Friday the 13th, Cont'd

   It's the morning of our last day here and I made some time to write.  The last I left off, we were set free from the Secretary's house.  The area around it is called Revolutionary City, which the elderly interpreter so endearingly called "Rev City."  We could hear shouting in the distance, so some of us walked toward that noise- there was a little play going on along the street.  A huge crowd of tourists had gathered (at least 200 people) to watch; in this reenactment the actors had microphones, so their voices were amplified from these looooong, vertical speakers that were camouflaged on large trees.  Suddenly a man in tattered clothing began shouting, "The Redcoats are coming!" and the entire crowd walked along with him to a grassy area near the Capitol.  It was quite effective.
   Sure enough, an interpreter portraying Benedict Arnold came riding up on a horse.  He spoke at length about his cause- incredible.  People were encouraged to say things to him.  Many booed, and he snapped, "Quiet!  You sound like farm animals!"  One very old man in a Phillies cap shouted at him, "You'll go down in the annals of history!"      

                           After he rode away, the crowd was led to a stage where a black preacher gave his viewpoints, and he was the last person acting for this portion of the reenactment.  We had 40 minutes left till lunch; Daron and I wandered over to the blacksmith shop and spent a good amount of time in there watching them work.
   Next was lunch at the patio, followed by an activity in the courthouse where some of the teachers volunteered to "perform" a scripted play about how a court case would be handled.  Oh, in between lunch and the court case we had 20 minutes of free time; I went with several women to Mary Dickinson's shop, where Sarah bought a pair of stockings to go with the colonial clothing she'd bought the day before.  I hadn't seen her wearing the garb, but I saw a picture and it was perfect!  She said she stood out on the steps of her house and answered a couple of questions, which cracked me up because she is so funny anyway!
   Next we walked to the military encampment and did some rank/file exercises and musket training with gun-length sticks.  The "sergeant" who trained us was great because he treated us as if we really were in his army.  He yelled at us for the smallest things!  It was fun and would be great to see photos of it, but we were all busy being trained so I have none.  :(  We also learned about the food that was cooked, the fife and drum, and lastly we fired a cannon.   When we left the encampment we happened to run into an enchanting woman riding side saddle.

  

Pat and I

   Next we went back to the Capitol and were taken on a tour by an actor portraying Patrick Henry.  He was fantastic!  He took us around inside the building and then spoke with us outside.  It was interesting to hear first the loyalist view (the woman from the morning) and then the patriot view (PH).  
  Next we went back to the Secretary's house and anyone who wanted to could share what they did for their homework, which Robin had compiled into a little book.  Ellen, one of the CW Institute people, said that they use these projects to show potential scholarship donors- great idea!
   Our debate was next, which was back in the Capitol building.  The patriots won, but only by one vote!  In actuality, it was unanimous.  Very interesting how being here makes you realize why not everyone wanted to support independence.
  Dinner was at Kings Arms Tavern.  Delicious! And great conversation!  It was our last dinner at CW.  Then was the ghost tour.

Jen (CA), Monica (FL), me
properly wearing our linen napkins
as we toast