Andrew Lewis Weekend at the Salem Museum

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Mike Stevens

A statue of Andrew Lewis in front of the Salem Civic Center

Step back in time with the Salem Museum to the American Revolution for Andrew Lewis Weekend on Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 8, from 10am to 4pm. Enjoy two full days of living history! Historians in Colonial era attire will bring the past to life for kids and families alike. Interact with interpreters, hear lectures about the Revolutionary War, and even meet General Andrew Lewis himself! All events are free to the public.

In June of 1775, Andrew Lewis - who led western Virginia’s militia in its fight to secure frontier settlements - helped drive Lord Dunmore, Virginia’s final royal governor, from Williamsburg. That act of resistance was a major feat in Virginia’s Revolutionary transformation, and will be the highlight of the Weekend’s celebrations.

Colonial living historians from the Fincastle Company will be present to demonstrate the professions, trades, and crafts essential to the era while telling stories about the brave men and women who built a life on Virginia’s frontier during the triumphs and tribulations of the Revolution.

On Saturday, June 7 at 2pm Dr. Nicole Dressler, associate teaching professor of history at the University of William and Mary, will deliver a lecture on the events surrounding and significance of Lord Dunmore’s expulsion from Virginia. Drexler, a former dissertation fellow at the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, is currently preparing a manuscript exploring convict servitude, antislavery, and prison reform during the eighteenth century.

At 11am on June 7 and 1pm on June 8, Garrett Channell, the Museum’s executive director, will give his talk “Pioneer and Patriot: The Life of Andrew Lewis” as Lewis himself. Channell will share Lewis’ heroic story, how he twice won Virginia’s freedom, and which Founding Father he was surprisingly close to.

At 3pm on June 8 the Museum will commemorate the expulsion of Dunmore from Williamsburg. According to legend, an auction was held on that afternoon of some of Dunmore’s finest items. The Museum will use this time to discuss the events in Williamsburg, Lewis’ involvement, and the legacy of the day that would follow.

During these festivities the Salem Museum will also premiere their latest exhibit, “Salem’s Hidden Hero: Andrew Lewis and the Revolutionary War.” Chronicling Lewis’ life and his lynchpin status in the course of the American Revolution, visitors can try on garments, handle tools, and interact with materials resembling those of Revolutionary era Virginia.