foundation’s vice president for operations. The area will also facilitate

parking and traffic flow.

The arrival area will ultimately include a 3,400-square-foot building with restrooms and ticketing kiosks. Several vacant or underused buildings were demolished to make way for the new area.

The park-like setting will provide an attractive gateway for visitors entering the Historic Area from the north.

The Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center will continue to operate as an important arrival hub for guests.

About Town

Show Us Your Art!

Share a high-resolution image of your artwork inspired by Colonial Williamsburg and we may include it in a future issue.

You can send images to editor@cwf.org

Florida: Registration #CH10673. A COPY OF THE FOUNDATION’S OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Maryland: THE FOUNDATION’S CURRENT FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE ON REQUEST AT THE ADDRESS LISTED ABOVE. FOR THE COST OF COPIES AND POSTAGE. DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, STATE HOUSE, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401 New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING (973) 504-6215. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. Pennsylvania: THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION OF THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE BY CALLING TOLL FREE WITHIN PENNSYLVANIA 1-800-732-0999. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. Virginia: A FINANCIAL STATEMENT IS AVAILABLE FROM THE STATE DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES UPON REQUEST. Washington: ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE CHARITIES DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE, OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON, BY CALLING 1-800-332-4483. West Virginia: WEST VIRGINIA RESIDENTS MAY OBTAIN A SUMMARY OF THE REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, SOLICITATION LICENSING BRANCH, AT 1-800-830-4989, STATE CAPITOL, CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA 25305. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.

California: Not yet able to issue charitable gift annuities.

New York: Upon request, a copy of the latest annual report may be obtained from the address listed above for the foundation or from the Charities Bureau, Department of Law, Attorney General of New York, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

North Carolina: Financial information about the foundation and a copy of its license are available from the State

Solicitation Licensing Branch at (919) 807-2214. The license is not an endorsement by the state.

Oklahoma: A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. South Dakota: Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.

The Foundation does not issue charitable gift annuities in Alabama, Arkansas, Hawaii, and Washington. In California — we are not yet able to issue charitable gift annuities.

HEIDI ROSE

Reconstructing the Meetinghouse of the Historic First Baptist Church

Archaeology, other meetinghouses provided clues

Anew foundation is in place at the meetinghouse of the Historic First Baptist Church, which is being reconstructed on Nassau Street as part of the African Baptist Meeting House and Burial Ground site. Colonial Williamsburg’s architectural historians and curators have worked together to determine how the finished building will look.

The church’s history dates to the 18th century when congregants met secretly in a wooded area. In the early 19th century, they erected a church. It was destroyed in 1834 by a tornado, and a new church was built on the site two decades later. In the 1950s, Colonial Williamsburg purchased the property and tore down the church. Archaeologists discovered the foundations of the original building in 2022.

“We are leaning heavily on the

archaeology,” said Jennifer Wilkoski, Colonial Williamsburg’s director of architectural preservation and research. For example, the archaeology found no evidence of plaster, and

broken bricks and coping bricks rounded bricks often used to cap a brick wall indicate that some of the materials were recycled from older buildings.

Archaeology also revealed the church was built in two phases. The early 19th-century building was 16 feet by 20 feet. In the 1810s, a 12-foot addition was built, bringing the dimensions to 16 feet by 32 feet, which will be the dimensions of the reconstructed building.

No signs of a fireplace or a stove have been found, but the recon-

The early 19th-century church, seen in this rendering (left), will be reconstructed on its original site (above).

Archaeological evidence was key to determining how the church looked.

Rooting History

Colonial Williamsburg is upgrading its landscape production nursery with a new greenhouse to support its arboretum, which includes more than 30 historic gardens. The new greenhouse will provide more climate-controlled space to grow plants needed throughout the grounds.

Work is underway on the new structure, which will consist of two 3-foot-wide greenhouses connected by a 16-foot central corridor. Plans also call for adding structural support to two existing greenhouses.

“We need to expand our growing operations to meet the needs of new gardens and landscape projects,” said Joanne Chapman, the Founda-

structed building will have heating and air-conditioning so that it can be comfortably used as part of the Foundation’s programming and by the modern congregation and descendants of the original congregants.

The church was probably built by its original enslaved and free congregants, many of whom were likely skilled in carpentry and other trades.

The congregation was originally led by an itinerant preacher named Moses and then by Gowan Pamphlet, an enslaved tavern worker.

In the absence of the original building, Wilkoski and her colleagues are looking at comparable structures elsewhere. These include

African Baptist churches from the same period, such as one in Boston, and other meetinghouses in Virginia.

Architectural historians are looking at such details as what materials were used, the number of windows and doors, and whether the entrance was located on the end wall or a long wall. Curators responsible for furnishing the reconstructed building are looking at, for example, what kind of benches and platforms or pulpits meetinghouses had.

“From a little bit of evidence we can figure out a lot about how it looked,” said Matt Webster, the Foundation’s vice president for operations.

tion’s director of landscape services. “These will be state-of-the-art commercial greenhouses with automated environmental controls that can be monitored from staff computers and cellphones, even when off the property.”

Construction on a new greenhouse began last year.

Honoring Filmmakers

Ken Burns and David Schmidt, codirectors and producers of the award-winning series The American Revolution, have received additional honors from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC) and Colonial Williamsburg.

The VMHC awarded Burns its inaugural Commonwealth Prize, the highest honor the museum bestows. The prize goes to those who perform patriotic service or make extraordinary and lasting contributions to the history and culture of Virginia.

The medal was made by Colonial Williamsburg tradespeople and features a silhouette of the commonwealth along with dogwood blossoms and the prize’s motto in Latin, “Conservatio. Disciplina. Pietas.” (Preservation. Education. Service.) Its reverse features the facade of the VMHC along with the museum’s

motto, “Condere Et Tradere” (To build and pass on).

Master Engraver Lynn Zelesnikar explained that the medal was engraved by hand using 18th-century techniques and tools. “Getting the opportunity to collaborate with other museums is a great honor for

the craftsmen in Historic Trades,” said Zelesnikar. “This medal brings together the materials and trade skills that helped build this country.” Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet presented Schmidt with a fife encased in an elegant, lidded box. An alumnus of the Fifes & Drums of Colonial Williamsburg, Schmidt played the fife at a preview of the documentary in Williamsburg in March 2025. Cabinetmaker John Peeler made the box, finely dovetailed at its corners and finished with boiled linseed oil and wax.

Many Foundation tradespeople had a hand in creating the medal for Burns, including silversmiths Preston Jones, Bobbie Saye and Christina Strum. Cabinetmaker Bill Pavlak made the walnut box that holds the medal. Weavers Joe Wixted, Leanne Bellouny and Pamela Russo also contributed, as did milliner and mantuamaker Rebecca Starkins Godzik and printer David Wilson.

Colonial Williamsburg CEO Cliff Fleet, filmmaker Ken Burns, Governor Abigail Spanberger and Virginia Museum of History & Culture President & CEO Jamie Bosket attended the event where the VMHC awarded the inaugural Commonwealth Prize to Burns.

Fleet (left) presented filmmaker David Schmidt (center) with a fife in a box made by John Peeler (right).

A Champion Retires

Frido, a Belgian warmblood horse who has pulled carriages through the streets of Williamsburg for a decade, is retiring later this year at the age of 21. Frido’s career is worth special mention because before coming to Williamsburg he was a FEI World Equestrian champion.

Frido was part of the Belgian team that won two gold medals in combined driving at the 2014 international equestrian championships held that year in Normandy, France. Combined driving involves pulling carriages over distances much greater and obstacles more challenging than found in the Historic Area.

Belgian warmbloods are generally well-tempered, noted Darin Durham, manager of animal husbandry, and Frido has been popular with guests at animal meet and greets.

Added Jess Billingsley, a journeyman stable groom, “He’s a very gentle horse but with big opinions. He’ll do anything you ask of him, but he will let you know when he’s done being adored and is ready to go back to the barn.”

During his time in Williamsburg, Frido also served as a riding and training horse.

“He is a very cool and unique horse, and we are privileged to have been a part of his journey,” said Jamie Riordan, senior manager of Coach & Livestock.

Frido will spend his retirement as a therapy horse working with veterans.

Frido won international equestrian competitions in France in 2014. (Above) The gold medal winner enjoys some time off; (below) he gets to work in the Historic Area.

A Revolutionary Presentation

A historic performance will highlight a historic moment

BY PAUL ARON

Had there been no Fifth Virginia Convention, there might have been no Declaration of Independence.

The final session of the House of Burgesses occurred on May 6, 1776, and its journal ended with one word: Finis. That afternoon, still at the Capitol in Williamsburg, the former burgesses reconvened as the Fifth Virginia Convention and began to discuss what that final word had clearly implied: Independence. And on May 15, the Convention instructed Virginia’s delegates at the Continental Congress to introduce a motion to declare the colonies independent.

Given the Convention’s historic import,

it’s appropriate that The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will commemorate its 250th anniversary in a way that is itself historic. The performance scheduled for May 15 and 16, 2026, is unlike anything the Foundation has done before. Flame of Revolution will integrate both live theater and digital elements.

The live performances will cover more than the Convention itself. “To understand the significance of the Convention’s resolve, you have to understand the history that led up to it,” Katharine Pittman said. Pittman, along with Kurt Smith, wrote and will direct Flame. As members of the Foundation’s corps of Nation Builders, Pittman and Smith are experienced writers, actors and researchers. Pittman

Here Nicholas proclaims, “I shall rise or fall with my country,” and makes the vote for independence unanimous.

Gerry Underdown portrays Robert Carter Nicholas during a film shoot in the Capitol.

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A record of the final meeting of the House of Burgesses concluded with “FINIS,” signifying not only the end of the session but the end of royal authority in Virginia.

portrays Martha Washington and Smith portrays Thomas Jefferson.

The live scenes will cover, in addition to the Convention’s resolve: Williamsburg’s reactions to the 1765 Stamp Act; the 1774

dissolution of the House of Burgesses by Lord Dunmore, the royal governor; the 1775 gunpowder incident, when Dunmore ordered sailors to seize ammunition stored in Williamsburg’s Magazine; and Dunmore’s 1775 proclamation offering freedom to people enslaved by rebels and willing to fight for the British.

The digital elements of the production will connect the live scenes. Beginning before 1699 and moving through time, digital elements, including projections of primary sources such as paintings, maps and Virginia Gazette newspaper clippings, will weave the live scenes together. This will provide the audience with context for the Convention and a unique perspective on the action happening inside the walls of the Capitol building.

“This will be unlike anything Colonial Williamsburg has done before,” Smith said . “In a 30-plus minute show, integrating several surprises alongside live performances, we hope to take our audience on a journey that will allow them to realize why Virginia voted for independence and how that vote spurred the Declaration of Independence.”

The show will include not only entirely new live scenes but also some that draw on years of Colonial Williamsburg’s theatrical productions. Flame is thus a commemoration of both America’s

A Timeline of the Fifth Virginia Convention

May 6

Delegates to the convention convene in the chamber of the House of Burgesses.

May 15

Convention adopts a resolution instructing Virginia’s delegates in Congress to introduce a motion for independence.

June 12

Convention adopts Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, drafted by George Mason.

semiquincentennial and Colonial Williamsburg’s centennial. Both fall in 2026.

“We are showing how we fit into the national story,” Pittman said. “This is our July Fourth. It’s been a year since we started working on this, but in a sense, it’s been 250 years in the making.”

Putting together such an unusual show has involved more than 20 Foundation departments. “Large events like this show off not only individual departments but the exceptional capability of Colonial Williamsburg to do this, in-house,” Smith said. He and Pittman stressed the show could not have been pulled together without the support of Robert Currie, the Foundation’s associate vice president for performing arts and signature events.

“It is an incredible honor and privilege to commemorate these historic events that occurred right here in Williamsburg,” Currie said. “I am proud of our team for daring to dream big and for continuing to create powerful new ways to tell our inspiring story.”

The program integrates digital and live elements. Film shoots re-created moments from the Fifth Virginia Convention and here, Thomas Jefferson, portrayed by Kurt Smith, at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

June 20

Convention elects George Wythe, Thomas Nelson Jr., Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson and Francis Lightfoot Lee to continue serving in the Second Continental Congress.

June 29

Convention adopts a written constitution for an independent Virginia.

June 29

Convention elects Patrick Henry as governor of Virginia and Edmund Randolph as attorney general.

July 5

Convention adjourns.

Reviving an Icon

The periodic makeover of a historic property is a delicate process that requires preservation of the past while understanding the needs of future generations.

For The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the power of place is rooted in the notion that living history takes many forms in the people and animals that populate historic spaces and in the gardens that awaken each spring.

The Foundation, in collaboration with other groups and with funds from donors, is in the final stages of an ambitious project to reinvigorate one

of its most iconic sites: the Governor’s Palace gardens. This year, the gardens are bursting to life with renewed appearance and significance, revealing layers of the past and nodding to original visions of the space. This modern revitalization of a treasured oasis illustrates what’s possible when planning and conservation transcend one era or organization.

Alexander Spotswood, who served as Virginia’s royal governor from 1710 to 1722, spent so much time and money conceiving the original Palace gardens that burgesses complained he “lavishes away the

Revamping the Palace Gardens nearly 100 years after the restoration

BY BEN SWENSON

(Above) This drawing from 1936 shows Arthur Shurcliff’s plans for designing and laying out the Palace gardens. (Opposite) This aerial view of the Governor’s Palace, taken in summer 2025, shows the bowling green adjacent to the gardens.

Country’s money.” The Palace gardens, grand as they were, lasted less than 100 years; by the time of the restoration, any remnants had been covered by buildings and paths.

The Original Restoration

The gardens as we know them came to life in the 1930s when Arthur Shurcliff, who had been hired by John D. Rockefeller Jr. to design outdoor spaces, implemented an ambitious plan for 10 acres surrounding the palace. Shurcliff was dealing with essentially a blank slate, but before he sat

at the drawing board, he conducted meticulous research, traveling abroad to examine some of the finest gardens of England. He also sent his son Sidney afield into the American countryside to document historic garden features.

Archaeological surveys surrounding the Governor’s Palace in the 1920s and 30’s revealed traces of the landscape’s storied past. They showed the existence of terraces stepping down to a finger of a pond, known as the canal, as well as an ice mount that once provided the 18thcentury luxury of chilling food and beverages, and a burial ground holding the remains of American soldiers and nurses who died when the property served as a hospital during the Siege of Yorktown.

Along with restoring the existing features, Shurcliff added elements he had gleaned from his research. The Bodleian Plate, a circa 1740 copperplate found at the University of Oxford in England, showed the Governor’s Palace surrounded by oval and diamondshaped parterres made of short hedges. Shurcliff faithfully re-created those elaborate features, but he also incorporated long flower beds flanked by arbors arching over footpaths, a broad bowl-

“ Land has a history, and land tells a story.”

Kris Carbone

ing green and a formal boxwood garden. He also insisted on including a hedge maze made of lowtrimmed holly bushes a feature that some of his contemporaries questioned, but one that he reasoned was a prominent feature of 18th-century English gardens.

Shurcliff’s work is historic in its own right, according to Jack Gary, the Foundation’s associate vice president of historic resources. Shurcliff’s was likely the first modern restoration of such a historic landscape, resulting in “an iconic design that set the standard for the Colonial Revival movement of garden design in the early 20th century and made Colonial Williamsburg a leader in the fields of horticulture and gardening,” Gary said.

The Toll of Time

Unprecedented as Shurcliff’s work was, outdoor spaces naturally change, and the Palace gardens are no exception. Since the 1930s, the broad expanse has experienced

the burdens of age. The clean lines that once defined the Palace gardens have softened. Plants meant to be tidy and compact have grown heavy in their maturity.

“There is a very crisp and well-defined nature to the Palace gardens design, and over time that became harder to maintain as plants got too big,” Gary said. “It’s also important to realize that the restored garden has now lasted longer than the

(Below) Landscape staff have removed boxwood shrubs from the Palace’s West Privy Garden. The plants had suffered from boxwood blight. (Opposite, clockwise from top) Crews began removing trees from the Palace grounds in 2025, clearing the area around the canal and opening up the view.

About Town

original garden from the 18th century, and gardens of this age usually need to be refreshed.”

Senior Landscape Manager Jon Lak said Mother Nature has the upper hand in even the most well-tended garden. Boxwood blight, which can damage and kill the ornamental hedge, took hold in a section called the West Privy Garden. This area, between the palace’s kitchen and the cemetery, forced landscaping crews to remove large sections and take measures to stop the fungal disease.

Elsewhere, English ivy, often a standard component of formal English gardens, refused to be contained and spread

prodigiously. Over time, the canal became rimmed with scruffy, rambunctious vegetation, a far cry from the sharp transition once present at the bank.

At the Revolutionary War cemetery, planners originally planted oak trees intended to be maintained as an aerial hedge, Lak said, but they grew too big, shading out grass on the solemn ground.

Renovating the Renovation

To reestablish a cleaner appearance while still staying true to Shurcliff’s work, the museum enlisted the help of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, a firm with offices in Charlottesville and New York that has transformed landscapes around the globe. It has helped the Foundation develop a comprehensive plan for the restoration of the

Palace gardens.

Another collaboration has also been integral in the transformation of a major component of the Palace gardens. The Garden Club of Virginia is a nonprofit comprised of 48 independent clubs and 3,400 members dedicated to preserving public gardens and fostering an appreciation for cultivated public spaces. The club has been a major benefactor in the restoration of a section of the Palace gardens known as the bowling green.

Kris Carbone, president of the organization, said the Palace gardens project was a natural fit with the club’s mission. The Palace gardens help to tell the story that Virginia was key to the development of the nation, according to Carbone. Gardens were an important chapter in American history. “Land

has a history, and land tells a story,” she said.

The Palace gardens grace the cover of the club’s 2026 Historic Garden Week Guidebook the companion to an annual statewide tour of private homes and gardens that raises funds for landscape restorations and a fellowship.

Deneen Brannock, chair of the club’s Restoration Committee, said remaking the bowling green is a cooperative effort between two organizations that have longstanding commitments to preserve such sites. The restored bowling green is a place that’s suitable for lawn games and gatherings. The transformation also incorporates some landscape elements that were in the original design but never came to fruition, such as an orchard and shrub enclosure.

Brannock said the revitalized bowling green

BRIAN NEWSON; INSET:SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER JR. LIBRARY

(Above left) This aerial photograph of the bowling green shows how it looked in 2025. (Above right)

A circa 1934 drawing by Shurcliff shows his vision of the same area.

has been crafted with conservation and sustainability in mind, with plant species selected for the new orchard that are welladapted to the climate and environment.

Indeed, much of the Palace gardens’ restoration entails tweaking Shurcliff’s original design to reflect the reality of current conditions. Small adjustments will help preserve and maintain the link between the 18thcentury version of the Palace gardens, its 1930s renaissance and the present makeover.

“We have to be willing to make changes and be innovative,” Gary said. “We are sticking to his design and the things that made it evocative, but we are using the opportunity to choose new vegetation that may be more appropriate for our changing conditions.”

Planning For the Future

The revised plan is designed to better serve the public and the landscaping teams of the future. For instance, trees surrounding the canal are now spaced 30 feet apart, instead of the 20-foot intervals in the original design, which caused overcrowding in their crowns. Planners are considering the aesthetic

and maintenance requirements not only for today’s historians and landscapers but also for those who will inherit this resource.

“The real work comes after the project is complete and maintenance takes over,” Lak said.

Like all the other resources

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation curates the Historic Area, the Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center and the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg the Palace gardens are at once historic, educational and extraordinary. The renovation represents an opportunity to bestow this legacy to future generations, and Colonial Williamsburg is open to working with those who can help achieve this goal.

The public gardens represent more than a manicured space where the public can enjoy the luxury of a lazy morning stroll. Carbone, of the Garden Club of Virginia, said the aim of her organization’s partnership is not only to provide people with a sense of Virginia and U.S. history, but also to foster connections with nature and gardening that are carried on to future generations.

It’s that impetus that lies at the heart of the Palace gardens renovation, according to Gary. “I hope

About Town

Work is set to be completed in spring, when the garden begins to bloom in all of its splendor.

people will be inspired by it inspired to create their own spaces of beauty that are informed by historic precedents while also being innovative to address environmental changes,” he said.

How You Can Help

Supporters of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation help us advance our mission “that the future may learn from the past.” Their generous support also allows for the restoration of the Palace gardens and the

Foundation’s green spaces. To contribute, visit  colonialwilliamsburg.org/ TT. For more information  on how to support this restoration and other initiatives like this, email campaign@cwf.org

DATE ca. 1704

PLACE London, England

MEDIUM Oil on canvas

DIMENSIONS 49 ³/₈ inches by 40 inches

Portrait of Daniel Parke II

ARTIST Sir Godfrey Kneller

About Town

A Restoration Rake

DANIEL PARKE II WAS A HERO TO SOME, A SCOUNDREL TO OTHERS

BY PAUL ARON PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON COPES

Many 17th-century comedies feature a stock character known as a rake: an aristocrat who could be charming and courageous but was an irresponsible womanizer and gambler. Daniel Parke II was just such a character.

Born in 1664 or 1665, a few miles from Williamsburg at Queen’s Creek plantation, and educated in England, Parke returned to Virginia and was elected to the House of Burgesses and later appointed to the governor’s council. He feuded with the prominent Virginia clergyman James Blair, at one point dragging Blair’s wife out of a pew during a service in Bruton Parish Church. He married Jane Ludwell but scandalized his neighbors by making no secret of the fact that he had a mistress, with whom he had a son he named Julius Caesar. He deserted his wife and children and accumulated large debts to his sisters and mistress, among others, which he never paid.

“Parke had all the vices of a Restoration rake,” wrote his biographer Helen Hill Miller. “He was a cultivator of anyone who could forward his advance, nimbly shifting attachments in the light of changed circumstances and dominating those he could outweigh.”

“At the same time,” Miller wrote, “his life exhibited the chief virtue of the Restoration rake, personal courage.” He was shot in both legs during the War of the Spanish Succession but continued to fight. He participated in the battle of Blenheim in 1704, and after that key victory, the Duke of Marlborough, who commanded British and allied forces, chose Parke to deliver the news to Queen Anne. The queen rewarded him with a miniature portrait of herself that hangs from a red ribbon around Parke’s neck in this portrait.

“Kneller’s portrayal of Parke in military splendor, complete with symbols of victory, not only underscores his recent success at Blenheim but also preserves the subject’s fame in perpetuity as a heralded military hero,” said Laura Barry, the Foundation’s director of collections and deputy chief curator.

Parke wanted to become royal governor of Virginia but was instead named governor of the Leeward Islands. He again antagonized prominent colonials, partly because of affairs with their wives. During a 1710 riot, he was dragged from his governor’s residence and murdered.

Back in Virginia, Parke’s daughter Frances married John Custis IV, who ended up saddled with much of Parke’s debt. Their son, Daniel, had Parke as his middle name, as did Daniel’s children with his wife, the future Martha Washington.

About the Maker

Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), who was born in Germany and studied under Rembrandt in Amsterdam, became a leading portraitist in England. His subjects included Charles II and George I of England, Louis IV of France and Sir Isaac Newton.

“Kneller’s role as a court painter to two successive British monarchs catapulted him to fame and undoubtedly led to his popularity among the English elite and lesser-known artists,” said Laura Barry, the Foundation’s director of collections and deputy chief curator.

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CHALLENGE YOUR PERCEPTIONS . DISCOVER FOOD FRESH FROM THE GARDEN . GET TO THE ART OF IT

The Evolution of George Washington

by PETER R. HENRIQUES

Filmmaker Ken Burns, producer of the new and highly acclaimed documentary series on the American Revolution, declared that without George Washington there would be no nation. Political columnist George Will agreed: “No George Washington no United States of America.” How did this remarkable state of affairs come about?

By defeating the British and winning independence for the newly created United States of America, George Washington emerged from the war as his country’s unrivaled hero and savior. That unmatched status gave him a sense of gravitas that allowed his presence to give credence to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and to inspire its members with a greater sense of purpose as they drafted the document. His military victories and his leadership led to his unanimous election in 1789 and reelection in 1792 as president of the new republic, a role in which he used his fame and remarkable leadership skills to strengthen the infant union so that it would survive, evolve and eventually lead to the comments by Burns and Will.

None of this would have been possible had Washington not been appointed commander in chief of the newly created Continental army. In retrospect, naming him to that post becomes perhaps the most important event in the American story. How it happened and how Washington felt about it merit closer examination.

(Above) Artist Junius Brutus Stearns shows George Washington running Mount Vernon before the Revolutionary War. (Opposite) Washington’s triumphant return to New York City in 1783, depicted by artist Edmund Restein, captures the respect the new nation had for the general.

In marrying Martha Custis, Washington said he had found a “Consort for Life” and was looking forward to “retirement."

A Gentleman Planter

As Washington was marrying the wealthy and attractive widow Martha Custis on Jan. 6, 1759, the scenario described earlier would have seemed absurd to him. Although he had won distinction and praise for his role as commander of Virginia’s forces during the French and Indian War, he was frustrated by not gaining all the fame he desired. He believed his time in the public spotlight was over. He wrote to a kinsman in England: “I am now I beleive fixd at this Seat with an agreable Consort for Life and hope to find more happiness in retirement than I ever experiencd amidst a wide and bustling World.” This “retirement” was taking place when he was just 26 years old. By 1775, he had clearly succeeded in his second career as master of Mount Vernon. Triumphant at many levels and a planter of the first rank, he had evolved into the “complete gentleman” he had long wished to be. It begs the question: Why would such a man, British in culture and suc-

cessful, wealthy and essentially conservative be willing to become, in the words of a British critic, a “rebel chieftain” leading an armed resistance against what Washington had in earlier times referred to as “my King and Country”?

A Growing Resentment Toward Great Britain

Events in the 1760s and early 1770s soured his view of Great Britain. He first experienced the sense that the British regarded white colonial Americans as inferior when, try as he might, he was unable to secure a royal military commission. Great Britain disappointed Washington in ways beyond his quest for prominent military rank. In business, he found himself encountering difficulties with British merchants and royal policy akin to his vexatious struggle for officer status in the British army. Their actions seemed increasingly not only shortsighted but mean-spirited as well.

On top of it all, Washington’s dream of living in a landed independence amid American expansion kept clashing with the reality of imperial policy. He found himself thwarted by what he viewed as unjust activity by Great Britain’s Parliament and leaders. Denied official British rank, hampered in his efforts to prosper as a tobacco planter, and foiled in following his dream of a Western empire, Washington was understandably receptive to an ideology that railed against corruption and tyranny.

Although a reluctant revolutionary concerning independence from the king, Washington always insisted on what he viewed as his individual rights and, as early as 1768, was willing, if need be, to take up arms to protect those rights. He came to believe armed conflict loomed because of Britain’s chronic abuses. As he wrote in 1774 to his Tory-leaning

good friend Bryan Fairfax, “The Crisis is arrivd when we must assert our Rights, or Submit to every Imposition that can be heap’d upon us.”

The ministry persisted, and blood flowed at Lexington and Concord in April 1775. “Unhappy it is . . . to reflect, that a Brother’s Sword has been sheathed in a Brother’s breast,” Washington wrote to George William Fairfax that month, “and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?”

A unanimous decision

The fighting at Lexington and Concord convinced the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in May, to recognize that it had to raise an army and pick a commander. From the beginning, Washington was the leading candidate, and historical hindsight might deem his appointment inevitable. Not by chance was he unanimously chosen.

Washington had an excellent military reputation as a result of his service in the French and Indian War. He was the only congressional delegate with significant fighting experience and the leading soldier from the largest North American colony.

Congress immediately put him on four important military committees, including panels assigned to find ways to defend New York City, secure ammunition and supplies, and organize troops. Washington’s chairmanships gave leading delegates from every colony the opportunity to work with him. Looking to him for soldierly advice, they took the measure of the man and liked what they saw.

Politically, physically and temperamentally, Washington was the ideal choice. Certainly, there were political consider-

“The Crisis is arrivd when we must assert our Rights, or Submit to every Imposition that can be heap’d upon us.” —George Washington

ations. The fighting, at the time, was in New England, but Virginia was by far the largest, most populous and wealthiest of the 13 colonies, and New England leaders desired and needed Virginia’s support and active participation in the coming struggle. Being a Virginian was not sufficient, but compared with the run of native-born American military figures, Washington had significant military experience. At 43, he was mature but still vigorous and in the prime of life.

Equally important, Washington looked the part of a leader. His military bearing, augmented by his brand-new uniform made for the occasion by an indentured servant at Mount Vernon, impressed virtually everyone. “He has so much martial dignity in his deportment that you would distinguish him to be a general and a soldier from among ten thousand people,” wrote Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadel-

Washington’s success at Yorktown vaulted him to the highest level of admiration in the new nation he helped found.

phia. “There is not a king in Europe that would not look like a valet de chambre by his side.”

Even more important, Washington was the type of leader in whom American patriots could take great pride. A devoted family man of great wealth and moderate views, he was nevertheless fully committed to the patriot cause.

Washington’s character and demeanor clearly impressed fellow delegates, exerting an appeal that only grew with more exposure. Delegate Silas Deane said, “The more I am acquainted with, the more I esteem him.” Massachusetts delegate Thomas Cushing commented, “He is a compleat gentleman. He is sinsible, amiable, virtuous, modest, & brave.”

Washington combined in an exceptional fashion the courtesy and complaisance of a courtier with the appearance and record of a warrior.

Washington’s Internal Dilemma

A more controversial question is: How did Washington feel about these developments? Did he want the position? Publicly and privately, he denied any such desire. He wrote Martha, in one of the very rare letters to his wife to survive, “I have used every endeavour in my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the Family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my Capacity.”

While containing much truth, this

“He is a compleat gentleman... amiable, virtuous, modest, & brave.”

—Thomas Cushing, Massachusetts delegate to the Continental Congress

statement still does not tell the complete story. The accumulated evidence indicates that Washington wanted the position and acted in such a way that made it very likely that it would be offered to him.

A Quest for Glory

There is no disputing Washington’s desire for military glory in the French and Indian War. Even near the end of that conflict, he was enthralled by the idea of heroic death: “Who is there that does not rather Envy than regret a death that gives birth to honor and glorious memory.”

After the war, he tried to buy, for display at Mount Vernon, busts of renowned military figures, including graven images of Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Frederick the Great. Enlightenment painters celebrated a virtuous death as man’s greatest triumph, and Washington had several such paintings hanging in his home. In 1772, he had his portrait painted by Charles Willson Peale. Significantly, as most likely he thought this would be the only portrait of him, he donned his uniform from the French and Indian War. He wanted to be remembered as a soldier.

The Italians have a phrase: una bella figura, which translates literally to “a beautiful figure” or figuratively, and more to the point, to the perfect gesture made in the perfect way. Washington arriving at Independence Hall in his new buff-and-blue uniform, the colors that were associated with England’s pro-liberty, opposition Whig Party, was the personification of una bella figura And, based on what is known, only he appeared in uniform.

It was an effective representation on two levels. First, wearing the uniform wordlessly exhibited his commitment to American rights. Second, it signified his availability and tacitly invoked his military experience. One scholar has com-

(Opposite) In this portrait painted by Charles Willson Peale, Washington wanted to be remembered as a soldier.

pared his wearing his uniform in Congress to a party guest bringing a guitar, unsubtly telegraphing a wish to be asked to play. Of course, Washington did not lobby for the position, which would have triggered Whiggish fears of corrupt, centralized power and executive tyranny.

Washington’s surviving letter to Martha makes explicit that he knew he was seriously being considered for some time prior to his actual nomination. Significantly, he did little if anything to discourage such talk. For example, he might have endorsed another candidate for the position but clearly did not do so. Furthermore, he must have known that no other American was more qualified than he to lead the army of the united colonies. If he truly wanted to do everything possible to defend American liberty, he could make but one decision.

In Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare observes, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.” There are certain key moments in life, and success most likely comes when a person can create or simply recognize and act upon such moments. George Washington created what turned out to be the most significant moment both in his life and in the creation of the United States of America.

Washington had a deep and burning desire for fame and glory secular immortality. This desire would have been difficult for Washington to verbalize or even consciously recognize. The forces that drive human activities are very complicated. Washington himself, in the year of his death, wrote a close friend that “we know little of ourselves.” John Adams later wrote that Washington “did not know his own heart. . . . he knew not himself” when it came to such questions. In responding to the call of duty, there was always hidden desire.

Washington’s hunger for recognition battled his trepidation at the magnitude of the task. While eager for the position, he feared failure. His appointment as commander in chief both gratified and terrified a man who was a bundle of confidence and insecurity. Failure to achieve his mission a mission of extreme difficulty would cost him his dearly desired reputation and quite likely his life. Shortly after being nominated, Washington spoke with Patrick Henry and told that great rebel to remember that with this nomination “I date my fall, and the ruin of my reputation.”

Yet the chance to lead America in what soon became the “glorious cause,” to defend and strengthen liberty and republicanism, and to earn glory and fame was for George Washington a win-win situation for him and the country. He wanted the command and acted in a manner to obtain it, but he did so with subtlety and wisdom. He knowingly risked his life and his reputation to achieve American independence, justly earning all the accolades that continue to be heaped on him.

(Above) Washington stands to address the Continental Congress while women wave handkerchiefs in the background. (Opposite) Washington is depicted holding a copy of the Declaration of Independence while standing on torn copies of reconciliation efforts.

Peter R. Henriques is Professor Emeritus of History at George Mason University and the author of George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame, which is based on a series of presentations to Colonial Williamsburg on the various stages of Washington's life.

FREEDOM CONVENING for

THE FIFTH VIRGINIA CONVENTION FORCES THE QUESTION OF INDEPENDENCE

BY KELLY M. BRENNAN

The Fifth Virginia Convention, among other things, approved the state’s new seal. Designed by George Wythe, it depicts Virtus, dressed like an Amazon, treading on Tyranny, a man with a crown fallen from his head. The Latin phrase Sic Semper Tyrannis means “thus always to tyrants."

“For God’s sake, declare the Colonies independent, at once, and save us from ruin.”

The sentiment of John Page’s April 1776 letter to Thomas Jefferson aligned with the hopes of many Virginians of the day. Inspired, in part, by the incendiary pamphlet Common Sense, Virginians, rich and poor, embraced its message: independence was possible and preferable to the yoke of a king and the British government. But only elected members of the Fifth Virginia Convention had the official power to dissolve the bond between Virginia and Great Britain, and only they could instruct Virginia’s delegates to the Continental Congress to propose independence for all the colonies.

A Changing of the Guard

The question of independence dominated the April 1776 elections. The electorate was looking for delegates willing to pledge themselves to independence. Voter expectations upended the membership of Virginia’s elected body. Fresh faces with new ideas threatened the comfortable world that the old guard had built over decades. Introduction of new representatives alarmed the gentry for practical reasons as well. Landon Carter, a wealthy landowner and an elite of the first order, wrote to George Washington that too many “inexperienced creatures” had been elected. In that same letter, Carter betrayed what was really at stake. He writes of a voter whom he says thought independence was a release from the power of rich men, not necessarily the British government. Carter hides his concern behind a biting remark, “from hence (inexperienced representatives) it is that our independency is to arise.”

Convening the Convention

The Fifth Virginia Convention, like the four that preceded it, acted upon its own authority, outside the permissions of the British government. The term “convention” was carefully selected.

Other terms familiar to us had slightly different meanings in the 1770s. “House” identified one of the two houses of a legislature (such as the House of Lords and House of Commons in the U.K.).

“Congress,” our term for the entire U.S. legislature, had a different meaning that partially explains the origin of the Continental Congress. Before 1775, a congress was, according to Samuel Johnson’s 1755 dictionary, “an appointed meeting for settlement of affairs between different nations,” making it an appropriate name for the work of the Continental Congress in the years before independence. After 1775, as noted in the Oxford English Dictionary, “congress” came to mean “legislature” because of the Continental Congress. Their work didn’t just create a new nation, it forever changed the English language.

“Convention” simply identified an elected assembly and was an apt choice for Virginia. It was legally specific enough to describe the elected body, but not so constrictive as to limit its abilities. The conventions heard petitions, managed Virginia’s military affairs and even released people from jail. In fact, mundane petitions and subcommittee reports occupied the delegates the day before independence was declared.

The legal precision that was so important in their use of “convention” was

Kelly M. Brennan is a historian for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and holds a doctorate in history from William & Mary. Her fields of expertise include deathways, religion and belief, medical history and legal history.

just as evident in their resolutions for independence. Clarity was tantamount, and their grievances needed to be sharply delineated.

The three resolutions put forward, and the final adopted resolution, pointedly addressed the British violations of the things Virginia held sacred: their laws, their commerce and their fundamental freedoms. Virginians, like other colonies, no longer expected the British to restore the colonies’ rights as Englishmen. To recover representation, prosperity and their “English” rights, Virginians the resolutions stated had no other choice but to sever their bonds with the empire that instilled these values in the first place.

Resolutions Nation

While all the resolutions introduced on May 15, 1776, addressed Virginia’s core values, their approach, their focus and their scope varied. These differences, when refined and edited, made for a final resolution reflecting what Virginians found the most disconcerting.

Meriwether Smith, delegate from Essex County and an active member of the convention, was a wealthy landowner with a long legislative career. He hailed from the same county where John Lee wrote to his brother Richard Henry Lee that “independence is now the topic here, and I think I am not mistaken when I say it will (if not already) be very soon a Favourite Child.”

There is no indication that Smith read this letter, but he undoubtedly internalized its meaning. Although wealthy, Smith’s commitment to independence saved him his seat.

Of the three resolutions, the one Smith introduced was the most Virginia-centric, focusing on the recent experiences of the colony’s inhabitants. His document primarily addresses disruptions to com-

Colonists saw the Prohibitory Act, which Parliament passed in late 1775, as a direct provocation and a reason to separate from Britain. Through the act, Parliament cut off all trade with the colonies and instituted a blockade.

(Opposite) Printed by Alexander Purdie in Williamsburg, the Virginia Declaration of Rights would heavily influence the U.S. Bill of Rights.

merce, stating that the British were “confiscating our Property whenever found on Water and legalizing ever Seizure, Robbery & Rapine.” That legalized economic terrorism was a product of the American Prohibitory Act, a Parliamentary law designed to stop trade and cripple the American cause.

Smith’s resolution made clear Virginians’ expected commercial autonomy. His remedy for these insults was simple: Break with Britain and adopt a Declaration of Rights and a new government.

Bartholomew Dandridge’s resolution was as sweeping as Smith’s was provincial. Dandridge, a delegate from New Kent and a longtime legislator, was an enthusiastic supporter of the American cause long before the question was called. After the closing of Boston Harbor, New Kent County all but declared independence in 1774. County leaders thought that reconciliation was possible, but breaking commercial ties and creating an “indissoluble union” with other colonies were legitimate means to restore “their common rights and liberties.”

His sweeping resolution complains that the British “bind the inhabitants of the American Colonies in all cases whatsoever.” This “binding,” however, was not fostering fealty with Britain, but was “in violation of every civil and religious right of the said Colonies.” Dandridge goes on to resolve that “America” should break ties with Great Britain, again demonstrating that this resolve isn’t for Virginia, but for all 13 colonies.

Patrick Henry, delegate from Hanover County, was not shy about his position on independence. He delivered his famous “give me liberty or give me death” speech less than a year before Virginia voted on the matter. Henry’s resolve is not as incendiary as some of his other legislation, but it still relied on his sharp rhetoric.

His begins with recognizing Congress’s efforts at reconciliation, but the bedrock of his argument is blame and fear. He appeals to the delegates’ anxieties about British violations of Anglo-Virginia rights. Like the other two resolutions, his refers to the Prohibitory Act and its economic disruption, but, unlike the others, Henry uses violent language, speaking of “the ravages that have been committed upon our coasts.” American prisoners of war, forced to fight against their brethren, degenerated to the level of “pirates the outlaws and enemies of human society.” Henry stokes white Virginiana’s fears of racial violence, blaming the British for “atrocities,” real and imagined. The mother country’s courtship of “savage Indians” to fight against Americans tapped into old conflicts and new fears about violence on the frontier. Henry also highlights the pressing issue of “insurrection among our slaves,” who, according to Henry, “are now actually in arms against us.”

The Final Resolution

On Wednesday, May 15, 1776, in Williamsburg, the convention met as a committee of the whole, which they called “State of the Colony.” This name was an ironic choice given that they knew the “state of the colony” was soon to be the “state of the Commonwealth.” Passing over the traditional legislative process (where once a bill is submitted it is referred to the proper committee, and then reintroduced and read twice before a vote), which could take days or even months, the committee heard the three bills, debated their merits, created a compromise, closed the committee, reopened the convention and voted on the new resolution, all in a matter of hours. The final resolution included elements of the three earlier resolutions.

The final resolution was a road map

for full independence. But it was also firmly grounded in Virginians’ frustrations. Like Henry’s resolution, the final product opened with the rejection of American petitions of reconciliation. It identified the direct connection between the rejected petitions and the “vigorous attempt to effect our total destruction.”

Virginia’s ancient amity for the British ended when the colonies were no longer under protection of the King.

Like Smith’s resolution, the final product discussed the flight of the governor, Lord Dunmore, from the city and his subsequent “piratical and savage war” from his ship in the Norfolk Harbor. Dunmore’s Proclamation in 1775 freed the enslaved people of those in rebellion as long as they enlisted with the British, and lingering fears of insurrection made this grievance especially important to Virginians.

Not everyone was pleased with the compromises. Henry was disappointed with the restraint of the final list of grievances, stating, “’tis not quite so pointed as I could wish.” George Mason, delegate

to the convention and later author of Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, deemed the preamble, “. . . tedious, rather timid, & in many instances exceptionable.”

Regardless of its flaws, the resolution of the Fifth Virginia Convention inspired, with the help of Henry’s rousing speech, a unanimous vote.

The preamble’s limited focus identifies what issues Virginians thought important enough to enshrine for posterity, but the real significance came from the instructional resolves. The instructions were simple: the Virginia delegation to the Congress was to introduce the question of independence, and the Congress was to vote for it. Virginia’s resolution “empowered” the Congress to form “foreign alliances,” and encouraged individual colonies to create their own, separate governments.

These instructions combined continental interests with solutions to Virginia’s pressing issues. The resolutions called for creating a new Virginia government and a declaration of rights.

A Declaration of Rights

Delegates were aware that just separating from Britain would be a job half done. Any new nation, they reasoned, needed a government both to protect its people and to preserve itself. The convention appointed a committee to create a declaration of rights and an outline for a government. Among those on the committee were delegates Mason and James Madison, who was in his mid-20s at the time.

Mason did much of the work and, in a matter of weeks, had drafted 18 articles that were then circulated not just in Virginia but up and down the colonies. What he and the others wrote would heavily influence the constitutions of other states and the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

A 1907 postcard depicts Lord Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, fleeing Williamsburg in 1775. Dunmore left in fear of his safety following uprisings over his taking of the gunpowder from Williamsburg’s Magazine. His actions convinced many it was time for Virginia to separate from Britain.

What ultimately passed in Virginia was a document of 16 articles that outlines not only the rights of the people but also what is expected of the government and of the citizenry to keep the government functioning.

It states, “All Men are by nature equally free and Independent and have certain inherent Rights ... namely the enjoyment of Life and liberty with the means of acquiring and possessing property and pursuing and obtaining happiness and Safety.”

The Declaration of Rights guarantees freedom of the press and religion. However, it also reminds Virginians that selfgovernment requires them to adhere to “Justice Moderation Temperance Frugality and Virtue.”

Creating a Commonwealth

The idea of independence was not a bolt of genius simultaneously striking 112 men on a cool day in May of 1776. Virginians and other colonies had been examining, embracing, questioning, discarding or internalizing liberation well before then. Some people, like those of New Kent County, were on the verge of independence in 1774. Others, like Robert Carter Nicholas, had serious misgivings before the vote.

Together, Virginians reasoned through the most pressing issues of the day and created an effective document. The writers connected the frustrations of Virginia to those of the other 12 colonies, creating a sturdier bond. The internal- and external-facing resolution expressed not only slights but solutions. Calling for independence was only one part of the final resolution’s significance.

For the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States, there was still much to be done.

The Journal’s Journey

The Journal of the Fifth Virginia Convention recorded some of the most dramatic events in American history. The journal’s own history had quite a few twists and turns. Soon after the Civil War ended, a Union soldier took the manuscript from the state archives in Richmond. His descendants kept the journal until the 1940s, when they sold it to James Hook, a Pennsylvania dealer in rare books and manuscripts. Through a separate rare-book dealer, Hook offered it to the state and The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for $25,000. Documents in the Library of Virginia’s archives trace what happened next.

Aug. 13, 1941: William J. Van Schreeven, the head archivist of the Virginia State Library (which later became the Library of Virginia), wrote Hook saying the state had never relinquished ownership of the journal and that Hook should return it.

Oct. 28, 1941: A Virginia resident, Miss Lee Carter Brown, reported that she had approached Hook and that he had threatened to burn the manuscript if Virginia tried to prevent him from selling it. She noted that Hook shared a last name with a famous pirate.

Undated letter: Van Schreeven wrote Hook, reiterating that Virginia would not pay him for a manuscript the state felt it owned, but offered him $500 for its “care and custody.”

Jan. 21, 1942: Hook responded to Van Schreeven, telling him Colonial Williamsburg was considering buying the journal.

Jan. 27, 1942: Van Schreeven wrote Hunter Farish, director of Colonial Williamsburg’s Department of Research and Record, telling him the volume belonged to the state.

Feb. 24, 1942: Kenneth Chorley, president of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, wrote to Wilmer Hall of the Virginia State Library, saying that Colonial Williamsburg, having now learned the state might acquire the manuscript for $500, would drop the idea of buying it.

Undated report in the Library of Virginia Archives: The library noted that it has compared the handwriting to that of the previous convention’s journal. Both appeared to have been written by John Tazewell, the clerk of both conventions. The report also noted two other cases of documents being turned over to the state. In one, the state had sued J. P. Morgan, demanding he turn over Martha Washington’s will, and Morgan had done so after the case was settled out of court.

April 29, 1942: The state librarian reported that Hook had threatened to sue the library, but then agreed to accept the offer of $500.

Aug. 25, 1942: A library document noted that the manuscript journal was safely housed in its vault.

Spring 2026

The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute

Not all teachers can experience Colonial Williamsburg onsite. In 2025, the Teacher Institute team expanded access to high-quality history education through online programs that reached classrooms nationwide.

In

2025,

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Facilitated 32 Online Programs

Engaged 1,400+ Educators

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Reached

Join the Teacher Institute team, Colonial Williamsburg historians, and partner institutions this spring for interactive online programs that spark curiosity, invite inquiry, and bring the past into today’s classrooms.

UPCOMING SPRING ONLINE WORKSHOPS

Making History Matter: Using Colonial-Era Documents to Build Inquiry and Civics Skills

April 16 at 7:00 PM EST

Dr. Jeffery Nokes of Brigham Young University will demonstrate strategies for interpreting primary sources and show how educators can use these methods to strengthen inquiry and civic learning.

Feast of Reason: Cultivating Civic Discourse

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Inspired by Thomas Jefferson’s dinner-table dialogues, this session—led by the Teacher Institute and Monticello—explores how to foster meaningful civic conversations in classrooms and communities.

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Nation Builder

Mark Schneider portrays the Marquis de Lafayette

Virginia’s Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Parts 2 and 3 of a continuing series . by Paul Aron

FRANCIS LIGHTFOOT LEE

“A Good and Profitable Voyage”

FOR THE YOUNGER brother of a more famous Founder, it was not easy to carve out a legacy of his own.

Francis Lightfoot Lee, besides signing the Declaration of Independence, served in the House of Burgesses and the Continental Congress and, after independence, in the Virginia Senate. But he lived in the shadow of Richard Henry Lee, who was famed for his oratory and who introduced in Congress the resolution for independence. And to some extent, both men have been overshadowed by their grandnephew Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Mark Twain, writing in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography in 1877, said of Francis that his “life-work was so inconspicuous, that his name would now be wholly forgotten, but for one thing – he signed the Declaration of Independence.”

Francis, known as Frank, did not seem to mind living in his brother’s shadow. He was a fairly inactive burgess, and while he often chose not to attend ses-

sions, he was a part of the family’s powerful voting bloc. When he was first elected in 1758, he joined two brothers and eight in-laws and cousins in the legislature. In Congress, he was a steady supporter of the patriot cause, and his unassuming and quiet demeanor allowed him to work behind the scenes with other members. Along with most other members of the Continental Congress, he signed the Declaration on Aug. 2, 1776.

Francis resigned from Congress in 1779, in part because of a feud between his brother Arthur and Silas Deane. Arthur Lee and Deane had both represented America in France, and Arthur accused Deane of profiting personally from the deals that brought French arms to America. The bitter feud split the members of Congress as no issue had since independence.

Unlike brother Richard, who did not initially support the Constitution, Francis supported its adoption from the start. He had worked on a committee that had drafted the Articles of Confederation, and he understood the flaws of the system it created.

Francis’ life, Twain wrote, was “a good and profitable voyage, though it left no phosphorescent splendors in its wake.” Arthur died in 1792, Richard in 1794 and

Francis in 1797. He was 62.

“He did no brilliant things, he made no brilliant speeches,” continued Twain, “but the enduring strength of his patriotism was manifest, his fearlessness in confronting perilous duties and compassing them was patent to all, the purity of his motives was unquestioned, his unpurchasable honor and uprightness were unchallenged. . . .

“This is a picture of the average, the usual Congressman of Francis Lightfoot Lee’s time, and it is vividly suggestive of what that people must have been that preferred such men. Since then we have progressed one hundred years. Let us gravely try to conceive how isolated, how companionless, how lonesome, such a public servant as this would be in Washington to-day.”

Francis Lightfoot Lee’s brother Arthur represented America in France.

GEORGE WYTHE

“Virtue ... of the Purist Tint”

GEORGE WYTHE, though a member of Virginia’s delegation to the Continental Congress and a proponent of independence, was not in Philadelphia in July when Congress voted for independence and approved the Declaration of Independence. Nor was he in Philadelphia in August when most members of Congress signed the document. Yet his fellow Virginia signers among them Thomas Jefferson, who, of course, drafted the Declaration held Wythe in such high esteem that when they signed the document, they left a space above all their names where Wythe could later sign. This he did when he returned to Philadelphia that year.

Wythe had left Philadelphia in late June because he was confident the vote for independence would pass and because he wanted to return to Williamsburg to help craft a constitution for the newly independent commonwealth. He took with him Jefferson’s ideas about a new constitution. By the time he got to Williamsburg, however, Virginia’s new constitution had already been drafted.

As a lawyer, Wythe counted George Washington and Richard Henry Lee among his clients, but Wythe is best remembered as a

teacher. In his home in Williamsburg, he taught Jefferson, and as a professor of law and police at William & Mary, his students included John Marshall, who became chief justice of the United States, and Henry Clay, who became secretary of state, speaker of the House of Representatives and a senator from Kentucky. Wrote Jefferson of

As a law professor at William & Mary, George Wythe taught John Marshall and Henry Clay.

Wythe: “His virtue was of the purist tint; his integrity inflexible.”

Wythe served as a member of the House of Burgesses and the conventions that succeeded it and as a member of the Continental Congress. Along with Jefferson, he served on a committee of Virginia’s legislature tasked with revising its laws in keeping with its new status as an independent commonwealth and not a British colony. He became speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates. He also briefly represented Virginia at the Constitutional Convention, but he again left Philadelphia, this time because of his wife’s illness. He was a judge of the High Court of Chancery in Virginia, a position he held until his death, despite offers to sit on a higher court.

As a judge, he acted on the idea that all men and women as well are created equal in ways Jefferson

did not. In Pleasants v. Pleasants and in Hudgins v. Wrights, Wythe ruled that certain enslaved people were entitled to their freedom, though in both cases he was partly overruled by the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Wythe himself enslaved people, at both his house in Williamsburg and his plantation in what is now Hampton, Virginia, and there is no denying he benefited from their labor. But after his wife’s death in 1787, he began freeing those he enslaved, and by the time of his death in 1806, he no longer enslaved anyone.

His death was the result of poisoning, probably by his grandnephew George Wythe Sweeney Jr. Sweeney was not convicted of the crime, partly because Lydia Broadnax, a key witness against him, was not allowed to testify because she was an African American woman.

As a judge, he acted on the idea that all men — and women as well — are created equal in ways Jefferson did not.

Wythe taught Thomas Jefferson in the office in his home.

The Revolution Is Here

The key events of 1776 leading up to independence

THERE’S NO GOING BACK. As the first few months of 1776 unfurl, it becomes clear that Virginia and the other colonies are on the path of armed rebellion. The flames of revolution are being fanned by conflict and rhetoric, laying the groundwork for independence and the creation of a new nation.

Jan. 1, 1776

A fiery beginning

The year begins with a dark omen of escalating conflict. British ships shell Norfolk. In response, Virginia and North Carolina soldiers burn loyalist properties, but the blaze spreads out of control, destroying more than two-thirds of the city. Virginia officials promote the narrative that the shelling alone caused the fires, fueling anti-British sentiment.

Feb. 27, 1776

A crushing blow

A force of over 1,000 patriot troops ambushes a larger force of loyalists near Wilmington, North Carolina. The patriots quickly defeat the enemy, including Scottish Highlanders equipped with bagpipes and broadswords. This victory halts British attempts to reinstate royal authority and prompts North Carolina’s provincial congress to call for independence.

Jan. 10, 1776

Common Sense published Englishman Thomas Paine arrives in Philadelphia in November 1774, and less than a year later he begins writing his most famous work, Common Sense. The 47-page pamphlet uses plain language and emotional rhetoric, reaches thousands of readers and radically shifts public sentiment toward independence.

March 4, 1776

British evacuate Boston

Washington orders the construction of fortifications on Dorchester Heights, overlooking Boston. The following day the sixth anniversary of the Boston Massacre artillery formerly based at Fort Ticonderoga is trained on the city. Now under bombardment, British commanders realize their position is untenable, and Commander in Chief William Howe is forced to evacuate on March 17.

Feb. 28, 1776

Henry resigns

After less than a year, Virginia’s leaders question whether Patrick Henry is better suited to government than the military. When Congress refuses to appoint him Virginia’s commander in chief, Henry resigns his commission. From this point on, Henry focuses his attention on politics.

March 29, 1776

Williamsburg’s changing guard Congress recognizes the strategic significance of Virginia and sends Maj. Gen. Charles Lee to Williamsburg to organize defenses against a potential British attack. His assertive leadership catalyzes the colony’s preparations for a call for independence at the Fifth Virginia Convention.

March

29, 1776

New occupant in the Palace

With Dunmore gone, a new individual occupies the Governor’s Palace. After he is sent to counter Sir Henry Clinton’s invasion of the South, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, a former British officer, establishes his quarters in Williamsburg. During his short stay, Lee actively restores the Palace grounds and improves the readiness of his troops.

May 6, 1776

Fifth Virginia Convention convenes Virginian delegates gather in Williamsburg for the Fifth Virginia Convention. Presided over by Edmund Pendleton and made up of a broad mix of political factions, the convention is united by discussion of independence. Against a backdrop of war, Patrick Henry and others press for a break from Britain. This meeting will soon produce one of the most influential resolutions of the Revolution.

March 31, 1776

“Remember the Ladies” Abigail Adams writes to husband John Adams in Philadelphia with hopes of women’s recognition in the new nation. She writes, “If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation.”

June 12, 1776

“All men are by nature equally free and independent”

Drafted primarily by George Mason, the Virginia Declaration of Rights affirms the natural rights and inherent sovereignty of Virginia’s free citizens. The convention unanimously adopts this landmark document, which articulates the core principles that would come to define American liberty. Its ideas and in many cases its wording strongly influence other state constitutions and provide a foundational model for the U.S. Bill of Rights. The convention adopts Virginia’s first Constitution on June 29 and elected Patrick Henry governor.

May 15, 1776

Independence!

After only 10 days, the convention unanimously adopts a resolution instructing its delegates in Philadelphia to propose independence. This radical move makes Virginia the first colony to formally call for separation from Britain. The decision electrifies patriots and pushes the Continental Congress toward drafting the Declaration of Independence.

July 19, 1776

News of independence

Williamsburg learns of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence when Alexander Purdie prints the first excerpt in his Virginia Gazette. The declaration is officially recognized on July 25 when the text is read aloud at the Capitol, Courthouse and Governor’s Palace and celebrated with the firing of cannons and muskets. The declaration creates what Virginians had called for in May: a new nation built on liberty and self-government.

VIRGINIA LEADS THE WAY

In the spring of 1776, Virginia emerged as a driving force for independence. From the ashes of Norfolk to the Capitol in Williamsburg, Virginia’s leaders shaped the Revolution’s course. On May 15, Virginia became the first colony to formally call for separation from Britain, paving the way for the Declaration of Independence. Virginia’s Declaration of Rights set enduring principles of liberty and justice. These bold steps ensured that when Congress acted on July 4, Virginians were ready not as subjects of a distant king but as citizens of a new republic.

Where every book has a past.

The Colonial Williamsburg Bookstore is more than shelves and spines—it’s a treasure trove of early American life. Whether you’re searching for historical fiction, beautifully bound classics, or a unique gift steeped in early American charm, you’ll find it here. Take a piece of the past home with you—one page, one story at a time. Visit the Bookstore at 440 WEST DUKE OF GLOUCESTER STREET, WILLIAMSBURG, VA 23185

An Herbal Remedy for Any Meal

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme have been dressing up meals for centuries

BY ANGELA TAORMINA

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN NEWSON

PLANTING

Herbs grow best in loamy soil and should receive at least 6 to 8 hours of sun a day. Prepare the soil to a depth of 8 inches or use a raised bed. Prune periodically to promote sturdy, vigorous growth.

SEEDING

It’s best to start seeding indoors, sowing directly into individual pots. Keep the soil moist by misting until the plant is established. Transplant in mid-spring after the danger of the last frost has passed.

Herb Gardens

Herb gardens were common for both the gentry and modest 18th-century households in Virginia.

To Make a Soup of Herbs Historic Foodways

Adapted from The French Family Cook by Menon (London, 1793); originally published as La Cuisinière Bourgeoise (Paris, 1746). This soup makes a fine accompaniment to poultry, as is noted in the original recipe.

SERVES 4

1–2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons butter

2 ribs celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 parsnip, diced

1 bunch parsley, stripped and minced

1 bunch sage, stripped and minced

1 bunch thyme, stripped and minced

2 sprigs rosemary, stripped and minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 small head butter lettuce, shredded

1 bunch sorrel, shredded

hether the supper menu is built around the costliest roast or a humble broth, cooks are likely to reach for accents that transform a meal from one that simply sustains to something savored and craved. Since antiquity, those preparing meals have relied on an array of scrappy little plants with an outsized punch to the palate in pursuit of that transformation.

A variety of aromatic herbs from the well-known parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme to those faded from memory such as burnet were commonly grown by the 18th-century gentry as well as more modest households of

the time. Kitchens employed them straight from plant to pot, but the potent essential oils found in their leaves and stems could also survive well beyond their growing season, brightening meals as winters grew dark and lean.

Cookery books of the 18th century mention many different herbs, but the recipes are far less exacting than the approaches used today. In fact, it was common for publications to ask for “sweet herbs,” a rather loose category. Abbey Shoaf, a journeyman supervisor for Historic Foodways, explained, “ We always have them as a grouping of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme. But it is really open to the cook’s

4 small bread rolls (for garnish)

1. In a large stockpot, bring the stock and butter to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Use 1 quart of stock for a thicker, heartier soup or 2 quarts for a thinner soup.

2. Add the diced vegetables, herbs, and salt and pepper. Allow the soup to simmer until the vegetables are fork-tender.

3. Add the lettuce and sorrel, and allow the greens to wilt.

4. Serve hot in a soup bowl with a bread roll floating in the middle as a dumpling.

NOTE Substitute or add other vegetables and herbs as desired.

Herbs were frequently used in 18th-century kitchens. Cookbooks of the time called for “sweet herbs,” which is a reference to a mixture of parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage and basil, among others. interpretation.” She often includes winter savory.

Despite their distinct flavors, sage, rosemary and thyme are closely related members of the mint family. Winter savory is also a mint cousin. Parsley, though, belongs to the carrot family. Different varieties abound for each of these herbs, making many subtle variations in flavor and growth habits available.

Williamsburg’s climate gives wellestablished plantings of sage, rosemary and thyme a fair chance of surviving all but the harshest winters. In the 18th century, affluent households might have used glass bells or hand lights to keep parsley going through cold months. Eve Otmar, master of Historic Gardening, observes that “parsley would be more ‘gentry class’ because if you’re eating it in the wintertime, it’s because you have that glass.”

Most cooks, though, turned to gathering their surviving herbs at the end of the growing season and hanging them to dry in a cool, dry environment. Chefs today advise against using dried herbs that have been left to sit in a phalanx of jars in direct sunlight for years. Otmar adds that “dried herbs are generally three to four times stronger than fresh because the drying process removes water, concentrating the essential oils.”

These iconic herbs do not require specialized treatment in the garden. They enjoy full sun and well-drained soil, as proven by wide areas of rosemary and thyme that have flourished for centuries along rocky coastlines of France, Spain and Italy. Indeed, cultivation in poorer soil also seems to strengthen essential oils in much the same way that grapevines cultivated in challenging conditions can yield superior wines.

“Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme are fantastic counterpoints to a roasted chicken,” explained Williamsburg Inn executive chef Julianne Gutierrez, who chose to let them shine in a deceptively simple but perfect roast chicken, classic comfort food that fills the kitchen as it roasts with the promising aroma of herbs mingling with chicken juices and bright lemon.

Herbs needn’t be limited to food preparations, though. They’re the backbone of old-school liqueurs such as Chartreuse and Bénédictine and craft bartenders now take a fresh approach by infusing herbs into simple syrups to flavor inventive cocktails. The Williamsburg Inn’s Restoration Bar menu offers a drink called the frosted forager and accents a base of gin itself an herb-based spirit with thyme and lemon.

Angela Taormina is a freelance editor living in Norge, Virginia.

Herb Roasted Chicken

Williamsburg Inn

SERVES 4– 6 PEOPLE

1 3- to 4-pound whole chicken

1 lemon, cut in half

1 bunch parsley

3 sprigs sage

5 sprigs thyme

1 sprig rosemary

4 tablespoons butter, cut into ½-inch pieces, at room temperature (divided) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Butcher twine

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.

2. Place the chicken in a roasting pan with a rack. Check for neck and giblets; remove and discard.

3. Place the lemon, the herbs and two pieces of butter inside the cavity of the chicken.

4. Working carefully to avoid tearing the skin, slide the remaining pieces of butter under the skin of the breast, distributing evenly.

5. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.

6. Truss the chicken with the twine. Trussing allows the chicken to

cook evenly while preserving moisture and keeps the lemon and herbs inside.

7. Put the chicken in the preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350°F. Roast for another 45 – 60 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 158°F. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 15 –20 minutes. The chicken will continue to cook to 165°F while remaining juicy.

8. Carve and serve the chicken with seasonal roasted vegetables.

Discover Merchants Square, the vibrant heart of downtown Williamsburg. Shop and dine local with over 40 unique stores and restaurants, offering curated treasures and unforgettable flavors. Steps from history, it’s the perfect blend of charm and community.

Aromas Café

Baskin-Robbins

Berret’s Seafood

Restaurant & Taphouse Grill

Blink

Blue Talon Bistro

Brick & Vine

Campus Shop

The Carousel

Children’s Boutique

The Cheese Shop

The Christmas Shop

Colonial Williamsburg Bookstore

Colorful Stitches Fine Yarn

Danforth Pewter

DoG Street Pub

Eleva Coffee Lounge

Ember

Everything Williamsburg

Fat Canary and

Downstairs at Fat Canary

illy Caffé

J. Fenton

J. McLaughlin

The Jewish Mother’s Deli

Kimball Theatre

lululemon athletica

Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers

Monkee’s of Williamsburg

The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg

Penny and a Sixpence

Pepper Palace Williamsburg

Precarious Beer Project

The Precious Gem

R. Bryant Ltd.

R. P. Wallace & Sons

General Store

Scotland House Ltd.

Secret Garden

Sequel

Sole Provisions

The Spice & Tea Exchange of Williamsburg

Talbots

Three Cabanas: A Lilly

Pulitzer Signature Store

The Williamsburg Winery

Tasting Room & Wine Bar

Walkabout Outfitter

Wythe Candy & Gourmet Shop

Scan here or visit merchantssquare.org to learn more about becoming an insider and the fantastic events that are coming later this year. Tag us with #LoveMSQ on Social Media!

Chico’s

The Shoe Attic

DIY: CUTWORK

A Cut Above

Delicate portraits and landscapes are just snips away

A PROJECT BY THE ART MUSEUMS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRIAN NEWSON

What You Need

Papercutting is a centuries-old art form. Using scissors or knives, beginners and experts alike can create delicate designs and various types of pictures. Papercutting is believed to have originated in Asia about 1,500 years ago and to have spread around the world. The art form gave birth to silhouette portraiture, which became popular in the 18th century. One form of the art involves folding the paper and making precise cuts to produce a symmetrical image.

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum has a circa 1860 patriotic scene that features squirrels, five types of small birds, hens with chicks, carnations and a variety of flowers. It also includes human figures, other animals and a flagpole with a flag that was painted with watercolors. These elements were either cut directly into the paper or glued on after the cutting was completed.

The project here focuses on the Capitol and celebrates the 250th anniversary of Virginia declaring its independence from Britain.

Template printed on white copy, scrapbook, linen or laid paper

Pointed scissors

Gluestick

Colored scrapbook paper

The Process

STEP 1

Print the Capitol template onto white paper, and fold the printed paper in half along the dotted line.

STEP 2

Cutting through both layers of paper, cut out all the interior sections that are marked with an “x.” Begin by piercing the paper with the point of the scissors.

NOTE It is easier to cut the interiors before cutting around the edge, since the edge provides something to hold on to.

Find a pattern and a practice coloring sheet at colonialwilliamsburg.org/downloads 1 4 2 3

STEP 3

Once the interiors are cut, cut around the edge of the design. Once finished, open the paper. Cut off half of the flag.

STEP 4

Carefully apply glue to the side of the paper with the template lines, and then press onto the scrapbook paper. Write a celebratory phrase across the banner at the top.

Raising the Flag

THE MYSTERIOUS ORIGINS OF THE CONTINENTAL COLORS

BY PAUL ARON

few days after the Fifth Virginia Convention resolved to instruct its delegates at the Continental Congress to propose independence, the Virginia Gazette reported that “the troops in this city ... went through their firings, and various other military manoevres, with the greatest exactness; a continental union flag was displayed upon the Capitol, and in the evening many of the inhabitants illuminated their houses.”

That flag, which was also known as the Grand Union flag and the Continental Colors, was not the familiar Stars and Stripes, and it caused confusion during its short existence. It did have 13 red and white stripes and a square in the top-left corner, but that canton was not filled with stars. Instead, there was the Union Jack, the British flag created in 1606 by a decree from King James I.

Why would rebellious colonists include on their flag the emblem of the very nation from which they were rebelling? They had plenty of options, as patriots had created other flags, often using more revolutionary symbols such as eagles, a pine tree, a rattlesnake or the word “Liberty.”

Yet it was the Continental Colors that patriots raised at the Capitol in Williamsburg in May 1776. And it was the Continental Colors that, months earlier,

on New Year’s Day, George Washington’s troops outside of Boston raised on a 76-foot pole high enough so British troops in the city could see it.

Many flag historians have noted the similarities between the Continental Colors and the flag of the East India Company, which controlled Britain’s tea trade with America. But the company depended on British colonialism and would seem as strange an antecedent for an American flag as the Union Jack. Some flag historians have suggested that one reason for including the Union Jack in the flag is that when the Continental Colors was raised outside Boston and in Williamsburg, the Continental Congress had not yet declared independence. Many colonists, including some patriots, still hoped for reconciliation with Britain.

Perhaps the main reason the Continental Colors remained in use through the early years of the Revolution was that patriots simply didn’t give it that much thought. The flag was not yet considered an important symbol of the nation. It flew mostly on some military sites and on navy ships, and patriots continued to use a wide variety of other flags. It was not until after the Civil War that Americans came to see the flag as a near-sacred symbol. Flag historians are uncertain about

who designed the Continental Colors as well as why that person or persons chose its design. Some have credited Benjamin Franklin, who some say drew an image of a snake that was one of the earliest American symbols.

Even Washington recognized that including a British symbol on an American flag was, at the very least, confusing. Just three days after the Continental Colors was raised outside Boston, he wrote that “farcical enough, we gave great Joy to them (the red Coats I mean) without knowing or intending it, for on that day ... we had hoisted the Union Flag in compliment to the United Colonies, but behold! It was receivd in Boston ... as a signal of Submission.” Added Washington: “I presume they begin to think it strange that we have not made a formal surrender of our Lines.”

Eventually, in June 1777, the Continental Congress resolved “That the flag of the . . . United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white: that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation,” leading to the more familiar early version of the flag.

The Continental Colors continues to fly throughout the Historic Area. Savvy visitors know they indicate which sites are open.

(Above) American troops, ships and regiments displayed a wide variety of flags during the early days of the Revolution, including the Continental Colors (No. 7). (Right) A 1754 political cartoon attributed to Benjamin Franklin was an early rallying call for colonial unity.

Title Page New From Colonial Williamsburg

First 100 Years of Colonial Williamsburg

BY PAUL ARON

Colonial Williamsburg

Soon!

In 1932, John D. Rockefeller Jr. chose as a motto for Colonial Williamsburg, “That the future may learn from the past.” One hundred years after Colonial Williamsburg was founded and 250 years after the United States declared independence that motto has turned out to be more appropriate than ever.

That the Future May Learn From the Past chronicles how history has been presented in Williamsburg. These presentations evolved from a focus on architecture and design to patriotic lessons about the Founding Fathers to, ultimately, a more nuanced and comprehensive history. History at Colonial Williamsburg

came to include the Revolutionary as well as the colonial era, and not just famous Founders but enslaved and free Black people, Indigenous Americans, women and others who helped build the nation. Along the way, Colonial Williamsburg’s historians, architectural historians, archaeologists, curators, conservators and even moviemakers transformed their fields of expertise, influencing their peers well beyond Williamsburg.

That the Future May Learn From the Past sheds new light on the history of Colonial Williamsburg and on how American history has been presented in the 20th and 21st centuries.

(Clockwise from top left) Kurt Smith, portraying Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 2025, held up a copy of the Declaration of Independence; during World War II, sailors toured the town and attended lectures on democracy and history; costumed hostesses began leading tours in the 1930s.

That the Future May Learn From the Past: The

First in War ...

New books on George Washington

George Washington: His Quest for Honor and Fame

BY PETER R. HENRIQUES

University of Virginia Press

As a teenager, George Washington described a coat he had seen and wanted replicated for himself. His detailed description of over 150 words revealed, Peter R. Henriques wrote, that “Washington’s intense concern with appearances and acute interest in his image as seen by others is present from very early in his life.” More generally, Henriques argues that throughout his life, Washington was motivated by a desire to be admired and honored. Though he claimed not to want to lead the rebel army, he appeared at the Continental Congress in a military uniform: “When you are over six feet tall, of imposing martial bearing, and wearing a brand-new uniform when you know there is virtual unanimity among the delegates that an army is to be formed, it can’t come as a total shock to discover that you are being seriously considered for the position.” Washington also wanted to make sure his memory was honored after his death, which led him to free enslaved workers (though not those belonging to his wife). “Washington very much wanted to be on the right side of history,” Henriques wrote, “and he hoped this dramatic action would help ensure that result.” The book grew out of talks given for Colonial Williamsburg.

George Washington and the Creation of the American Republic

BY WILLIAM M. FOWLER JR. Lyons Press

William M. Fowler Jr. focuses on Washington’s life between the Revolution and the presidency.

He chronicles Washington’s involvement in land speculation, western expansion and building canals and roads. Washington was also deeply involved with his farm, his family and visitors to Mount Vernon. The last, along with letters and newspapers, kept him apprised of politics. “Washington never disengaged from the nation he had helped found,” Fowler wrote. “He simply waited.” Ultimately, of course, he was drawn back into politics. He presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, where “he said little, and made virtually no contributions to the final text, but his solemn presence was the force that fixed the delegates to their duty."

The National Road: George Washington and America’s First Highway West BY BRADY J. CRYTZER Diversion Books

Washington envisioned a road connecting the Potomac River to the Ohio River and ultimately extending beyond the Mississippi. He worked to turn that vision into a reality on behalf of Britain and then Virginia and then the United States, and sometimes on his own behalf as a speculator and entrepreneur. Washington noted the need to connect east and west in his presidential Farewell Address, but he did not live to see the road built. Brady J. Crytzer highlights the roles of others who also championed the road, especially Albert Gallatin, who served as secretary of the treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Henry Clay was also a strong advocate. “The National Pike is many roads at once,” wrote Crytzer, “each from a different time, and each with a different purpose.”

Puzzles & Prize Puzzles & Prize

MAKE IT QUICK

by Ben Swenson

1. Baby Milking Devon

5. Puerto Rico y Cuba

ACROSS

10. Fine powder

1. Baby Milking Devon

5. Puerto Rico y Cuba

14. Sonny's ex

10. Fine powder

14. Sonny’s ex

15. Cleveland Bay sound

49. Here’s the gist, or a hint to the answers for 20-, 25-, and 43-across

15. Cleveland Bay sound

16. Capital on a fjord

17. With it

17. With it

18. Shocking weapon

57. Type of carpet

58. NBA legend Thomas

16. Capital on a fjord

59. Rowboat necessities

61. -de-camp

62. Type of rock

18. Shocking weapon

19. Close

19. Close

20. Americans over duties play dress-up and get into economic mischief

23. Sweetie, briefly

24. Fido or Mittens

25. Colonists have a break-up bash, now and forevermore

23. Sweetie, briefly

24. Fido or Mittens

34. Indian flatbread

35. Joyce Carol

36. Suffix with press or script

63. One of HOMES

64. Frog’s friend

20. Americans over duties play dress-up and get into economic mischief

65. Patriot Nathan and his family

66. Corp. division DOWN

1. Hosp. units

2. “Moby Dick” captain

3. Late night legend

25. Colonists have a breakup bash, now and forevermore

34. Indian flatbread

37. Swindles

38. Big name in chain saws

35. Joyce Carol ___

39. Period in office

40. HBO alternative

41. Treat badly

37. Swindles

42. Dip in the water (try out): 2 wds.

4. Cleans up

5. Narrate musically

6. Connery or Penn

7. Grocery store need, often

8. “A Death in the Family” author James

36. Suffix with press or script

9. Lethal metal bits

10. Give

11. -friendly

12. Blind part

38. Big name in chain saws

43. Patriots and their bons amis clinch the last W of the war

39. Period in office

40. HBO alternative

47. Play division

41. Treat badly

48. Appropriate

Our Prize Enigma

Wordplay: From the 18th century to today

Make it Quick

by Ben Swenson

26. Supermodel Campbell

27. Tap or ballet

62. Type of rock 63. One of HOMES

28. this world (alien): 2 wds.

13. British-supporting colonist

21. Apex

22. Bodybuilder’s pride

25. Ancient Andes residents

42. Dip ___ in the water (try out): 2 wds.

43. Patriots and their bons amis clinch the last W of the war

47. Play division

48. Appropriate

Each line of this 18th-century wordplay puzzle offers a clue to a single answer of up to three words. Can you solve it? Email your answer to puzzles@cwf.org for a chance to win a grand union flag.

49. Here's the gist, or a hint to the answers for 20-, 25-, and 43-across

57. Type of carpet

58. NBA legend Thomas

29. Milk and cheese

Frog's friend 65. Patriot Nathan and his family

30. Centric lead-in

31. “ unforseen circumstances”: 2 wds.

32. Quiver filler

Corp. division

33. Gulf of Aden country

38. Like highlanders

39. Inked

54. Ivy League school

Hosp. units

"Moby Dick" captain

Late night legend

Cleans up

Narrate musically

41. Brief periods: abbr.

44. Retched or choked

45. Allergic reactions

38. Like highlanders 39. Inked

46. Canadian speed meas.

49. Future atty. exam

50. Buckeye State

51. Zilch

52. Workplace safety org.

22. Bodybuilder's pride

25. Ancient Andes residents

The public house of long ago was no obscene saloon; It was a place to spill the tea, hash out ideas, commune.

Supermodel Campbell

Tap or ballet

Milk and cheese

59. Rowboat necessities

61. -de-camp

Connery or Penn 7. Grocery store need, often 8. "A Death in the Family" author James

Lethal metal bits 10. Give 11. -friendly 12. Blind part 13. British-supporting colonist 21. Apex

60.

41. Brief periods: abbr. 44. Retched or choked 45. Allergic reactions 46. Canadian speed meas. 49. Future atty. exam

Buckeye State

ANSWERS

___ this world (alien): 2 wds.

Centric lead-in

At one such DoG Street spot, where all the best people resorted, Guests would stew over the ways the British could be thwarted. Sure, common there was drinking lasting long into the night, But so, too, was the fortitude of rebels, game to fight. Jane Vobe’s modest enterprise made quite a contribution, For here some found they had the punch to win a revolution.

"___ unforseen circumstances": 2 wds.

Quiver filler

Gulf of Aden country

Zilch 52. Workplace safety org. 53. Iranian currency 54. Ivy League

Check the Summer issue for the answer to the enigma. Answers to this issue’s crossword are on the next page.

53. Iranian currency

55. Medium alternative

56. Stumble

Match division

SPRING 2026

PUZZLE ANSWERS

MAKE IT QUICK

WINTER 2026: PRIZE ENIGMA

The printer

Congratulations to winner William A. Brewer of Rochester, N.Y., whose entry was chosen from a pool of correct answers to the puzzle in the Winter issue. He received an America 250th “We the People” Sampler Embroidery Kit.

Want to play, too? Here are the rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Sweepstakes ends 05/12/26

For entry and official rules with complete eligibility, prize description, odds disclosure and other details, visit www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/trend-and-tradition-prizerules. Sponsored by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Void where prohibited.

Sparks, the resident barn cat at the Colonial Williamsburg Coach & Livestock stables, enjoys some time in the sun, perched on a carriage seat.

Parting Shot

A spring in his steps

Jamie Swope, visiting from Gordonville, Pennsylvania, took this photo of interpreter Jerre Bennett. In it, he captures Bennett as he takes a stroll down a path along the Palace grounds on a picture-perfect day.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO SUBMITTED PHOTOS. PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING!

Send your favorite Colonial Williamsburg photo a .jpg or .tif that is at least 300 dpi at 5"×7", please to partingshot@cwf.org. Tell us why you love the image, and we may choose it for “Parting Shot” in an upcoming issue. Don’t forget to include your hometown.