Yorktown Victory Center

Visitors can browse the outdoor exhibit walkway that details events that led to American colonies to declare independence from Britain. Indoor exhibition galleries recount the war’s effect on 10 ordinary men and women who witnessed the Revolutionary War, highlight the roles of different nationalities in the Siege of Yorktown and explore the story of the Betsy and other British ships lost in the York River during the war. Exhibits also describe experiences of ordinary soldiers, Yorktown’s importance as an 18th-century port and the development of a new government with the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Outdoors, visitors can explore a re-created Continental Army encampment, where historical interpreters describe and depict daily life of American soldiers at the end of the war. A re-created 1780s farm, complete with a house, kitchen, tobacco barn, crop fields, and herb and vegetable garden, shows visitors how many Americans lived in the decade following the Revolutionary War.