Military History Buffs

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Military History Buffs

Military History Buffs

Explore our city on the verge of revolution and meet the men and women who helped make America.

Visit Historic Sites

Magazine

Listen to the stories of British and American military forces in Virginia as you explore the site where military equipment was stored. This building was constructed in 1715 as storage for the arms and ammunition dispatched from London for the defense of the colony. Just before the Revolution, it was the scene of a famous confrontation between Williamsburg residents and the royal governor, when his soldiers absconded with the colony's gunpowder.

Public Gaol

Thieves, runaway slaves, debtors, and political prisoners once paced the cells of the Public Gaol as they waited to be tried - or hanged. Perhaps its most notorious inmates were several pirates who had served under Blackbeard and were captured with him in 1718. Self-guided exploration of the cells where prisoners were held as they awaited trial and punishment.

Capitol

Walk the halls where the colony's representatives struggled with the British governor over the meaning of American liberty. Rediscover the founding principles of our government and your rights and responsibilities as citizens of a new republic.

Meet our Tradespeople

Foundry

The Geddys were a talented family. They included gunsmiths, cutlers, founders, and silversmiths among their number. On the spot where they lived and worked, watch founders cast and finish buckles, knobs, bells, spoons, and other objects in bronze, brass, pewter, and silver.

Gunsmith Shop

The work of a colonial gunsmith united many skills, from forging iron to working wood. A careful eye and steady hand ensured each firearm would work as expected once assembled. Today, our gunsmiths use the tools and techniques of their 18th-century predecessors to make rifles, pistols, and fowling pieces.

Anderson Blacksmith Shop and Public Armoury

The Revolutionary War wasn't won through battles alone. To keep pace with the might of British industry, Virginia desperately needed a new armoury. Watch our blacksmiths take red-hot iron from the fires of their forges and hammer it into a variety of tools, hardware, and weapons.

Learn More

Weapons of War: Military Arms in Revolutionary America

October 11-13, 2019

Weapons of War offers arms students, military historians and antique collectors the chance to learn about the various arms types which came to Virginia, and America at large, during this formative period. From the archaeologically recovered fragments which tell us what was really used during the Revolutionary period to the conservation of surviving artifacts, we will explore a diverse array of weapons and ways of looking at them through modern eyes.