Historic Yorktown

Relive the pivotal battle of the Revolutionary War when the mighty British Army surrendered to the allied French and American forces led by General George Washington. Visit Yorktown Victory Center, which captures the true life drama of the American Revolution through galleries telling the stories of men and women who lived through the war.

At Yorktown Battlefield, tour Washington’s Headquarters, stand under his tent, and walk among the earthworks where Continental Army soldiers fought. Stop at the 18th century home of Thomas Nelson Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Listen to the sounds of The Fifes and Drums of York Town. Ride the free Yorktown Trolley. At the Watermen’s Museum, learn about the men and women who make their living on the York River.

Enjoy the river at the scenic beach. Take time to browse in antique shops, art galleries, and specialty shops at Riverwalk Landing and up the hill in the village. Enjoy dining at unique restaurants, many with a view of the York River.

Plan to stay overnight or longer at a hotel, bed and breakfast inn, or guest cottage overlooking the water or up the hill in the village.

Come back for special events including beach music, jazz and other performances at Riverwalk Landing, Market Days, 4th of July festivities, Yorktown Day on Oct. 19, and a wide variety of special holiday events. Yorktown is a year-round destination for history, shopping, outdoor recreation, fine dining and special events. Come for a day, a weekend or longer. Learn more.

Yorktown Battlefield

The British surrendered and independence was won

Yorktown Battlefield is the site of the final major clash of the American Revolution and symbolic end of the colonial period of our nation's history. On these fields in the fall of 1781, General George Washington and his allied American and French army surrounded and besieged General Charles Lord Cornwallis' British and german forces at the port of Yorktown. The ensuring British surrender resulted in the war's end, granting independence to the United States of America.

Administered by the National Park Service as part of Colonial National Historical Park, the Yorktown Battlefield allows viistors the unique opportunity to follow in the footsteps of General Washington and walk the actual ground where these important historic events took place.

The Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center is the orientation point for your visit to Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield. A 16-minute film, Siege at Yorktown, depicts the battle and its significance, while an illuminated battlefield map highlights the movements of British and American troops during the conflict. Walk the quarterdeck of a full-sized replica of a British warship and examine a collection of artifacts from the battle, including a variety of flags and weapons surrendered by the British at the end of the siege.

Be sure to see the exhibit of tents used by General Washington during the campaign. Recently returned to Yorktown after an extensive five-year restoration, the tents are housed in a new, state-of-the-art exhibit case, allowing visitors not only to view the tents, but actually to enter the walls within which General Washington planned one of the most momentous events in our nation's history.

Walking tours of the battlefield and the historic town are offered daily. A nine-mile self-guided driving tour winds through the cannons, fortifications and markers of the battlefield for a chronological tour of the seige. See original and reconstructed earthworks and siege lines built and defended by troops of both sides. Retrace the steps of the allied troops as they took British Redoubts 9 and 10 during a surprise night attack which helped turn the tide toward an Allied victory. At Surrender Field stand on the very site where the British troops laid down their arms on October 19, 1781, and effectively ended the American Revolution.

An audio tour that provides narrative and directions is available at the Visitor Center museum store for a nominal fee. Maps are available for those who wish to explore the 300-year-old town on foot.

The National Park Service also maintains historic houses in Yorktown. The home of Thomas Nelson, Jr., signer of the Declaration of Independence, is open daily and on summer afternoons, living history presentations highlight the lives of Nelson and other Yorktown residents. At the Moore House, see where the surrender of the British army was negotiated, ending the Seige of Yorktown.

Yorktown Victory Center

The story of the American Revolution Unfolds

To gain an understanding of events that led to America's war for independence and the impact of the war upon ordinary men and women, start your tour at the state-operated Yorktown Victory Center, a museum of the American Revolution.

Follow the Road to Revolution, an outdoor walkway to the main museum building. Exhibits along the "Road" describe events that resulted in the transformation of the mood in Britain's American colonies from acceptance of the status quo in mid-18th century to rebellion 25 years later.

The experiences of a diverse group of people who lived during the Revolutionary War are the focus of unique permanent exhibits indoors. Visually dramatic presentations explaining the living documents that marked the beginning and conclusion of the Revolution -- the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Bill of Rights -- anchor the exhibit space.

In a large gallery entitled Witnesses to Revolution, you will meet 10 individuals who lived during the 18th century and recorded their observations in letters, diaries, and pay and pension applications. The witnesses are characterized by life-size cast figures, graphics and artifacts representative of their lives, and spoken words excerpted from their own writings.

From Converging on Yorktown, you will descend to the lower floor to experience the fascinating story of Yorktown's Sunken Fleet, ships lost or scuttled during the Yorktown siege.

The exhibit A Soldier's Lot, explores the training, medical care and daily life of the men who fought in the Revolution. The Unfinished Revolution tells about the formation of the new national government and inauguration of George Washington as the first president of the United States.

A new long-term exhibition, "The Legacy of Yorktown: Virginia Beckons," examines how people from many different cultures, those in Virginia before the 1607 founding of Jamestown and those who arrived later, shaped a new society. With an emphasis on 1607 to 1830, the exhibit explores economic, political and religious motivations for immigration and how people from Europe and Africa and other places in America were changed by and shaped their new environment.

The Yorktown Victory Center's living-history program offers visitors the opportunity to experience Revolutionary era life firsthand. Outside the main museum building are re-creations of a Continental Army encampment and a 1780s farm where costumed interpreters re-enact and discuss daily life during and after the Revolution.

The Yorktown Victory Center is open daily from 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m., until 6 p.m. June 15-August 15.