| revwardoc |
10-07-2009 06:32 AM |
I've been there a couple of times. You can still see the various trenchworks and some of the original homes, since repaired. Here's the website: http://www.nps.gov/yonb/index.htm
Here's a more-or-less contemporary Yorktown story for you: Back in the '50's a couple from Lexington, MA visited the battlesite and found a cannonball that had been exposed by a recent rain. This was before government regulations regarding taking such objects so they brought it home intending to use it as an 18th century style gate closer (you'll see such a thing down there). They took it to a local blacksmith (amazingly enough, there still was one back then), told him what they wanted him to do and he agreed to have it ready in a few days, but first he decided to heat it in his forge to remove the 160+ years of rust and grime. When the owner of the ball returned a few days later, the smith answered the door with one arm in a sling, a bandaged head, and walking with the aid of a cane...and his forge was destroyed. Turns out it wasn't a solid shot; it was a mortar shell! Apparently the gunpowder charge was still good. So the smith became the last casualty of the Battle of Yorktown. |
