Revolutionary War Encampment at WDS

Memorial Day weekend begins with a bang at the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum Revolutionary War Encampment. Visitors can interact closely with the 5th Connecticut Regiment in full colonial dress, and enjoy entertaining demonstrations of 18th-century medicine, open-fire cookery, camp life, marching and musket firing and music. At 1 p.m. there will be a skirmish with a dashing band of British redcoats. Children are invited to learn to march and perform drills with wooden “muskets.”

Also returning is the ever-popular Big Bear Trading Company, with reproduction 18 and 19th-century wares for soldiers and civilians alike. Elizabeth O’Brien will demonstrate the centuries-old art of handcrafting elegant paper silhouettes. O’Brien quickly but carefully sketches, and then cuts and pastes the delicate paper profiles using 18th-and 19th-century techniques.

Located in the heart of Connecticut’s largest historic district, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum consists of three authentically restored 18th-century homes and provides the quintessential New England experience - from the American Revolution to the early 20th century. Tours include the 1752 Joseph Webb House, where General George Washington met with French General Rochambeau and planned the military campaign leading to the end of the Revolutionary War, the 1770 Silas Deane House, built for America’s first diplomat to France, and the 1788 Isaac Stevens House - depicting life in the 18th and 19th centuries through original family objects and a fascinating children’s exhibit. Information: http;//webb-deane-stevens.org or call (860) 529-0612.