Hearty in the Cause: Living History 1776 event set April 6-7

The Lewes Historical Society will host Hearty in the Cause: Living History 1776 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7, at 110 Shipcarpenter St., Lewes. Visitors will be transported back to the turbulent times leading up to American independence. Admission is $5 paid at the gate.

More than 20 interpreters dressed in period garb will showcase life in Lewes when the realities of war awakened a patriotic fervor in the quaint town.

The event will feature colonial tailoring, cloth dyeing, millinery, military drilling and musket firing, and gardening.

The immersive historical experience also includes assisting sailors in their preparations for voyages and participating in various pastimes such as graces, quoits (ring toss), and hoop-and-stick.

At the Lewistown Coffee-house, guests can enjoy period coffee, tea and chocolate. At the Sussex Tavern, adults may partake in colonial-era spirits amidst early American music. Attendees can also discover curios in the antique shop, now located in the Thompson Store.

The new Revolutionary Lewes Walking Tour will debut at 2 p.m., Saturday, at the Ryves Holt House on Second Street. Tickets for the tour cost $15.

Open in the Burton-Ingram House will be the first phase of the Revolution to Republic exhibit, featuring Revolutionary War veteran and Lewes merchant Col. Henry Neil.

“Spring 1776 was a time that no one living in Lewes would ever forget,” said Ryan Schwartz, Lewes Historic Society director of interpretation. “Although the Revolutionary War began in April the previous year, only now did that reality hit home.

“The community had become an armed camp,” said Schwartz. “British naval vessels hovered threateningly off the coast, resources ran low, and whispers of independence from the Crown tested the bonds between neighbors.”

For more information or to make tour reservations, go to historiclewes.org or call 302-645-7670.