Sometimes people think that the “real” study of history has to involve hours in a library or manuscript archive, poring over turgid prose or undecipherable handwriting. Today’s Gazette features two stories about the study of history that take you away from the library and, literally, into the field.
The first story (above the fold) describes Diana Gabaldon’s plan to walk the battlefield at Yorktown in September. She will (naturally) also be signing copies of the 10th book in her Outlander series, whose iconic characters, Jamie and Claire, go through a preposterous series of time-traveling experiences to be in both World War II, the 1960s, and the 1980s, as well as at Culloden (1745) and the American colonies at the time of the American Revolution. The latest iteration of their television travels has them traipsing from battlefield to battlefield during the war. Gabaldon says that her 10th book will feature Yorktown, and that “Jamie will be at Yorktown.”
I’m not a big reader of fantasy novels. I read the first book of the Outlander series and was more or less generally annoyed by it. But we started watching the TV series a while ago, and are now among the millions of viewers waiting impatiently for the next episodes – which are not scheduled to be aired before next spring. Tim and I both know a fair amount about colonial and revolutionary era history in America, but the struggles and triumphs of Jamie and Claire make a compelling story that we are enjoying very much.
One of the things that this article told me about was “Reign & Rebellion,” an exhibit that has been at the American Revolution Museum in Yorktown and at Jamestown Settlement since last November. The exhibit is scheduled to close after September 19. We plan to visit these locations to take advantage of this exhibit. The Jamestown Settlement is only about 3 miles from our house, and the Yorktown Museum is about a 20-minute drive.
The other story features ongoing archeological work at Historic Jamestowne on Jamestown Island. This site is jointly managed by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia, and admission fees are shared between the organizations. If you have any kind of National Park Service pass, you only have to pay a portion of the admission fee – the part that goes to Preservation Virginia.
So here’s what’s going on at Jamestown. Archeologists on the organization’s staff are excavating a 17th-century well called the “Governor’s Well” not far from the wall of the triangular James Fort. You might be wondering, “Why excavate a well?” The article explains that wells were used as trash receptacles in colonial times once the water had gone bad. Over time, the limited circulation of air makes these wells anaerobic environments, which preserves items that might have otherwise degraded, like clothing or food. The archeological team stumbled upon this wall unexpectedly as they were removing soil from a Confederate moat dug in 1861 as part of a defense structure against expected Union encroachment in the James River.
We’re lucky because we can easily visit this location. I sometimes take my daily walk around Jamestown Island, driving past this historic site as I make my way to the best places to walk. If you don’t live nearby and you want to see this site, you have a couple of options: you can come stay with me and we’ll visit it together, or you can watch the live stream camera the team has set up. The live stream can be viewed here.
Warning: I just went to yesterday’s live stream. I didn’t see any archeologists at work, and there were only a few visitors walking around. This did lead me to check out the “Jamestown Rediscovery” YouTube channel, however. This channel has lots of videos on it, including several featuring the well and the progress made in excavating it. This channel can be found here. I’ve subscribed to it so I am reminded to check back in regularly.
Yet more reasons why I love living here!
As usual, a timely posting. Your right, Karen. History can be learned beyond the classroom! Throughout the summer, my husband and I have set aside time every week to visit historical sites in Upstate New York. Tomorrow we will enjoy the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park, located at the north end of Canandaigua Lake. We expect to be astonished, once again, by what we will learn!