WILLIAMSBURG — Romans, Vikings, knights. Privateers, sailors, soldiers. Patriotic music and artillery salutes. Make ready for centuries of military history — all in one weekend — during Jamestown Settlement’s “Military Through the Ages.”
Featuring hundreds of re-enactors depicting armed forces from 500 B.C.E. all the way to modern-day soldiers with the Virginia Army National Guard, the event takes place March 18-19.
What Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation calls “one of the most unique chronological displays of military history held for nearly 40 years” Military Through the Ages allows visitors to explore military encampments and interact with re-enactors to learn how uniforms, weapons and tactics evolved through the centuries.
Music will be performed throughout the weekend, including the boogie-woogie sounds of the Ladies for Liberty, scheduled to perform at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
Comparative artillery-firing demonstrations will be presented at noon Saturday and Sunday, with weapons ranging from a 17th-century swivel gun to a modern-day howitzer. A military pass-in-review will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday and will feature recognition of re-enactor units judged in the best unit impression competition.
“Military Through the Ages” is made possible in part by grants from James City County and the Virginia Tourism Corporation, with additional support from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund.
Admission to Jamestown Settlement, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round, is $18 for adults, $9 for ages 6-12, and children 5 and under are free. A value-priced combination ticket with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is $30 for adults and $15 for ages 6-12. Parking is free.
Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 near the Colonial Parkway in James City County, just southwest of Williamsburg and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne. For information, call 757-253-4838 or visit jyfmuseums.org/militarythroughtheages.
