Centuries of Military History Unfold in One Weekend at Jamestown Settlement
with Re-enactments, Music, Artillery and Military Equipment

WILLIAMSBURG, Va., March 12, 2026 – For four decades, military powers across time have descended on Jamestown Settlement to present an unequaled and unique chronological display of military history. Make ready to witness centuries of military history – all in one weekend – at our time-honored Military Through the Ages event on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22.

More than 500 re-enactors from nearly 40 distinct military units from eight states and Canada will muster on museum grounds, where At Military Through the Ages, visitors will become entrenched in the past and present day in military encampments and get hands-on with re-enactors to experience how military uniforms, weapons and tactics evolved through the centuries.

Timeline from 500 B.C.E. to the Present Day

Visitors can view a narrated military pass-in-review at 3 p.m. on Sunday, depicting armed forces from 500 B.C.E. all the way to modern-day soldiers with the Virginia Army National Guard. Little ones can take part in Morse code challenges with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion HQ and engage with an ever-popular bayonet dummy from the 3rd U.S. Regular Infantry Regiment. Spectators can help to make inert musket cartridges with the 42nd Royal Highlanders before joining in period dances with the Piper. See sailors perform maintenance on the jolly boat with American Forces, Hampton Roads, War of 1812 and a Nieuport 11 aircraft with the Old Dominion Air Squadron. View the re-enactment units scheduled to participate in this year’s event at jyfmuseums.org/mta-units.

Artillery Firings, Military Music and Civilian Sutlers

On Saturday and Sunday at 12 noon, comparative artillery-firing demonstrations will showcase cold steel, black powder and modern weapons ranging from a 17th-century artillery piece to a 105mm howitzer. Throughout two-day event, see special demonstrations of military equipment used in the air, on land and at sea. Attendees can enjoy listening to live music throughout the weekend event as Ladies for Liberty and 29th Infantry Division Band from the Virginia Army National Guard take to the stage. Visitors can purchase wares from Clay Smith Guns, Georgia Colony Smiths, Fort Vause Outfitters, K. Walters at the Sign of the Gray Horse, MMM Fab & Forge, Phil the Glassblower and White Historic Art.

Military History at Jamestown Settlement

Arms, armor and military equipment of 17th-century Virginia can be seen year-round inside Jamestown Settlement’s extensive galleries where permanent exhibits feature artifacts, films and interactives that tell the story of America’s first permanent English colony and of the convergence of the Powhatan Indian, English and West Central African cultures in early Virginia. Outdoors, visitors can immerse themselves in life of early Virginia in outdoor re-creations of a 1610-14 English fort, Paspahegh Town and three re-created ships that brought English colonists to Virginia in 1607.

Military Through the Ages is made possible by a grant from James City County, with support from the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. Annual Fund.

How to Attend Military Through the Ages

Jamestown Settlement is located on State Route 31 near the Colonial Parkway in James City County, just southwest of Williamsburg and adjacent to Historic Jamestowne.

Admission to Jamestown Settlement, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily year-round, is $20.00 for adults and $10.00 for ages 6-12. Children ages 5 and under are free. A value-priced combination ticket with the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown is $34.00 for adults and $17.00 for ages 6-12. Annual memberships are available for four seasons of American history. Parking is free.

Residents of James City County, York County and the City of Williamsburg, including William & Mary students, receive free admission to both museums with proof of residency.

For information, call (757) 253-4838 or visit jyfmuseums.org/military-through-the-ages.

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PHOTO CAPTION (shown above, from left): French 3eme’ D’ Ligne Regiment re-enactors from the Napoleonic Wars (1805) in a Nieuport 17 replica aircraft of the Old Dominion Air Squadron, APS (1918), photo courtesy of Lynn Ritger & Old Dominion Air Squadron; Narrated Pass in Review, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation photo; Ladies for Liberty, photo by Bob Ruegsegger; The Company of James Fort, 1607, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation photo.

LINK TO MEDIA IMAGES

jyfmuseums.org/Home/Components/PhotoAlbum/PhotoAlbum/30/360

MEDIA CONTACTS

Meghan van Joosten, meghan.vanjoosten@jyf.virginia.gov or (757) 253-4175
Tracy Perkins, tracy.perkins@jyf.virginia.gov or (757) 253-4114