The kids looked dubious. They didn't have sleeping bags, either. He invited the kids to lay down on top of the straw, as the soldiers did, sleeping in shifts. Most barely out of their teens, he explained, they ate watery stew, hard biscuits and whatever else they could find, getting sick often, with only herbal remedies to relieve their symptoms. It might have been patriotic, but it was not fun,'' he said.
Kids get that message loud and clear here.
The Treaty of Paris was still two years away, but Washington's victory there, about 150 miles south of Washington, D.C., assured the Colonists' had won their War of Independence. Kids can even tumble down the hills where the Continental Army camped at the Yorktown battlefield. It's now part of the Colonial National Historic Park. Yorktown Victory Center and Jamestown Settlement, both overseen by the Jamestown-Yorktown educational foundation, shouldn't be missed to get the full Colonial history story. There are special events geared to children all during the year, such as a Children's Colonial Fair at Yorktown during Fourth of July weekend and a Foods and Feasts festival at Jamestown at Thanksgiving.