Visitor Information

Participant Information

Friday, 1 September

Camp Set-up - Noon - 7:30 p.m.

Access to the interior of the Swan Tavern for the Detached Hospital from Noon to 5:00.  Private vehicle access to camp sites while loading only. No overnight parking at camp sites.

The Ballard Street flush bathrooms will be closed during the day, but the flush bathrooms at Ballard Street and the portable bathrooms at several locations will be open to the reenactors all night. Potable water is available at the Church Street lot. The water tap at the Swan Tavern is for wash water only - it is not potable!

Registration opens at Visitor's Center from Noon to 5 p.m.

Reenactor parking is at Church Street lot. Parking for trailers is in the bus parking area at the Visitor's Center parking lot.

Saturday, 2 September

7:00 a.m.

Registration opens outside of Visitors' Center- from 7 to 11 a.m. (weather permitting, otherwise it will be moved inside the Visitors' Center)

8:00 a.m.

Interior of the Swan Tavern open to allow set up.

8:45 a.m.

All private vehicles must be removed to Church Street Lot or overflow parking.

9:00 a.m.

Event open to the public. All camps and interpretive sites must be period correct and ready to interpret. 

CNHP Safety Inspection. All military with firearms (including Royal Navy) line up on Main Street by the Swan Tavern for firearms inspection by CNHP personnel.

9:30 a.m.

Roll Call. All participants remain by the Swan Tavern for roll call. Attached civilians and ration strength women & children will line up at the rear of their respective units. The Serjeants will call roll (every Serjeant should have a Roll Book), the Corporals will fill out their Morning Reports. The Serjeants will collate the information from the Morning Reports on to a Company Return. The Company Returns are to be turned in to the Officer of the Day at the Hornsby House by 11:00 each day. A separate Roll will be taken of the attached civilians, this information to be noted on the Company Return as well.

After Roll Call, the Orders of the Day are read, then military units released to duty. Units assigned to Picket Duty will patrol their assigned areas. Units assigned to Labor Duty will prepare to harvest and clear brush, and serve at the pleasure of the Corps of Engineers. 

10:00 a.m.

All civilians line up on Main Street by the Hornsby House to be interviewed by the Officer of the Day. Attached military civilians will be sent back to their units. Merchants will be granted license to sell under strict guidelines. Inhabitants and refugees will be given their assignments. 

Roster duties. Units assigned to Piquet Duty may patrol as far out as the Outer Works. They are encouraged to patrol over to the Fusilier's Redoubt and up to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown for demonstrations to visitors to the museum.

Units assigned to Labor Duty will report to the Corp of Engineers to be assigned duties to support construction of the defenses of Yorktown.

Duty Roster, 10:00 a.m. to Noon:

Duty Roster, Noon to 2:00 p.m.:

Duty Roster, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m

Street Firing exercise. The 4th Coy. Bde. Gds, 33rd Foot, QAR, and 76th will brush up on their skills at the Street Firing on Main Street. If possible, the Royal Artillery will include a three pounder gun in this exercise.

ca. 1:30 p.m.

The Officer's Mess. (see Ongoing Interpretative Programs)

4:00 p.m.

Event closes for the day. The Swan Tavern is closed.

Participants are encouraged to move over to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown (ARM@Y).

The ARM@Y would like BTS participants to provide demonstrations for their visitors. The museum closes to the public at 5:00 p.m., but will stay open for BTS participants to visit the museum until 6:00 p.m.

We can march over or take the city trolley. CNHP will also have a cart available to shuttle people to the ARM@Y and back. The shuttle will most likely drop off on Water Street due to traffic congestion in town.

The ARM@Y is hosting a BBQ with all the trimmings and soft drinks for the BTS participants on Saturday evening, starting at 6:30 p.m. and going until 8:00 p.m. The last shuttle trip from ARM@Y leaves at 8:15.

Please note: there will be a Virginia Symphony Concert: from 6:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. at the waterfront, with a pre-concert performance by the Fifes and Drums of York Town.

Please also note: Per City ordinance all noise making activities cease by 10:00 p.m.

Sunday, 3 Sept.

Registration and safety inspection at the Visitor's Center for any Sunday registrations.

8:00 a.m.

Interior of the Swan Tavern open to allow set up.

8:45 a.m. 

All private vehicles must be removed to Church Street Lot or overflow parking. 

9:00 a.m.

Event open to public. All camp sites must be period correct and ready to interpret. 

Roll Call. All participants remain by the Swan Tavern for roll call. Attached civilians and ration strength women & children will line up at the rear of their respective units. The Serjeants will call roll (every Serjeant should have a Roll Book), the Corporals will fill out their Morning Reports. The Serjeants will collate the information from the Morning Reports on to a Company Return. The Company Returns are to be turned in to the Officer of the Day at the Hornsby House by 11:00 each day. A separate Roll will be taken of the attached civilians, this information to be noted on the Company Return as well.

After Roll Call, the Orders of the Day are read.

9:30 a.m.

Divine Service. Readings from the James Moore Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

After Divine Service military units are released to duty. Units assigned to picket duty will patrol their assigned areas. Units assigned to work details will prepare to harvest and clear brush, and serve at the pleasure of the Corps of Engineers.

 

10:00 a.m.

All civilians line up on Main Street by the Hornsby House to be interviewed by the Officer of the Day. Attached military civilians will be sent back to their units. Merchants will be granted license to sell under strict guidelines. Inhabitants and refugees will be given their assignments.

 

Roster duties.Units assigned to Picquet Duty may patrol as far out as the Outer Works. They are encouraged to patrol over to the Fusilier's Redoubt and up to the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown to provide demonstrations to their visitors.

Units assigned to Labor Duty will report to the Corp of Engineers to be assigned duties in support of construction the defenses of Yorktown.

Duty Roster, 10:00 a.m. to Noon:

Duty Roster, Noon to 2:00 p.m.:

Duty Roster, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

Street Firing exercise. The 4th Coy. Bde. Gds, 33rd Foot, Regiment von Huyn, and Hessische Garde will brush up on their skills at the Street Firing on Main Street. If possible, the Royal Artillery will include a three pounder gun in this exercise.

ca. 1:30 p.m.

The Officer's Mess. (see Ongoing Interpretative Programs)

4:00 p.m.

Event closes. Please note: participants must “de-mobilize”! Participants may sign out between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. at the Visitor's Center. Participants may also have their unit commander sign out for them. All unit commanders must ensure that their entire roster of participants has signed out.

Participants may move vehicles in for camp break down and load out.

Participants will be advised to break down and move improvised shelters near the street for pick up - unless CNHP asks them to be left in place.

 

Ongoing Interpretative Programs:

The Corps of Engineers

The Corps of Engineers will consult with the Royal Navy on siting a gun and revetment at the site across the street from the Nelson House. During the course of the day the Royal Navy and Corps of Engineers determine the location and design of the revetment. Using Navy and Army labor, plus assigned civilians, they will lay out the structure of log reinforcements for the revetment. In addition, they may construct gabions, fascines, and other military works. Between felling, trimming, and fitting the logs, and the harvesting of brush to make gabions &c. there will be a lot of military construction activity for the public to observe.

The Royal Artillery

The Royal Artillery will conduct maintenance on their 3 pounder guns at the camp by the Swan Tavern. Using a portable hoist engine or "gin", the RA will have the capability to hoist barrels off of carriages and pull wheels for repair and greasing the axles. On Saturday, by the Visitor's Center the CNHP Royal Artillery will fire their six pounder at 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. On Sunday, the participant's three pounder cannon will fire on the same schedule over at the Visitor's Center.

The Detached Hospital.

Surgeons care for wounded patients and smallpox victims.  The Hospital will be inside the Swan Tavern. The Hospital will conduct ongoing interpretation of life in a military field hospital. The Hospital is also equipped for minor medical care. If anyone has a minor injury or is feeling the effects of the heat - go to the Hospital!

The Officer's Mess

All morning, “Officer's Servants” will work on preparing a Mess, to be served in the afternoon in a Marquis tent set up at the Nelson House. Meal preparation will begin Saturday morning with a shopping trip to the Yorktown Market Day held on the waterfront green.

Camp life

A soldier's off-duty time was filled with the necessities of life; whether it was cooking rations, cleaning their musket, mending kit, or any of the many chores which required their attention.

Officer life

Most officers were not allowed to quarter in town; they were obliged to camp near their units. The Hornsby House has graciously allowed us to use their front yard to site Officer's Marquis, which will also be the location of the Officer of the Day. He will interpret organizing and arranging military duties as well as assigning responsibilities to the civilians in town.

Military Artificers

Military Artificers are soldiers pulled off duty for their useful skills, as well as civilians contracted to provide services to the army. They will set up and interpret at the yard by the house at 606 main Street.

Merchants

Merchants will interpret the hardships of commerce in a war zone, as well as display and interpret 18th C. trade goods unusual to a 21st Century visitor. They will set up in the yard at 606 Main Street. 

Refugees

Refugees were not allowed to sit idle. They would be assigned military tasks, such as the kind of heavy labor involved in building the revetment. They could also try to ingratiate themselves with the military by doing whatever services they could provide; cooking, cleaning, mending, sewing, laundry, chopping wood, hauling water, etc. The refugee area will be the grounds around the 606 Main Street site.

 
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