Williamsburg, more....

So as you see, we couldn't get enough of this town. C, S, J and J all had roles of young slave children, and when the King declared us free if we would join the British army, our momma had to stay because of us and our daddy didn't want to go and join up in the army that would attack the very house we lived in. So it wasn't so clear if Payton was really a good master, or if we just didn't have any other options. The other thing was, if you wanted to join the British army you had to find a way to get to Norfolk... and that was a long, hot walk with a passel of children. Seven of our parents friends did decide to go. We just kept on with the laundry.

Right after the tour, we heard the fife and drum regiment marching down the street. Our army is in training, so we are not looking to ship shape yet. A lot of our militia like to hang out in the taverns as much as they can.. and we learned that the fife and drum guys (all about 13-17 years old) had the job of communicating to them... either to come out and report to duty, or (during battle) they would drum messages to cease fire, retreat, etc. They used the base drum because it could be heard below the din of artillery fire, and the fifes high pitch could be heard above it. We even got to practice a bit ourselves!!

We later got to see a demonstration of the the canon, rifle shooting, and taking down the flag (Now the colonial flag with the stripes.) Overall it was a very, very cool way to experience history! We learned so much about the culture, the struggles, and the determination of the American spirit to be free. We'll leave you with this quote from the day:

With freedom comes the right to choose. God help us always choose the right thing!