Colonial Williamsburg: Hotbed of Sedition

Governor's Palace

As July 4th approaches, I find myself becoming increasingly patriotic.  Wearing flag pins, humming Grand Old Flag under my breath, and craving apple pie are just a few symptoms.  With a dear friend in town from Texas this past weekend, I wanted to play tour guide and yet indulge my patriotic feelings.  So armed with a Groupon deal for half-off admission, we drove down to Colonial Williamsburg to find out just exactly what was going on there in 1776.

Capitol Building

We arrived mid-morning and found ample parking was available, although I'm sure that may not be the case in another week when school is out.  I've visited Colonial Williamsburg a handful of times over the years, but this was C's first visit.  Grabbing a map from the large visitor's center, I gave a quick orientation of the colonial town's lay-out while the shuttle bus transported us back a few centuries.  We began with the Capitol.

We were greeted by a bespectacled, smartly-dressed young woman, who caught us up on the latest news.  Apparently Lord Dunmore, the Crown Governor of the Virginia colony, had fled the capitol of Williamsburg in the middle of the night as the rebel cause had grown in intensity and popularity.  His departure led the way for the Virginia colony to seek independence from Great Britain.  As she was speaking, the young woman led us from the walled-in courtyard surrounding the Capitol into the building itself.

As we entered the H-shaped building, the woman pointed out an emblem above the entrance.  It featured a coat of arms underlined with the phrase Semper Eadem.  Our guide chuckled and said, "A lot of irony in that phrase.  It means 'always constant,' and yet it's anything but that right now!"

Our guide

She led us into a large room lined with boxed-benches around the wall, a large chair at the far end, and a long table in the middle.  "This is where the House of Burgesses meets," she announced to us.  "Although now we have decided to call them delegates."  She began to outline the grievances that Virginia held against Great Britain and how as the largest and richest colony, we ought to pave the way to formerly declare independence.  She also pointed out that by declaring independence, we had the opportunity to restructure our government.

"Up until now, the royal Governor has held ultimate legislative, executive, and judicial authority over the colony.  We believe that absolute power corrupts and that there must be a division of power so as to prevent tyranny," she said earnestly.

From the House of Burgesses, she led us upstairs to "the bridge room" as it literally bridged the gap of the House on one side and the Council on the other, then later led us back downstairs to the other side of the building into the high court room.

After leaving the Capitol, we heard a commotion close by and discovered that Patrick Henry was haranguing the crowd on a variety of issues.  He answered several questions from the crowd, and his answers fascinated me in terms of content, wit and sound reasoning (these questions were rather political in nature, relevant even to today's politics).  Upon conclusion of his speech, we began to wander up the Duke of Gloucester Street.

Patrick Henry

Munching on some delicious chocolate chip and raisin cookies from the Bakery, we toured the Armory, the Garden, Bruton Parish Church, the George Wythe house, and finally, the Governor's Palace.  The Palace lived up to its title, impressing even the youngest tourists with swords and guns used as decorations in the entrance, the size and grandeur of the ballroom, and the beauty of the drawing rooms.

Unfortunately, our allotted time was up, and we had to head home to Richmond without seeing the Randolph House, the Plantation, or experiencing a meal at one of the taverns (Chowning's and King's Arms are past favorites).

Here are a few more snapshots from our day:

From the armory

Someone looks happy to be in the stocks!

...Not me, though!

Inside the county courthouse

The armory

Bruton Parish Church

Enjoying the gardens

The Governor's Palace

Have you visited Colonial Williamsburg before?  What was your favorite part of it?

Joining up with Chasing the Donkey for #SundayTraveler!