MEDIA RELEASE
Newport News Tourism Development Office • 700 Town Center Drive • Suite 320 Newport News • VA • 757-926-1400 • Toll Free • 888-493-7389 • Fax 757-926-1441 • www.newport-news.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: November 30, 2007 Media Contact: Suzanne Pearson Media Relations Manager (757) 926-1429 or (888) 493-7386 [email protected]
A Sensory Journey through the Civil War in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, VA – Groups are invited to participate in two spectacular Civil War events in
Newport News, Virginia, bringing them face-to-face with historic moments that changed the history of our great nation. The clash between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia will be vividly retold at the annual Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend, March 7-9, 2008 at The Mariners’ Museum. And at
Endview Plantation, groups will re-live the Battle of Williamsburg during their annual Civil War Re- enactment on March 15-16, 2008.
Designated by Congress as America’s National Maritime Museum, The Mariners’ Museum is one of the largest international maritime museums in the country and is packed to the crow’s nest with prized artifacts. The Museum’s new USS Monitor Center will be the headquarters for 2008 Battle of
Hampton Roads Weekend, March 7-9. This 63,500-square-foot Center houses the Monitor ’s revolutionary turret, plus hundreds of additional artifacts, and a full-scale replica! Visitors will also be able to explore re-created crew quarters, view thrilling battle videos and build their own virtual ironclad.
Other weekend highlights include nationally renowned scholars, Civil War encampments, and a variety of tours and historical events.
The following weekend takes groups on another Civil War journey. The 2008 re-enactment on
March 15-16 commemorates the anniversary of the Battle of Williamsburg. Weekend highlights include living history programs, encampments, and a live battle each day, plus period vendors and special house tours. Built in 1769 by Colonel William Harwood Jr., signer of the Virginia Resolves, Endview Plantation experienced both Confederate and Union occupation during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign.
Restored to its Civil War appearance, Endview Plantation provides visitors with an opportunity to step back in time.
The woods and waters of Newport News once echoed with the sounds of the Civil War; the tramp of thousands of boots along the Great Warwick Road, the thunder of cannon and the crack of rifle, the shout of orders – sometimes to “ghost” soldiers – and the voices of those who fought for freedom.
Relive these sights and sounds when you take your groups on an unforgettable journey through Civil
War history in Newport News, Virginia!
For more information about all there is to see and do in Newport News and Southeastern
Virginia, including historic homes, battle sites, fortifications, monuments and extraordinary collections of personal artifacts, contact Todd Swindell, Group Tour Marketing Manager, with the Newport News
Tourism Development Office at (757) 926-1442, toll-free at (888) 493-7386 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
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