Museum sneak peek

Armchair historians are anxiously awaiting the opening of the Museum of the American Revolution at Philadelphia in April. A promotional event announced this week offers a chance to “eat birthday cake with George Washington” Feb. 22 from 10 am to noon. It’s a gimmick to promote advanced sales. The real news is a “sneak peek of the Museum’s first floor.” For more, click here. That should tell us a great deal about what the museum has to offer in the way of artifacts. 

That sneak peek parallels the soft opening of the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown last year. That’s when the introductory movie debuted in advance of the main gallery. Everyone is eager to see how Philadelphia compares to Yorktown.

I learned last week that, under new leadership, Colonial National Park at Yorktown plans to partner with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. As well, the new museum plans to partner with Philadelphia. While all three may not trade artifacts, they may share speakers, experts and others to further the cause of understanding.

Philadelphia has already installed “one of our most iconic surviving artifacts,” George Washington’s field tent. This is the one he used as his war headquarters.

The tent was at Yorktown in 1781, and it has been displayed at Colonial Williamsburg from time to time. This news suggests the tent has landed a permanent home and may not go on the road again. Philadelphia describes the tent as “where Washington strategized, wrote dispatches, and made key decisions that would change the course of history.”

Let’s go sail, to history

Check rates and pick a day for a sailboat charter. See reviews on Trip Advisor.