Spanning nearly five centuries, Colonial Williamsburg: The Story chronicles the town from its colonial origins through its days as the capital of England’s largest colony and then as the center of revolutionary ideas and ferment. The book also covers the town’s decline after the American Revolution and its restoration in the 20th century. A concluding section, “How We Know What We Know,” discusses the ongoing work of Colonial Williamsburg’s historians, archaeologists, curators and conservators.
Colonial Williamsburg: The Story includes familiar figures, such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and George and Martha Washington. But it also highlights those who are lesser known, including the enslaved preacher Gowan Pamphlet and the printer Clementina Rind. All these men and women — Black, white and Native American, enslaved and free — played their parts in shaping the nation.
The book’s illustrations are drawn from the incomparable collections of Colonial Williamsburg’s museums and library.
Author Edward G. Lengel is senior director of programs at the National WWII Museum. His previous books include General George Washington: A Military Life ; First Entrepreneur: How George Washington Built His — and the Nation’s — Prosperity; and Never in Finer Company: The Men of the Great War’s Lost Battalion. Lengel wrote the book as a “Revolutionary in Residence,” a Colonial Williamsburg program sponsored by the Grainger Foundation.
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This book is a companion to Colonial Williamsburg: The Guide.