Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 3-4 — ORWELL — Immerse yourself in a Revolutionary War experience at the Mount Independence State Historic Site in Orwell on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 3 and 4 for the Soldiers Atop the Mount annual weekend encampment. This event honors the soldiers who built and garrisoned Mount Independence in 1776-77, laying the foundation stones of the new United States of America.
“Soldiers Atop the Mount” Reenactment Weekend honors soldiers who built and garrisoned Mount Independence.
“The Mount Independence State Historic Site allows you to experience history where it happened,” said Laura V. Trieschmann. “This is one of the nation’s most significant Revolutionary War sites, and this reenactment weekend brings the events from 245 years ago to life.”
The weekend will offer a chance for visitors to experience a bygone era with hands-on-history activities for all ages and interests. Saturday’s highlight is the popular Baldwin Trail Walkabout (10:30 am to 1:30 pm), with experts at stations around the trail and reenactor camp talking to visitors about Revolutionary War subjects specific to those locations. Later in the day, reenactors will demonstrate period life, skills, and military activities and in the afternoon present a woods skirmish, leading visitors to follow the action.
Sunday morning a reenactor portraying an American chaplain stationed at the Mount will present a sermon that was preached at Mount Independence during the American Revolution. Throughout the day reenactors will offer several short history vignettes and demonstrations. A reenactment of the reading of the Declaration of Independence, from which this the site gets its name, will happen at 12:30 p.m.
Event admission is $7 for adults and free for children under 15 and includes visiting the museum. The museum shop, with an excellent selection of books and other items, will be open. Food and beverages are available for purchase on both days.
Mount Independence, a National Historic Landmark operated in collaboration with the Fort Ticonderoga Association, is located near the end of Mount Independence Road, 6 miles west of the intersection of Routes 22A and 73 in Orwell. The site is open Tuesdays through Sundays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through Oct. 9. For more info visit historicsites.vermont.gov.
