RICHMOND, Va. — A new exhibit at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture (VMHC) explores the Commonwealth’s important role in the American Revolution, according to museum leaders.
“Give Me Liberty: Virginia and the Forging of a Nation” opens in conjunction with the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s famous speech made at St. John's Church in Richmond.
The exhibit will be the first major showing in the nation focused on commemorating America’s 250th anniversary.
Curator Andrew Talkov, VMHC senior director of curatorial affairs, was part of a large team with the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation that determined what should be included.
“Despite even being an expert on the subject, every time we do an exhibit, we learn new stories from the archives or stories that are known by other historians and shared; it's just impossible to know everything about a subject,” he said.
CBS 6 got a sneak peek at the virtual reenactments, unique artifacts collected from museums across the Commonwealth, and untold stories of Virginians.
“People who come to this exhibit at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture are going to see stories they may be familiar with, like the founders Jefferson and Washington. They're key parts of the revolutionary story, but so was every Virginian. So people will learn stories about the men and women, free and enslaved, who lived in Virginia and faced significant choices as the revolutionary story unfolded,” Talkov said.
Talkov highlighted one object in the exhibit that was produced during the Civil War yet has its roots in the American Revolution.
A small plate created in the mid-1800s, featuring an eagle motif carved into it with the expression, “Rather die free men than be a slave,” sits under protective glass.
“This was a plate that was cast for a group of Black soldiers during the American Civil War who were carrying the revolution forward during that event and trying to make our union more perfect by ending slavery as a result of the Civil War. What's interesting about that expression is that those words were written by Thomas Jefferson in 1775 as he expressed why the colonies were fighting against the British Empire,” Talkov explained.
The plate was lent to the museum by Richmond’s Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
The exhibit is free with admission. It opens to the public on Saturday, but museum members can view it early starting Thursday.
The museum has been planning for America’s 250th anniversary for several years. There’s also a traveling version of the exhibition that will be available to display at libraries and museums, in addition to a planned illumination event, podcast, and expanded civics programming.
An online VMHC resource allows viewers to take a virtual tour of 15 different historical sites associated with the American Revolution
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