Yorktown Victory Day

This year’s annual Yorktown Victory Celebration and Yorktown Day mark the 233rd anniversary of the last major military engagement of the American Revolution.

On October 19, 1781, British troops surrendered to American and French troops following the nine-day siege of Yorktown. This year’s celebration will be Saturday and Sunday, October 17th and 18th.

The festivities, hosted by the Yorktown Victory Center and the National Park Service, commemorate this historic occasion. Visitors will have a chance to experience life in a Revolutionary War encampment at the School for Soldiers, visit an 18-century-style farm, and participate in hands-on activities.

Visit the Yorktown Victory Center museum and learn about the events that led up the Revolution. Tour the battlefield and walk over the fields and through the trenches where the siege took place.

Walk through historic 18th century Yorktown to see the original buildings and visit the schooners docked on the waterfront.

Credit: National Park Service

On Sunday there will be a firearms demonstration and free tours of the Yorktown battlefield. A patriotic display of flags, a parade, and memorial services on the battlefield will honor those who fought in the Revolution.

The free Yorktown Trolley will transport visitors to all the attractions.

Yorktown Victory Celebration

Exhibits and Events
Yorktown Victory Center
Enroll in “A School for Soldiers” at the Continental Army encampment and experience life in a Revolutionary military encampment. Learn about musket drills, provisions and sleeping quarters, communication between troops, spying, and how to build earthworks. Observe musket and artillery demonstrations.

Visit the re-created 1780s farm to see what life was like on the domestic front for farmers, women and slaves during the war. Demonstrations include farming crops, open-hearth cooking, and spinning and weaving.

The Yorktown Victory Center museum leads visitors through exhibits that show the progress of the war. The Declaration of Independence Gallery contains a rare broadside printing of the Declaration.

Telephone
757-253-4838 or toll-free 888-593-4682

Yorktown Day

Location
Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center, 1000 Colonial Parkway, Yorktown

Hours
Daily, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Admission
Saturday: Adults (16 and older): $7.00, under 16: admission is free
Sunday: Admission is free

Exhibits and Events
The Yorktown Battlefield is administered by the National Park Service. Various ceremonies commemorating the surrender will take place all day on Sunday, October 19th. In addition:

A volunteer unit depicting the British Royal Artillery at the 1781 Siege of Yorktown will demonstrate firing a replica British cannon at 10:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., and 3:45 p.m.

The Yorktown Women’s Club will serve a Brunswick stew lunch at Grace Church at 11:30 a.m.

The Yorktown Day Parade through the town, sponsored by the National Park Service, begins at 1:30 p.m.

Go to National Park Service-Yorktown to find out more about the National Park Service and the Yorktown Battlefield area or call 757-898-2410.