Tiny Tots and Big Kid Shots - National Children's Photo Contest
March 01 - June 01
Book a session to enter to win the Tiny Tots and Big Kid Shots National Children's Photo Contest! Read on
Colonial Williamsburg Garden Tours
March 26 - May 21
"Through the Garden Gate" gives guests the opportunity to venture through the gates to learn about Read on
Colonial Williamsburg Garden Tours
March 31 - May 19
"Through the Garden Gate" gives guests the opportunity to venture through the gates to learn about Read on
American Furniture: From Virginia to Vermont
April 01 - September 02
This exhibition in the Elizabeth Ridgely and Miodrag Blagojevich Gallery highlights pieces from Read on
Places of Interest | People | Trivia & Other Stories
You can hear the stories of the major events that happened in the area, but it's the little things that stand out the most. This section presents some of the lesser known facts that you wouldn't normally hear about. You may be surprised by what went on here.
Early use of aviation as a tool of war was evident during the Peninsula Campaign. Professor Thaddeus Lowe used his hot air balloons to observe Confederate positions and movements during the Siege of Yorktown. Confederates also flew balloons during the war. Early ones used hot air to lift and were made from silk dresses donated by the local southern women. Confederate General James Longstreet was heard to have described these as"...a great patchwork ship of varied hues."
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The Wren Building on the William & Mary campus has been burned down several times. On September 9th, 1862, it was burned down by Union Soldiers in retaliation to Confederate soldiers kidnapping a colonel while he slept.
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Several buildings and monuments that once stood in the Colonial Williamsburg area have either been destroyed or moved, including the African Baptist Church and Williamsburg Baptist Church, which was used as a hospital during and after the war. The basement of the church was filled with amputated limbs.
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General McClellan was considered a military genius, although he was slow to act. He improved the soldiers' morale every time he gave a rousing speech to lead them to victory. He sent his troops to Williamsburg, but he himself never actually fought during the Battle of Williamsburg.
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A wedding was held at Bassett Hall between a
recovering Confederate soldier and a young female
Secessionist. Lt. George A. Custer, who
later became a general well known for his
biggest failure, was the best
man. This is one of the first instances when a
soldier who is well known at the end of
the war, came through our town.
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Gen. George Custer was the first to see that the
Confederate soldiers were retreating to
Williamsburg. He received two notices of bravery
during the war.
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The Capitol in Colonial Williamsburg was once a female academy. During the Civil War, the students were sent home. However, the building was reused as the first Confederate Military Hospital in the South. The woman who started it was Mrs. Letita Tyler Semple, daughter of former president John Tyler.
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The 1860 census counted
about 1,895 people in the city of
Williamsburg.
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The students and faculty of William & Mary were ready to serve for a Civil War. So much so, that when the college closed in 1861, ninety percent of the student body joined the Confederate Army. During the American Revolution 84 years prior, only fifty percent of the student body volunteered to serve.
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Colonial Williamsburg is home to the most haunted building on the east coast and the second most haunted building in the United States: The Peyton-Randolph House. There are over twenty paranormal experiences recorded in the house. The house is home to two known Civil War spirits.
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At the beginning of the Civil War, the entire Jamestown Island was owned by one man. To help his fellow secessionists, he funded his own army on the island. After the Siege of Yorktown and the Battle of Williamsburg, the island's troops left without seeing any major fighting.
| Ghosts |
The Historic Triangle area is one of the most
historical areas in the country. But stories
aren't stuck in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Stories of ghostly innkeepers, spirit children
and weird occurrences appear all over the area.
Nightly tours are offered to those brave
enough to find out for themselves if these are
real spirits or just stories.
 |
Peyton
Randolph House
The
Peyton Randolph house is supposedly the
most haunted building on the east coast.
One story describes when the first
inhabitants of the house moved into
their dwelling around the turn of the
18th century. They were pleased with the
stately home
and knew that they-the mother,
the father, and
three sons, ages 6, 8, 16 would like
it there. However, two weeks after
moving in, the youngest fell gravely
ill and died about a month later. The
eight year old, prone to climbing
the many trees out in the backyard, had
a tragic accident one
afternoon.
After climbing one of the trees in the
backyard, he fell, snapped his neck, and
was found some 5 hours later,
dead and cold.
After the Civil War, a young orphaned soldier stayed with the Peachy family while he went to William and Mary College. He came down with tuberculosis and died there. Many have heard the shattering of a mirror and the sound of heavy footsteps. In an upstairs room residents have awakened in the middle of the night, to see a white, shimmering, male figure.
Governor's
Palace
Behind the Governor's Mansion of
Colonial Williamsburg is a small hedge
maze. It is said that the ghosts of
soldiers that fell in the Civil War
wander this area.
Yorktown Battlefield
The Yorktown battlefields are
supposedly still haunted by the ghosts
of Civil War soldiers that have fallen
in the area. It is said that if you
sit on one of the hills, stare at the
moon a few seconds, then look out over
the field, you will see soldiers
fighting again.
Endview Plantation
Endview Plantation is believed by some
to be haunted by the ghost of General
Magruder.
For information on ghost tours, visit Colonial Connections for the "Shadows of Gray and Blue" candlelight tour. You can also visit Maximum Guided Tours for information on other Civil War tours.